Columbia 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 o ...

Herkimer County, New York Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named ...

, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 1,580. The town is at the southern border of the county and is southeast of Utica.

History

The area was called "Coonradstown" during the early settlement period. The original settlers, mainly of German extraction, abandoned their holdings during 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 ...

, and the next settlement period took place ''circa'' 1791. The first school, opened in 1795, was taught in the German language. The town was organized in 1812 from part of the town of Warren, which was itself created by a partition of the town of

German Flatts German Flatts is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 13,258 at the 2010 census. The town is in the southern part of Herkimer County, on the south side of the Mohawk River, across from the village of Herkimer. ...

. The population of Columbia in 1865 was 1,732.

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 th ...

, the town has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.06%, are water. The southern town line is the border of Otsego County. The

Unadilla River The Unadilla River is a river in the Central New York Region of New York State. The river begins northeast of the hamlet of Millers Mills and flows generally south to the village of Sidney, where it converges with the Susquehanna River, which d ...

, a tributary of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

, rises in the center of the town and flows westward. The northern part of the town drains northward towards the

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk ...

. New York State Route 28 is a major north–south highway through Columbia.

Demographics

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 inc ...

of 2000, there were 1,630 people, 581 households, and 457 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 RosenberPopu ...

was 46.6 people per square mile (18.0/km²). There were 631 housing units at an average density of 18.0 per square mile (7.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.53%

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 ...

, 0.06%

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 ...

, 0.49% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.06%

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 ...

, and 0.74% 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 for ...

or Latino of any race were 0.37% of the population. There were 581 households, out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.7% 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 ...

living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.3% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.12. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.1% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $36,758, and the median income for a family was $43,864. Males had a median income of $30,605 versus $22,031 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 $15,591. About 10.9% of families and 14.5% 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 23.1% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Columbia

* Cedarville – 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 ...

at the western town line on County Road 18. * Columbia Center – A hamlet near the middle of the town at the junction of County Roads 18 and 101. * Dennison Corners – A hamlet on NY-28 at the northern town line. * Elizabethtown – A hamlet in the northern part of the town, south of North Columbia at the junction of County Roads 43 and 123. * Getman Corners – A hamlet on NY-28, south of Dennison Corners. *Jones Hill – An elevation located east of Cedarville. * Kingdom – A hamlet at the eastern town line, southeast of Getman Corners. * Millers Mills – A location north of Millers Mills Crossing, located west of Unadilla Lake. * Millers Mills Crossing – A hamlet in the southwestern corner of the town. *Monkey Mountain – An elevation located southwest of Columbia Center. * North Columbia – A hamlet in the northwestern part of the town. * Orendorf Corners – A location north of South Columbia on NY-28 at County Road 18. *Richfield Hill – An elevation located south of Millers Mills. Partially in the Town of Richfield. * Schuyler Corners – A location north of South Columbia, located on NY-28. * South Columbia – A hamlet in the southeastern part of the town on NY-28. * Spinnerville – A hamlet east of North Columbia and west of Dennison Corners, located near the northern town line. *Spoon Hill – An elevation located north-northwest of Columbia Center. * Unadilla Lake – A small

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

formed by the widening of the Unadilla River in the southwestern part of the town. * Youngs Crossing – A hamlet near the southern town line, west of McCoon Crossing.

References

External links