Castleton-on-Hudson 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 ...

located in the southwestern part of the

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 ...

Schodack Schodack is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 12,965 at the 2020 census.U.S. Census, 2020, 'Schodack town, Rensselaer County, New York' The town name is derived from the Mahican word, Escotak. The town is in ...

Rensselaer County, New York Rensselaer 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 161,130. Its county seat is Troy, New York, Troy. The county is named ...

, United States. The population was 1,473 at the 2010 census. The village is southeast of Albany. As of 2019, Castleton-On-Hudson was recognized as a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation. Its first Chairman of the Board was local resident Mike Martin.

History

Castleton gets its name from the exploration of the North (Hudson) River by

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the Northeastern United States. In 1607 and 16 ...

. While traveling up the river, he came upon a Mahican Indian village noted for a large structure located on a rise above the river. This structure was a storehouse for foodstuffs, but was of such size that it was thought to be a "castle". Another theory for the derivation of the name "Castleton" comes from Rutherford Hayner's ''Troy and Rensselaer County New York: A History'' (1925). Hayner states "Although the exact location of this landing of Hudson's has been more or less conjectural, the weight of opinion places it at or near the present site of the village of Castleton, for on Castle Hill, back of the village, stood the dwelling of the chief of the Mohicans." The area of Castleton was settled in 1792. When the small village was incorporated into

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 ...

on April 13, 1827, there were about 100 people living in the area, mostly along the banks of the river. Between 1890 and 1920, the village had a booming economy, with small industry, a hotel, and a small port to gain access to river traffic. However, a large flood destroyed much of the business district in 1936, and the industry took the opportunity to relocate. These days the town is a very residential suburb, with some light agriculture. The name of the village was changed from Castleton to Castleton-on-Hudson in 1927. The ''Gazetteer of the State of New York'' of 1860 reports that Castleton was formerly known as Morriches Hastie. (JH French, 1860) The District School No. 3 and

Joachim Staats House and Gerrit Staats Ruin The Joachim Staats House and Gerrit Staats Ruin is a national historic district in the Town of Schodack in Rensselaer County, New York. History The Joachim Staats House and Gerrit Staats Ruin is located on Papscanee Island, a former island th ...

are 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 ...

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 village has a total area of , all land. The village is on the east bank of 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 ...

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 1,619 people, 615 households, and 399 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 654 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.79%

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 ...

, 1.36%

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 ...

, 0.25% Asian, 0.93% from other races, and 0.68% 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 1.79% of the population. There were 615 households, out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% 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, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.06. In the village, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.0 males. The median income for a household in the village was $44,141, and the median income for a family was $51,957. Males had a median income of $36,019 versus $26,976 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 village was $18,660. About 2.5% of families and 8.7% 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 9.3% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* James L. Hogeboom: Christian Rieseberg-nonprofit leader * Jaime Schultz: baseball player * J. Victor Skiff: environmental conservationist and public servant.

References

External links