
The Greene County Court House in Catskill, NY
'Greene County' is a
county located in the
U.S. state of
New York. Its name is in honor of the
American Revolutionary War general,
Nathanael Greene. Its
county seat is
Catskill.
History
When counties were established in New York State in
1683, the present Greene County was divided between
Albany and
Ulster Counties.
Albany County was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State of
Vermont and, in theory, extending westward to the
Pacific Ocean. This county was reduced in size on
July 3,
1766 by the creation of
Cumberland County, and further on
March 16,
1770 by the creation of
Gloucester County, both containing territory now in
Vermont.
Then, on
March 12,
1772, Albany County was divided into the counties of Albany,
Tryon (now
Montgomery), and
Charlotte (now
Washington). From 1772 to
1786 Albany County included, besides the present territory of Albany County, all of the present
Columbia,
Rensselaer,
Saratoga, and
Schenectady Counties, parts of the present Greene and
Washington Counties, and a piece of what is now southwestern Vermont.
Albany County was reduced in size in
1786 by the splitting off of
Columbia County; again in
1791 by the splitting off of
Rensselaer and
Saratoga Counties and the transfer of the
Town of Cambridge to
Washington County. It was further reduced in size in
1795 by the splitting off of a part that was combined with a portion of
Otsego County to create
Schoharie County.
Ulster County was an original county of New York State, considerably larger than the present Ulster County. It was reduced in size by the splitting off in
1797 of a part that was combined with a portion of
Otsego County to create
Delaware County.
In
1800 Greene County was created from portions of Albany and Ulster Counties.
Geography
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 plains adjacent to the Hudson; the southern and western areas rise sharply into the
Catskill Mountains. The
Catskill Park takes up much of the south central region.
The highest elevation is
Hunter Mountain, at approximately 4,040 feet (1,232 m) above sea level; the lowest is sea level along the Hudson.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,705
km² (658
mi²). 1,678 km² (648 mi²) of it is land and 27 km² (10 mi²) of it (1.58%) is water.
Greene County is part of the 20th Congressional District of New York in the U.S. House of Representatives and it is represented by Kirsten Gillibrand.
Adjacent Counties
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Albany County, New York - north
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Rensselaer County, New York - northeast
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Columbia County, New York - east
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Ulster County, New York - southwest
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Delaware County, New York - west
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Schoharie County, New York - northwest
Demographics
As of the
census² of 2000, there were 48,195 people, 18,256 households, and 12,067 families residing in the county. The
population density was 29/km² (74/mi²). There were 26,544 housing units at an average density of 16/km² (41/mi²). 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.
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.
Cities and towns
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Ashland (town)
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Athens (town)
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Athens (village)
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Cairo (town)
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Catskill (village)
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Catskill (town)
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Coxsackie (village)
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Coxsackie (town)
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Durham (town)
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Greenville (town)
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Halcott (town)
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Hunter (town)
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Hunter (village)
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Jefferson Heights
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Jewett (town)
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Leeds
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Lexington (town)
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New Baltimore (town)
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Palenville
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Prattsville (town)
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Tannersville (village)
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Windham (town)
: '' ==> Labels in parentheses are official political designation''.
Notable residents
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John Adams, (1778-1854), born in Oak Hill,
United States Congressman[1]
References
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1. Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896, , , , Marquis Who's Who, ,
External links
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Greene County, New York
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Early history of Greene County