Greene County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 * '' ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,931. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Catskill. The county's name is in honor of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

general

Nathanael Greene Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependabl ...

History

On March 25, 1800, Greene County was created by the partitioning of Albany (360 Square Miles) and

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

(270 Square Miles) counties, producing a county of .New York. ''Laws of New York.'', 1800, 23rd Session, Chapter 51; Page 493 On April 3, 1801, of land was transferred from

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

and Ulster counties, raising the total area to . This transferred Prattsville,

Vly Mountain Vly Mountain is a mountain located in the town of Halcott, New York, United States in Greene County. The mountain is part of the Catskill Mountains. Vly Mountain is flanked to the northwest by Bearpen Mountain, to the east by Vinegar Hill, to t ...

, Halcott Center, Bushnellsville, Highmount, Shandaken, Lanesville, and Pine Hill within Greene County.New York. ''Laws of New York.'', 1801, 24th Session, Chapter 123, Page 290. On May 26, 1812, Greene County lost to Ulster County, lowering the total area to , reassigning Pine Hill, Highmount, and Shandaken to Ulster County.New York. ''Laws of New York.''1812, 35th Session, Chapter 46, Page 382. On April 15, 1814, the county borders were re-surveyed, and the line adjusted with no change in area.New York. ''Laws of New York.''1814, 37th Session, Chapter 211, Page 275. On April 17, 1822, the border was again surveyed, with no change in area, but Palenville was found to be inside Greene County.New York. ''Laws of New York.''1822, 45th Session, Chapter 243, Page 257. On April 23, 1823, the border was again resurveyed, and 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 ...

border with Columbia County realigned accordingly.New York. ''Laws of New York.''1823, 46th Session, Chapter 251, Page 377. On March 3, 1836, of area was lost to Schoharie County, reducing the total area to , and reassigning Manorkill, producing the Greene County that exists today.New York. ''Laws of New York.''1836, 59th Session, Chapter 31, Page 33.

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.7%) is water. Greene County is located in southeast central New York State, just west of the

and south of Albany. The northern and eastern regions are mostly low-lying flatlands. Along the

the lowest elevation is at sea level. The southern and western areas rise sharply into the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

Catskill Park The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in New York in the United States. It consists of of land inside a Blue Line in four counties: Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster. As of 2005, or 41 percent of the land within, is owned by ...

takes up much of the south central region. The park contains some of the tallest peaks south of the

Adirondacks The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular d ...

. 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 Kaaterskill Falls is a two-stage waterfall on Spruce Creek in the eastern Catskill Mountains of New York, between the hamlets of Haines Falls and Palenville in Greene County. The two cascades total 260 feet (79 m) in height, making Kaaterskil ...

. The entirety of Greene County is in the

19th Congressional District 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics 19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full r ...

, and is represented by

Antonio Delgado Antonio Ramon Delgado (born January 28, 1977) is an American attorney and politician serving as the lieutenant governor of New York since 2022. He previously served as the U.S. representative from New York's 19th congressional district. He is ...

Adjacent counties

* Albany County - north *

Rensselaer County Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,130. Its county seat is Troy. The county is named in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the ...

- northeast * Columbia County - east *

Ulster County Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. History ...

- south * Delaware County - west *

Schoharie County Schoharie County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 29,714, making it the state's fifth-least populous county. The county ...

- northwest

National protected area

Thomas Cole National Historic Site The Thomas Cole National Historic Site, also known as Cedar Grove, is a National Historic Landmark that includes the home and the studio of painter Thomas Cole, founder of the Hudson River School of American painting. It is located at 218 Spring ...

Demographics

2020 Census

2000 census

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 48,195 people, 18,256 households, and 12,067 families residing in the county. 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 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 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 ...

, 5.53%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

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 ...

, 0.28% Native American, 0.54%

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 ...

, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 1.52% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.36% from two or more races. 4.31% of the population were

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. 18.8% were of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, 17.8%

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, 17.5%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 8.6%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and 6.9%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

ancestry according to

Census 2000 The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

. 92.3% spoke

, 2.8%

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, 1.5%

and 1.3%

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 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, 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 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 county was $18,931. About 8.6% of families and 12.2% 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 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.American Fact Finder, U.S. Census, 2010, Greene County, New York, https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF

Politics

Greene County is considered a Republican stronghold. It was one of only eleven counties in New York that did not vote for

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

in 1996, a strong year for Democrats. It supported

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

by a margin just under ten points in 2008 over

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

, another Democratic year. In 2012, 54.1 percent of the county's voters chose Republican challenger

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

, and 43.7 percent chose Democratic incumbent Obama, despite it being again a Democratic year. In 2016, 59 percent of the county's voters chose

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

while 34 percent chose

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

. It has not supported a Democrat for president since

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, and before that it previously did so in 1912. In some elections, certain towns in Greene County have had a plurality that have voted Democratic, though the county remains very Republican.

Communities

Towns

* Ashland *

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

* Catskill * Coxsackie *

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

* Greenville * Halcott *

Hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

* Jewett * Lexington * New Baltimore * Prattsville * Windham

Villages

* Catskill (county seat) * Coxsackie *

* Tannersville

Census-designated places

* Cementon * East Durham * Greenville * Haines Falls * Jefferson Heights *

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

* New Baltimore * Palenville * Prattsville * Round Top * Sleepy Hollow Lake * South Cairo *

West Kill The West Kill, an tributary of Schoharie Creek, flows through the town of Lexington, New York, United States, from its source on Hunter Mountain, the second-highest peak of the Catskill Mountains. Ultimately its waters reach the Hudson River vi ...

* Windham

Hamlets

* Acra * Cornwallville *

Climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...

* Earlton *

Freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple *Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice p ...

* Hannacroix * Hensonville * Lanesville * Oak Hill * Surprise * Maplecrest

Notable people

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

, (1778–1854), born in Oak Hill,

United States Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Levi Hill Levi Hill (26 February 1816 − 9 February 1865) was an American minister in upstate New York who claimed in 1851 that he had invented a color photographic process. Borrowing terms previously introduced in France, Hill called his process " ...

, claimed early inventor of color photography * Jeff "The Drunk" Curro Howard Stern Wack Packer *

Blossom Dearie Margrethe Blossom Dearie (April 28, 1924 – February 7, 2009) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She had a recognizably light and girlish voice. Profile at AllMusicDearie performed regular engagements in London and New York City over ...

, (1924-2009), jazz singer * John B. Terry, (1796-1874), pioneer, merchant, soldier, and Wisconsin territorial legislature, born in Coxsackie *

Thurlow Weed Edward Thurlow Weed (November 15, 1797 – November 22, 1882) was a printer, New York newspaper publisher, and Whig and Republican politician. He was the principal political advisor to prominent New York politician William H. Seward and was ins ...

, (1797-1882), born in Acra, NY. Newspaper publisher, politician, and party boss *

Edwin L. Drake Edwin Laurentine Drake (March 29, 1819 – November 9, 1880), also known as Colonel Drake, was an American businessman and the first American to successfully drill for oil. Early life Edwin Drake was born in Greenville, New York on March 2 ...

, (1819-1880), invented method to drill oil from the ground, born in Greenville *

Scott Adams Scott Raymond Adams (born June 8, 1957) is an American author and cartoonist. He is the creator of the syndicated ''Dilbert'' comic strip, and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, and business. ''Dilbert'' gained nation ...

, born and raised in Windham, NY; an American cartoonist, creator of the ''

Dilbert ''Dilbert'' is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Scott Adams, first published on April 16, 1989. It is known for its satirical office humor about a white-collar, micromanaged office with engineer Dilbert as the title characte ...

'' comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, business, and general speculation.

References

External links

*
Greene County Government website

Greene County Tourism website

Greene County Historical Society

Greene County History & Genealogy Website
*

''Hudson Valley Directory''
listings pertaining to Greene County, New York {{authority control 1800 establishments in New York (state) Greene County, New York Populated places established in 1800