Greene County, New York
{{Short description|County in New York, United States}}
{{Distinguish|Greene, New York|Greene (village), New York}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
| county = Greene County
| state = New York
| type = County
| seal = GreeneCountySeal.png
| flag = GreeneCountyFlag.png
| founded = March 3, 1800
| seat = Catskill
| largest city = Catskill
| city type = village
| area_total_sq_mi = 658
| area_land_sq_mi = 647
| area_water_sq_mi = 11
| area percentage = 1.7
| census yr = 2020
| density_sq_mi = 74.1
| web = www.greenegovernment.com
| ex image = GreeneCountyCourtHouse.jpg
| ex image cap = The Greene County Court House in Catskill, NY
| district = 19th
| time zone = Eastern
| named for = Nathanael Greene
}}
Greene County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,931.{{cite web|title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Greene County, New York|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/greenecountynewyork/PST045221|access-date=January 3, 2022|publisher=United States Census Bureau}} Its county seat is Catskill.{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=June 7, 2011 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=May 31, 2011 }} The county's name is in honor of the American Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA143 | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=143}} The county is part of the Capital District region of the state.
History
File:Nathanael Greene by John Trumbull 1792.jpeg, commander in the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War and namesake of Greene County.]]
On March 25, 1800, Greene County was created by the partitioning of Albany (360 Square Miles) and Ulster (270 Square Miles) counties, producing a county of {{convert|630|sqmi|km2}}.New York. Laws of New York., 1800, 23rd Session, Chapter 51; Page 493
On April 3, 1801, {{convert|90|sqmi|km2}} of land was transferred from Delaware and Ulster counties, raising the total area to {{convert|720|sqmi|km2}}. This transferred Prattsville, Vly Mountain, Halcott Center, Bushnellsville, Highmount, Shandaken, Lanesville, and Pine Hill within Greene County.New York. Laws of New York., 1801, 24th Session, Chapter 123, Page 290.
On May 26, 1812, Greene County lost {{convert|20|sqmi|km2}} to Ulster County, lowering the total area to {{convert|690|sqmi|km2}}, reassigning Pine Hill, Highmount, and Shandaken to Ulster County.New York. Laws of New York.1812, 35th Session, Chapter 46, Page 382.
On April 15, 1814, the county borders were re-surveyed, and the line adjusted with no change in area.New York. Laws of New York.1814, 37th Session, Chapter 211, Page 275.
On April 17, 1822, the border was again surveyed, with no change in area, but Palenville was found to be inside Greene County.New York. Laws of New York.1822, 45th Session, Chapter 243, Page 257.
On April 23, 1823, the border was again resurveyed, and the Hudson River border with Columbia County realigned accordingly.New York. Laws of New York.1823, 46th Session, Chapter 251, Page 377.
On March 3, 1836, {{convert|30|sqmi|km2}} of area was lost to Schoharie County, reducing the total area to {{convert|660|sqmi|km2}}, and reassigning Manorkill, producing the Greene County that exists today.New York. Laws of New York.1836, 59th Session, Chapter 31, Page 33.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|658|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|647|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|11|sqmi}} (1.7%) is water.{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_36.txt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519062322/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_36.txt |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 19, 2014 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 4, 2015 |date=August 22, 2012 |title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files }} Greene County is located in southeast central New York State, just west of the Hudson River and south of Albany.
The northern and eastern regions are mostly low-lying flatlands. Along the Hudson River the lowest elevation is at sea level. The southern and western areas rise sharply into the Catskill Mountains.
Catskill Park takes up much of the south central region. The park contains some of the tallest peaks south of the Adirondacks. For example, the highest elevation is Hunter Mountain, at approximately {{convert|4,040|ft|m}} above sea level; In addition, there are many picturesque waterfalls in the park such as the famed, Kaaterskill Falls.
The entirety of Greene County is in the 19th Congressional District, and is represented by Democrat Josh Riley.
The county is served by Greene County Transit, based in Catskill.
=Adjacent counties=
- Albany County - north
- Rensselaer County - northeast
- Columbia County - east
- Ulster County - south
- Delaware County - west
- Schoharie County - northwest
=National protected area=
Demographics
{{multiple image
| align = left
| perrow = 1
| total_width = 220
| header =
| image1 = Kaaterskill High Peak from Upper Red Hook, NY.jpg
| caption1 = Kaaterskill High Peak in the Town of Hunter
| image2 = Thomas Cole from Camel's Hump in winter.jpg
| caption2 = Thomas Cole Mountain in Greene County.
| footer =
}}
{{US Census population
|1800= 12584
|1810= 19536
|1820= 22996
|1830= 29525
|1840= 30446
|1850= 33126
|1860= 31930
|1870= 31832
|1880= 32695
|1890= 31598
|1900= 31478
|1910= 30214
|1920= 25796
|1930= 25808
|1940= 27926
|1950= 28745
|1960= 31372
|1970= 33136
|1980= 40861
|1990= 44739
|2000= 48195
|2010= 49221
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 4, 2015}}
1790-1960{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=January 4, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120811110448/http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/|archive-date=August 11, 2012}} 1900-1990{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ny190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 4, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219161259/http://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ny190090.txt|archive-date=February 19, 2015}}
1990-2000{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 4, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218203824/http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf|archive-date=December 18, 2014}} 2010-2020
|2020=47931}}
File:Kaaterskill Falls.jpg is in Greene County]]
= 2020 Census =
class="wikitable"
|+Greene County Racial Composition{{Cite web|title =P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Greene County, New York|url= https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Greene%20County,%20New%20York&t=Race%20and%20Ethnicity&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2}} !Race !Num. !Perc. |
White (NH)
|39,494 |82.4% |
Black or African American (NH)
|2,159 |4.5% |
Native American (NH)
|100 |0.21% |
Asian (NH)
|500 |1.04% |
Pacific Islander (NH)
|3 |0.01% |
Other/Mixed (NH)
|2,566 |5.4% |
Hispanic or Latino
|3,109 |6.5% |
=2000 census=
As of the census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }} of 2000, there were 48,195 people, 18,256 households, and 12,067 families residing in the county. The population density was {{convert|74|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 26,544 housing units at an average density of {{convert|41|/mi2|/km2|adj=pre|units }}. The racial makeup of the county was 90.76% White, 5.53% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.52% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races. 4.31% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.8% were of Irish, 17.8% Italian, 17.5% German, 8.6% American and 6.9% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 92.3% spoke English, 2.8% Spanish, 1.5% German and 1.3% Italian as their first language.
There were 18,256 households, out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.00% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 106.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.2 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,493, and the median income for a family was $43,854. Males had a median income of $35,598 versus $25,346 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,931. About 8.6% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.
As of the 2010 census, the racial makeup of the county was 90.3% White, 5.7% African American, 0.3% Native American and 0.8% Asian. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 4.9% of the population.American Fact Finder, U.S. Census, 2010, Greene County, New York, https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130611010502/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html|date=June 11, 2013}} [http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST13&prodType=table] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411124723/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST13&prodType=table|date=April 11, 2015}}
{{clear}}
Politics
{{PresHead|place=Greene County, New York|source={{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|first=David|last=Leip|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=May 1, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323225526/https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/|archive-date=March 23, 2018}}}}
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|14,702|10,436|302|New York}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|14,271|10,346|577|New York}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|13,073|7,405|1,572|New York}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|11,174|9,030|464|New York}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|12,059|9,850|426|New York}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|12,996|8,933|469|New York}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|11,332|8,480|1,283|New York}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|8,712|8,251|3,161|New York}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|9,390|6,924|4,877|New York}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|11,874|7,265|180|New York}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|14,150|5,858|62|New York}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|11,286|6,488|1,724|New York}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|11,370|7,740|154|New York}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|14,313|5,260|45|New York}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|10,954|5,499|1,544|New York}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|7,842|10,034|18|New York}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|11,878|6,441|1|New York}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|14,262|3,811|0|New York}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|12,907|4,504|15|New York}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|10,566|4,955|362|New York}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|9,807|5,231|26|New York}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|10,153|6,425|38|New York}}
{{PresRow|1936|Republican|9,060|6,744|256|New York}}
{{PresRow|1932|Republican|7,334|6,794|133|New York}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|9,529|4,440|316|New York}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|7,503|3,951|734|New York}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|6,323|3,498|461|New York}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|3,649|3,622|167|New York}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|2,711|3,647|1,113|New York}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|4,191|3,711|411|New York}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|4,527|3,845|289|New York}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|4,395|4,269|248|New York}}
{{PresRow|1896|Republican|4,540|3,688|264|New York}}
{{PresRow|1892|Republican|3,914|3,771|532|New York}}
{{PresRow|1888|Democratic|4,460|4,494|286|New York}}
{{PresFoot|1884|Republican|4,167|4,152|442|New York}}
Greene County is considered a Republican stronghold. It was one of only eleven counties in New York that did not vote for Bill Clinton in 1996, a strong year for Democrats. It supported John McCain by a margin just under ten points in 2008 over Barack Obama, another Democratic year. In 2012, 54.1 percent of the county's voters chose Republican challenger Mitt Romney, and 43.7 percent chose Democratic incumbent Obama, despite it being again a Democratic year. In 2016, 59 percent of the county's voters chose Donald Trump while 34 percent chose Hillary Clinton. It has not supported a Democrat for president since 1964, and before that it previously did so in 1912.
In some elections, certain towns in Greene County have had a plurality that have voted Democratic, though the county remains very Republican.
Communities
=Towns=
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
- Ashland
- Athens
- Cairo
- Catskill
- Coxsackie
- Durham
- Greenville
- Halcott
- Hunter
- Jewett
- Lexington
- New Baltimore
- Prattsville
- Windham
{{div col end}}
=Villages=
- Athens
- Catskill (county seat)
- Coxsackie
- Hunter
- Tannersville
=Census-designated places=
{{div col}}
- Cairo
- Cementon
- East Durham
- Greenville
- Haines Falls
- Jefferson Heights
- Leeds
- New Baltimore
- Palenville
- Prattsville
- Round Top
- Sleepy Hollow Lake
- South Cairo
- West Kill
- Windham
{{div col end}}
=Hamlets=
{{div col}}
- Acra
- Cornwallville
- Climax
- Earlton
- Freehold
- Haines Falls
- Hannacroix
- Hensonville
- Lanesville
- Maplecrest
- Oak Hill
- Surprise
{{div col end}}
Notable people
- John Adams, (1778–1854), born in Oak Hill, United States Congressman{{cite book | title = Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896 | publisher = Marquis Who's Who | location = Chicago | year = 1963}}
- Levi Hill, claimed early inventor of color photography
- Jeff "The Drunk" Curro Howard Stern Wack Packer
- Blossom Dearie, (1924-2009), jazz singer
- John B. Terry, (1796-1874), pioneer, merchant, soldier, and Wisconsin territorial legislature, born in Coxsackie
- Thurlow Weed, (1797-1882), born in Acra, NY. Newspaper publisher, politician, and party boss
- Edwin L. Drake, (1819-1880), invented method to drill oil from the ground, born in Greenville
- Scott Adams, born and raised in Windham, NY; an American cartoonist, creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, business, and general speculation.
See also
{{Portal|New York (state)}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
Further reading
- {{cite book |title=History of Greene County, New York: with biographical sketches of its prominent men |last=Beers |first=Frederick L. |year=1884 |publisher=J. B. Beers & Co. |location=New York |url={{Google Books|BNytgAACAAJ|plainurl=yes}} |lccn=01014108 }}
- {{cite Q|Q114149636|p=487-92|chapter=Chapter X. Greene County.
|editor=Sullivan, James
|editor2=Williams, Melvin E.
|editor3=Conklin, Edwin P.
|editor4=Fitzpatrick, Benedict
}}
External links
- {{commons category-inline}}
- [https://www.greenegovernment.com/ Greene County Government website]
- [https://www.greatnortherncatskills.com/ Greene County Tourism website]
- [https://www.gchistory.org/ Greene County Historical Society]
- [http://sites.rootsweb.com/~nygreen2/ Greene County History & Genealogy Website]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20051208020802/http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/state/his/bk3/ch10.html Early history of Greene County]
- [http://www.hudsonvalleydirectory.com/greene Hudson Valley Directory], listings pertaining to Greene County, New York
{{Geographic Location
| Centre = Greene County, New York
| North = Albany County
| Northeast = Rensselaer County
| East = Columbia County
| Southeast =
| South = Ulster County
| Southwest =
| West = Delaware County
| Northwest = Schoharie County
}}
{{Hudson Valley navigation}}
{{Greene County, New York}}
{{Capital District}}
{{New York}}
{{coord|42.29|-74.13|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-NY_source:UScensus1990}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Capital District (New York)