Athens is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Greene County,

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, with 1,586 people in the 2020 census. It is named after the classical city of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and is the eastern part of the town of Athens, across the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

from the city of Hudson.

History

The history of the village and historic sites worth preservation are detailed in a New York State study, "Village of Athens Multiple Resource Area"."Village of Athens Multiple Resource Area (Partial Inventory: Historic and Architectural Properties)", NY, 1980, url= 64000599 Historic sites in Athens listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in or near the village include: * Athens Lower Village Historic District, roughly bounded by Hudson River, NY 385, Vernon and Market Sts. ** Jan Van Loon House, built in 1706 * Brick Row Historic District, Off NY 385 * Hudson–Athens Lighthouse, S of Middle Ground Flats in Hudson River * Stranahan-DelVecchio House, N. Washington St. * Albertus Van Loon House, N. Washington St. * West Athens Hill Site, Address Restricted, Athens * Zion Lutheran Church, N. Washington St. The land was purchased from the native

Mohican The Mohicans ( or ) 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, whose indigenous territory was ...

people in 1665. The area was once called "Loonenburgh" (alternately, "Lunenburgh"). In the late 18th century, a planned community called "Esperanza" was envisioned by French émigrés north of the current village, but financial troubles doomed the project. The village of Athens began developing at the turn of the 19th century and was incorporated in 1805. In the late 1830s, Athens had a horse-powered ferry, or "team boat" built for crossing the Hudson. "This was a single hull vessel of the treadmill type requiring six horses for power. The treadmills, on either side, were each trod by three horses always facing in the same direction. To reverse the paddlewheels it was only necessary to stop the horses a minute, and withdraw a drop pin that would reverse the gearing." The 1935 completion of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge several miles to the south put an end to ferry service across the Hudson, until the summer of 2012 when weekend service resumed. It is anachronistically portrayed in the 2005 film, ''War of the Worlds'', when Martian tripods attack New York City refugees using it to flee across the river.

Geography

Athens is located along the eastern edge of Greene County, in the eastern part of the town of Athens, at (42.267151, −73.812487). The village is situated on the west bank of the Hudson River, and the village limits extend to the center of the river, which in this location is the eastern of two channels. The village contains the portion of Murderers Creek that joins the Hudson River to Sleepy Hollow Lake. Middle Ground Flats, an uninhabited island in the Hudson, is within the village limits. The village is bordered to the east across the Hudson River by Columbia County and the city of Hudson. New York State Route 385 passes through the village as Washington Street, running roughly parallel to the river. The state highway leads north (upriver) to Coxsackie and southwest (downriver) to Catskill. 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 village has a total area of , of which is land and , or 25.73%, is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,695 people, 687 households, and 450 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 793 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.46%

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 ...

, 1.06%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.24% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.12%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 0.94% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.00% of the population. There were 687 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.01. In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.1% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males. The median income for a household in the village was $36,927, and the median income for a family was $43,636. Males had a median income of $34,125 versus $22,400 for females. The per capita income for the village was $21,282. About 9.2% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.3% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable person

Philip A. Goodwin was a

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

man.

References

External links

Village of Athens official website
* {{authority control Villages in New York (state) Villages in Greene County, New York New York (state) populated places on the Hudson River 1805 establishments in New York (state)