Altona 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 ...

Clinton County Clinton County may refer to: *Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States: **Clinton County, New York ** Clinton County, Ohio *Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, ...

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 2,666 at the 2020 census. The town was named after the

Altona, Hamburg Altona (), also called Hamburg-Altona, is the westernmost Boroughs and quarters of Hamburg#Boroughs, urban borough (''Bezirk'') of the Germany, German States of Germany, city state of Hamburg. Located on the right bank of the Elbe river, Alton ...

, district of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(which was an independent Danish, later Prussian town at the time of foundation of Altona, NY). The town contains a

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 ...

also called Altona. The town is located in north-central Clinton County. The western part is inside the

Adirondack Park The Adirondack Park is a park in northeastern New York (state), New York protecting the Adirondack Mountains. The park was established in 1892 for "the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure", and for watershed protection. At , ...

boundary, but the entire town is specifically excluded from the park by statute. Altona is northwest of Plattsburgh.

History

The area was home to various cultures of

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

for thousands of years.

Archeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...

studies have found that by 1300 CE, the St. Lawrence Iroquoians, a distinct group who spoke the

Laurentian language Laurentian, or St. Lawrence Iroquoian, was an Iroquoian language spoken until the late 16th century along the shores of the Saint Lawrence River in present-day Quebec and Ontario, Canada. It is believed to have disappeared with the extinctio ...

, built

fortified A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lat ...

villages similar to those visited and described by explorer

Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier (; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French maritime explorer from Brittany. Jacques Cartier was the first Europeans, European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, wh ...

in the mid-16th century. They are believed to have been pushed out and defeated later in that century by the Mohawk, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. The first European-American settler arrived ''circa'' 1800, after the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, when New York attracted migrants from New England. In 1857, the town was formed from part of the Town of Chazy. The early economy was based on natural resources:

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, truckstanning.

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 0.35%, is water. Most of the town is drained by the Great Chazy River, while the southeastern section is drained by the Little Chazy River and Corbeau Creek. All of the water bodies flow eventually to

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

. New York State Route 190 (Military Turnpike) is a northwest–southeast highway in the town.

U.S. Route 11 U.S. Route 11 or U.S. Highway 11 (US 11) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway extending across the eastern U.S. The southern terminus of the route is at US 90 in Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refu ...

crosses the northwestern corner of Altona.

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 3,160 people, 888 households, and 653 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,007 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 82.50%

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 ...

, 11.96% Black or African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 4.75% from other races, and 0.32% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 8.10% of the population. There were 888 households, out of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% 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, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.12. The age distribution was 21.9% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 41.1% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 161.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 184.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $37,500, and the median income for a family was $41,442. Males had a median income of $31,217 versus $25,491 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 $15,312. About 8.6% of families and 12.6% 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 13.7% of those under age 18 and 25.7% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations

* Alder Bend – A hamlet in the western part of the town, within the Adirondack Park. * Altona – The

of Altona is in the northern part of the town. * Altona Correctional Facility – A New York medium security

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

, built around a former high school that was given over in 1983. It is located within Altona hamlet, north of the hamlet center. * Crowley Corners – A hamlet, on NY-190, southwest of Altona hamlet. * Dannemora Crossing – A hamlet at the western town line. * Forest – A hamlet in the northwestern part of the town, west of Irona. * Ganienkeh – A Mohawk settlement obtained in an agreement with New York State in the 1970s after the occupation of Moss Lake. * Irona – A hamlet near the northern town line, northwest of Altona hamlet. * Jericho – A hamlet near the southern border of the town. * Miner Lake – A lake near the geographic center of the town, southwest of Altona hamlet. * Miner Lake State Park – a park surrounding Miner Lake. * Purdys Mills – A hamlet in the southern part of the town. * Robinson – A hamlet in the southeastern part of the town.

References

External links

Town of Altona official websiteePodunk Altona NY
{{DEFAULTSORT:Altona (Town), New York Populated places established in the 1800s Towns in Clinton County, New York Towns in New York (state)