Ancram is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in Columbia County,

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

, United States. The population was 1,440 at the 2020 census,US Census Bureau, 2020 census, Ancram town, Columbia County, New York https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Ancram%20town,%20Columbia%20County,%20New%20York Accessed November 6, 2022 down from 1,573 at the 2010 census. The town was named after Ancram (now

Ancrum Ancrum ( gd, Alan Crom) is a village in the Scottish Borders, Borders area of Scotland, 5 km north west of Jedburgh. The village — which currently has a population of around 300 — is situated just off the A68 road, A68 trunk road on the ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Ancram is in the southeastern corner of the county.

History

Prior to European colonization, the area had been occupied for thousands of years by varying indigenous cultures. Historic Native American nations included the

Mahican The Mohican ( or , alternate spelling: Mahican) are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe that historically spoke an Algonquian language. As part of the Eastern Algonquian family of tribes, they are related to the neighboring Lenape, who ...

and

Wappinger The Wappinger () were an Eastern Algonquian Munsee-speaking Native American people from what is now southern New York and western Connecticut. At the time of first contact in the 17th century they were primarily based in what is now Dutches ...

. Recorded as part of the land grant to the

Livingston family The Livingston family of New York is a prominent family that migrated from Scotland to the Dutch Republic, and then to the Province of New York in the 17th century. Descended from the 4th Lord Livingston, its members included signers of the Unit ...

, this area on the Roeliff Jansen Kill was originally called "Livingston Forge" after the iron

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

developed on the river. Throughout the eighteenth century, the Livingston forge created metal products for the community. The town was sometimes known as "Scotchtown" due to the immigrants of

Scottish ancestry The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded ...

who flocked there in the late 18th century. As the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

drew near, the factory produced shot, cannonballs, and perhaps most importantly, the huge chain which was installed across the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

as a defense against British ships going upriver. The "Fort Montgomery Chain" was worked up in 1776 at the Ancram foundry and placed across the Hudson River near West Point between Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton. On October 6, 1777, British forces attacked the two forts, choosing to outflank the forts on land rather than test the strength of the chain directly. It is believed that the chain was confiscated by the British forces when they retreated from the fort several weeks later. Its whereabouts is unknown but one prominent British historian surmises it was shipped to Gibraltar to defend shipping in that British colony.Lincoln Diamant; Chaining the Hudson; The fight for the river in the American Revolution, PP. 175-176 After the Revolution, the town was established from part of the town of

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

in 1803, and was then called "Gallatin". In 1814, the name was changed to "Ancram", after the town in Scotland where the Livingstons had their origins. Part of Ancram was taken to form a new town of Gallatin in 1830. Mining of

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

and

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

was important in the early economy; the town of Ancramdale was originally known as "Ancram Lead Mines". The

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Boston Corner was formerly part of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Because it was more accessible from Ancram, it was annexed by the New York town on April 13, 1857, by an agreement between the states.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.61%, is water. Most of the town is drained by the Roeliff Jansen Kill and its tributary, Punch Brook. The Roeliff Jansen Kill flows west to the

. The southeastern corner of the town drains to Webatuck Creek, which flows south to the Ten Mile River and thence to 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 S ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. The eastern town line is the border of

and of Dutchess County. The southern town line also borders Dutchess County.

Demographics

2000

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 1,513 people, 595 households, and 430 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 35.5 people per square mile (13.7/km²). There were 823 housing units at an average density of 19.3 per square mile (7.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.69%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 1.06%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.13% Native American, 0.13%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 0.99% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.93% of the population. There were 595 households, out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.6% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.91. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.4% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $45,726, and the median income for a family was $47,708. Males had a median income of $31,196 versus $25,625 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $22,541. About 5.1% of families and 7.4% 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 t ...

, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and other locations

*Ancram — The

of Ancram is in the western part of the town on

New York State Route 82 New York State Route 82 (NY 82) is a state highway in the eastern Hudson Valley of New York in the United States. It begins at an junction with NY 52 northeast of the village of Fishkill, bends eastward towards Millbrook, and th ...

and County Route 7. *Ancramdale — A hamlet southeast of Ancram village. * Boston Corner — A hamlet of Ancram which was formerly in

. The community is adjacent to the Massachusetts border. *

Taconic State Park Taconic State Park is located in Columbia and Dutchess County, New York abutting Massachusetts and Connecticut within the Taconic Mountains. The state park is located off New York State Route 344 south of Interstate 90 and north of New York City. I ...

— Part of the park is in the northeastern part of the town. *Weed Mines — A location by the northern town line.

References

External links

Town of Ancram official website

Roe-Jan Community Library
{{authority control Towns in Columbia County, New York 1803 establishments in New York (state) Populated places established in 1803 Mining communities in New York (state)