Austerlitz is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Columbia County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The population was 1,625 at the 2020 census.US Census Bureau, 2020 Census Report, Austerlitz, Columbia County, New York https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Austerlitz%20town,%20Columbia%20County,%20New%20York Accessed January 3, 2023 The town was named after the

Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV French Republican calendar, FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near t ...

. The town is in the eastern part of Columbia County.

History

Ellis, Capt. Franklin, "History of Columbia County, New York", (1878), page 381:

The town was organized from parts of the towns of Hillsdale, Chatham, and
Canaan CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...
, March 28, 1818. A little more than one-fifteenth of the present town was taken from Chatham, a little over one-eighth from Canaan, and a little less than five-sixths from Hillsdale. From the fact that among the first settlers there were no less than twelve families of Spencers, the north part of Hillsdale had been known from the first as "Spencer's-town." This name finally attached itself simply to the village, and when the division of the town was being talked up it was proposed to call the new town "New Ulm." When the bill erecting it passed the Legislature, however,
Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...
, then a State Senator, and who, being an ardent admirer of the great
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, was somewhat incensed at one of his political opponents (Elisha Williams, if we mistake not), who had succeeded in having a town in Seneca County christened " Waterloo," leaped to his feet and moved to amend by calling the new town "Austerlitz." Having carried his point, he retired to his seat, saying "There's an Austerlitz for your Waterloo."

Past residents of note

Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyric poetry, lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted Feminism, feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. ...

, Pulitzer-prize winning poet, lived at Steepletop, a more than property that had previously been a farm. Her sister,

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) ** Norma Lizbeth Ramos, a Mexican bullying victim Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral ...

, inherited the property at Millay's death in 1950. Norma and her husband, Charles Ellis, in 1973 founded a non-profit artist residency program, the Millay Arts (formerly the Millay Colony for the Arts), and deeded a small portion of the land to the organization. In 1978, Norma created the non-profit Edna St. Vincent Millay Society that now oversees the house and remainder of the property. Tours are available. Steepletop was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1971.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.19%, is water. The western half of the town drains via tributaries of

Kinderhook Creek Kinderhook Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 tributary to Stockport Creek, an inlet of the Hudson River in the United States. From its source i ...

and Claverack Creek westward to the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

, while the eastern half primarily drains via the Green River southeast into

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, where it joins the

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United ...

flowing south into

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. The eastern town line is the border of Massachusetts. The

Taconic State Parkway The Taconic State Parkway (often called the Taconic or the TSP) is a limited-access parkway between Kensico Dam and Chatham, the longest in the U.S. state of New York. It follows a generally north–south route midway between the Hudson River ...

passes through the far western side of the town.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,453 people, 620 households, and 427 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 906 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.45%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.83%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.07% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.76% from other races, and 0.34% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.83% of the population. There were 620 households, out of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.81. In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.4% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 34.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $51,369, and the median income for a family was $56,771. Males had a median income of $44,531 versus $37,188 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $38,054. About 4.7% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 0.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Austerlitz

*Austerlitz – The

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of Austerlitz is located east of the geographic center of the town at the junction of routes 22 and 203. *Morehouse Corner – A hamlet in the northwestern corner of the town on Route 203. *Red Rock – A hamlet at the northern town line. * Spencertown – A hamlet in the western part of the town on Route 203.

References

External links

*
Edna St. Vincent Millay Society: Steepletop
{{authority control Towns in Columbia County, New York Towns in New York (state)