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Greene County, New York facts for kids

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Greene County
The Greene County Court House in Catskill, NY
The Greene County Court House in Catskill, NY
Flag of Greene County
Flag
Official seal of Greene County
Seal
Map of New York highlighting Greene County
Location within the U.S. state of New York
Map of the United States highlighting New York
New York's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  New York
Founded March 3, 1800
Named for Nathanael Greene
Seat Catskill
Largest village Catskill
Area
 • Total 658 sq mi (1,700 km2)
 • Land 647 sq mi (1,680 km2)
 • Water 11 sq mi (30 km2)  1.7%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 47,931
 • Density 74.1/sq mi (28.6/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district 19th

Greene County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,931. Its county seat is Catskill. The county's name is in honor of the American Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene.

History

Greene portrait
Nathanael Greene, 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 620 square miles (1,600 km2).

On April 3, 1801, 90 square miles (230 km2) of land was transferred from Delaware and Ulster counties, raising the total area to 710 square miles (1,800 km2). This transferred Prattsville, Vly Mountain, Halcott Center, Bushnellsville, Highmount, Shandaken, Lanesville, and Pine Hill within Greene County.

On May 26, 1812, Greene County lost 20 square miles (52 km2) to Ulster County, lowering the total area to 690 square miles (1,800 km2), reassigning Pine Hill, Highmount, and Shandaken to Ulster County.

On April 15, 1814, the county borders were re-surveyed, and the line adjusted with no change in area.

On April 17, 1822, the border was again surveyed, with no change in area, but Palenville was found to be inside Greene County.

On April 23, 1823, the border was again resurveyed, and the Hudson River border with Columbia County realigned accordingly.

On March 3, 1836, 30 square miles (78 km2) of area was lost to Schoharie County, reducing the total area to 660 square miles (1,700 km2), and reassigning Manorkill, producing the Greene County that exists today.

Geography

Kaaterskill Falls
Kaaterskill Falls is in Greene County

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 658 square miles (1,700 km2), of which 647 square miles (1,680 km2) is land and 11 square miles (28 km2) (1.7%) is water. 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 4,040 feet (1,232 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 Chris Gibson.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

Thomas Cole Mountain in Greene County.
Historical population
Census Pop.
1800 12,584
1810 19,536 55.2%
1820 22,996 17.7%
1830 29,525 28.4%
1840 30,446 3.1%
1850 33,126 8.8%
1860 31,930 −3.6%
1870 31,832 −0.3%
1880 32,695 2.7%
1890 31,598 −3.4%
1900 31,478 −0.4%
1910 30,214 −4.0%
1920 25,796 −14.6%
1930 25,808 0.0%
1940 27,926 8.2%
1950 28,745 2.9%
1960 31,372 9.1%
1970 33,136 5.6%
1980 40,861 23.3%
1990 44,739 9.5%
2000 48,195 7.7%
2010 49,221 2.1%
2020 47,931 −2.6%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790-1960 1900-1990
1990-2000 2010-2020
Kaaterskill Falls
Kaaterskill Falls is in Greene County

As of the census of 2000, there were 48,195 people, 18,256 households, and 12,067 families residing in the county. The population density was 74 people per square mile (29/km2). There were 26,544 housing units at an average density of 41 per square mile (16/km2). 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.

Communities

Towns

Villages

Census-designated places

Hamlets

Notable people

  • John Adams, (1778–1854), born in Oak Hill, United States Congressman
  • 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

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Greene (Nueva York) para niños

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