Sullivan County, New York facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sullivan County
County
Stream in the hamlet of Rock Hill
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of New York
New York's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	New York
Founded	1809
Named for	John Sullivan
Seat	Monticello
Largest village	Monticello
Area
• Total	997 sq mi (2,580 km2)
• Land	968 sq mi (2,510 km2)
• Water	29 sq mi (80 km2)  2.9%
Population  (2020)
• Total	78,624
• Density	81.2/sq mi (31.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	19th

Sullivan County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,624. The county seat is Monticello. The county's name honors Major General John Sullivan, who was labeled at the time as a hero in the American Revolutionary War in part due to his successful campaign against the Iroquois (see Sullivan Expedition). The county is part of the Hudson Valley region of the state.

The county was the site of hundreds of Borscht Belt hotels and resorts, which had their heyday from the 1920s through the 1970s.

In 2010, the state's center of population was at the southern edge of Sullivan County.

History

John Sullivan, general in the Continental Army, delegate in the Continental Congress, Governor of New Hampshire, and namesake of Sullivan County

When the Province of New York established its first twelve counties in 1683, the present Sullivan County was part of Ulster County. In 1809, Sullivan County was split from Ulster County.

In the late 19th century, the Industrial Revolution and the advent of factories driven by water power along the streams and rivers led to an increase in population attracted to the jobs. Hamlets enlarged into towns. As industry restructured, many of those jobs left before the middle of the twentieth century. The economy changed again after that, shifting to a more tourist-based variety and benefiting from resorts established by European Jewish immigrants and their descendants in what became called the Borscht Belt of the 20th century. Resort hotels featured a wide variety of entertainers, some nationally known. At the beginning of this period, visitors traveled to the area by train, and later by automobile. The area's natural resources also provided a setting for numerous summer camps frequented by the children of immigrants and their descendants.

Geography

Swan Lake

New York State Route 17 (Future Interstate 86) in Liberty

Hamlet of Grahamsville

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 997 square miles (2,580 km²), of which 968 square miles (2,510 km²) is land and 29 square miles (75 km²) (2.9%) is water.

Sullivan County is in the southern part of New York State, southeast of Binghamton and southwest of Albany. It is separated from Pennsylvania along its southwest boundary by the Delaware River.

The county, which starts about 70 miles northwest of New York City, is in the Catskill Mountains. Its northeastern corner is within the Catskill Park.

The highest point in the county is a 3,118-foot (950 m) peak unofficially known as Beech Mountain, near Hodge Pond, a subsidiary summit to Mongaup Mountain across the Ulster County line. The lowest point is along the Delaware River.

Adjacent counties

• Delaware County - north
• Ulster County - northeast
• Orange County - southeast
• Pike County, Pennsylvania - southwest
• Wayne County, Pennsylvania - west

Demographics

Hamlet of Callicoon

As of the 2000 census, there were 73,966 people, 27,661 households, and 18,311 families residing in the county. The population density was 76 people per square mile (29 people/km²). There were 44,730 housing units at an average density of 46 per square mile (18/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.31% White, 8.51% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 1.12% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.89% from other races, and 1.87% from two or more races. 9.25% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.6% were of German, 13.9% Irish, 12.5% Italian, 7.3% American and 6.2% English ancestry according to 2000 census. 86.6% spoke English, 7.4% Spanish and 1.0% German as their first language. A small population of Russians, late twentieth-century immigrants, live in the villages. There are a few persons in Sullivan and nearby counties who are of mixed Dutch and Mohawk or Lenni-Lenape ancestry in this region of upstate New York, the legacy of indigenous peoples in the region and the New Netherlands colonial era in the 17th century.

There were 27,661 households, out of which 31.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.10% were married couples living together, 11.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.80% were non-families. 27.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.90% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,998, and the median income for a family was $43,458. Males had a median income of $36,110 versus $25,754 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,892. About 11.60% of families and 17.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.60% of those under age 18 and 10.70% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census

National protected area

• Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River (part)

Education

Public school districts

• Eldred Central Schools
• Fallsburg Central Schools
• Liberty Central School District
• Livingston Manor Central School District
• Monticello Central Schools
• Roscoe Central Schools
• Sullivan West Central School
• Tri-Valley Central School

Higher education

• Sullivan County Community College is located in the hamlet of Loch Sheldrake in the town of Fallsburg.

Transportation

Sullivan County has services provided by Short Line to New York City. It also has some local service provided by the county itself, as well as community organizations.

Sullivan County International Airport is located in Bethel and is used frequently for general aviation purposes.

Major roadways

Tourism

Sullivan County has been a popular vacation spot since the 19th century, with mountain climbing, boating, and other outdoor activities, as well as the Monticello Raceway being among the attractions. The majority of the tourism occurs in the summer months. It was the site of the hundreds of resort complexes of the Borscht Belt (with their golf courses, social events, and entertainers), between the 1920s and 1970s.

Borscht Belt hotels, bungalow colonies, summer camps, and kuchaleyns (a Yiddish name for self-catered boarding houses) proliferated. The bungalows usually included "a kitchen/living room/dinette, one bedroom, and a screened porch" with entertainment being simple: bingo or a movie. The kuchaleyns were also visited often by middle and working-class Jewish New Yorkers. Because of the many Jewish guests, this area was nicknamed the Jewish Alps and "Solomon County" (a modification of Sullivan County) by many people who visited there.

Many famous comedians tested their material and performed regularly at Borscht Belt hotels, including Milton Berle, Mel Brooks, and Henny Youngman. Eddie Fisher performed often at Grossinger's, where in 1955 he married Debbie Reynolds.

By the late 1950s, many began closing with most gone by the 1970s, but some major resorts continued to operate, a few into the 1990s. Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel closed in 1986 and the Concord Resort Hotel struggled to stay open until 1998. By that time, the business owed millions in back taxes to Sullivan County, but the property was sold "for $10.5 million" and a new resort was eventually built.

Sullivan County was the site of the 1969 Woodstock Festival located at the present-day Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. During the period August 15–18, 1969, approximately 500,000 people gathered in Sullivan County's Town of Bethel at Max Yasgur's farm to attend the Woodstock Festival. The entertainers included The Who; the Grateful Dead; Jefferson Airplane; The Band; Canned Heat; Joan Baez; Arlo Guthrie; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; Janis Joplin; Santana; Sly and the Family Stone; Blood, Sweat and Tears; Jimi Hendrix; and Richie Havens. The state and the town of Bethel council subsequently passed laws prohibiting future mass event types of festivals. In 2019, a 50th celebration of Woodstock was organized: "Sullivan County ... finally embracing the ultimate symbol of peace and love, the 1969 Woodstock festival". The Woodstock 50 festival, scheduled for August, was canceled months earlier so it did not take place. The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts did organize of weekend of "low-key" concerts.

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, which also includes a museum of the sixties and Woodstock, holds many concerts and other events throughout the year.

Other notable cultural destinations include the CAS Arts Center, a multi-arts exhibit space and education center run by the Catskill Art Society in Livingston Manor, New York, the NaCl Theatre, a professional regional theater company focusing on experimental work in Highland Lake, and the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance (DVAA) which serves as the Arts Council for Sullivan County and is located in Narrowsburg. DVAA offers two art galleries, performing arts and cultural programming, grant opportunities for artists and nonprofits, the Big Eddy Film Festival, and Riverfest.

Communities

Village of Wurtsboro

Monticello Raceway in Monticello

Towns

Villages

• Ateres
• Bloomingburg
• Jeffersonville
• Liberty
• Monticello (county seat)
• Woodridge
• Wurtsboro

Census-designated places

Hamlets

Notable people

• Steve Lungen (born c. 1946), former District Attorney
• Jeff McBride (born 1959), American magician and magic instructor.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Sullivan (Nueva York) para niños