Shandaken 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 ...
on the northern border of
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
...
,
New York, United States, northwest of
Kingston,
New York. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
of 2,866.
[2020 US Census, Shandaken, Ulster County, New York https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Shandaken%20town,%20Ulster%20County,%20New%20York]
History
The town was first settled around the time of the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
. Shandaken was established as a town in 1804 from part of the
Town of Woodstock.
In 1809, the town was increased by territory from the
Town of Neversink (in
Sullivan County). Later, some of Shandaken was used to help form the Towns of
Denning,
Hardenburgh, and
Olive. By the final years of the 19th Century, Shandaken had developed the tourist industry which is still the most important part of its economy.
An alternate translation of the native word "shandaken" is the "place of the hemlocks."
The
Mount Tremper Fire Observation Station
The Mount Tremper Fire Observation Station is a historic fire observation station located on Mount Tremper at Shandaken in Ulster County, New York. The station and contributing resources include a , steel frame lookout tower erected in 1917 and ...
was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 2001.
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 t ...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...
. The total area is 0.02% water.
The town is inside the
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 ...
, and is entirely mountainous. Within it lies
Slide Mountain, the
Catskill Mountains' highest peak at .
The northern town line is the border of
Greene County, and the western town boundary is the border of
Delaware County.
The
Esopus Creek
Esopus Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River that drains the east-central Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. From its source at Winnisook Lake on the slopes of Slide Mountain, the Catskills' highest peak, it flows across Uls ...
flows across the town.
Demographics
2020
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 in ...
of 2000, there were 3,235 people, 1,463 households, and 829 families residing in the town. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...
was 27.0 people per square mile (10.4/km
2). There were 2,666 housing units at an average density of 22.3 per square mile (8.6/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 94.65%
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 o ...
, 1.21%
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 ...
, 0.40%
Native American, 1.17%
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 ...
, 0.12%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 0.56% 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 1.89% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...
or
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 3.06% of the population.
There were 1,463 households, out of which 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.0% were
married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.3% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.82.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.2% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 32.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $31,566, and the median income for a family was $40,927. Males had a median income of $38,854 versus $23,063 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 $21,121. About 7.4% of families and 12.3% 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 13.9% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.
Services
The town paramedic ambulance service is also provided to residents of the towns of
Olive,
Lexington, and
Westkill. The town also has a police department located at 64 SR 42 in the hamlet of Shandaken; it was originally established as a
constabulary Constabulary may have several definitions:
*A civil, non-paramilitary (police) force consisting of police officers called constables. This is the usual definition in the United Kingdom, in which all county police forces once bore the title (and som ...
, and became a police department in the early 1990s. The police department consists of four full-time and nine part-time members, and is dispatched by through the
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
...
sheriff's office. The sheriff's office has a post located within the town offices located on Route 28, which is not staffed continuously. There are two emergency call boxes located in the town, one on the north-facing side of the town hall (SR 28) and the other on the south-facing side of the town police department (located on SR 42)
The Shandaken Justice Court is a part-time court, housed within the town offices on SR 28; it handles all traffic violations, misdemeanor criminal cases, and civil cases. Traffic court is held every Tuesday with few exceptions.
Communities and locations in Shandaken
*Allaben – a
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 ...
east of Shandaken village on
Route 28. It is the seat of town government.
*Beechford – a hamlet in the southeastern corner of the town.
*
Big Indian – a hamlet southwest of Shandaken village on Route 28 in the Big Indian Valley.
*Bushnellsville – a hamlet by the northern town line on
Route 42.
*
Chichester
Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...
– a hamlet in the eastern part of the town, north of Phoenicia on
Route 214. Its roots lay in the manufacture of furniture until the Depression destroyed the business. It was founded in 1863.
*Highmount – a location northwest of Pine Hill. It was originally called "Summit". It was also known as
"Grand Hotel Station".
*
Mt. Pleasant – a hamlet in the eastern part of the town on Route 28 south of Phoenicia. This community was previously called "Longyear" and "Riseley's".
*
Mt. Tremper – a hamlet near the eastern town line. It was previously called "Ladew Corners" and "The Corner". The
Camp Wapanachki was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1994.
*
Oliverea – a hamlet, founded in 1886, in the southern part of the town on Route 47. It is home to the
Winnisook Club, which is located at the base of Slide Mountain next to
Winnisook Lake
Winnisook Lake is an artificial lake located in Oliverea, New York, United States. It is the source of Esopus Creek and the highest lake in the Catskill Mountains at above sea level.
The lake is the private property of the Winnisook Club, wh ...
.
*
Panther Mountain – a roughly circular mountain ridge in the center of the town that is believed to be the result of a meteor impact.
*
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
– a hamlet in the eastern part of the town. It was the first community to be connected to the outside world by a railroad (the
Ulster and Delaware Railroad
The Ulster and Delaware Railroad (U&D) was a railroad located in the state of New York. It was often advertised as "The Only All-Rail Route to the Catskill Mountains." At its greatest extent, the U&D extended from Kingston Point on the Hudson R ...
) and the first to begin hotel construction for the tourist industry.
*
Pine Hill – a hamlet in the western part of the town.
*Shandaken – the hamlet of Shandaken is in the north central part of the town on Route 28.
*
Slide Mountain – Slide Mountain is the highest point in the
Catskill Mountains.
*Woodland Valley – a hamlet in the southeastern part of the town, south of Phoenicia. It is still home to the Roxmor Colony.
References
External links
Town of Shandaken, NY
{{authority control
Catskills
Towns in Ulster County, New York
Towns in the New York metropolitan area