Catskill 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 ...

in the southeastern section of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 11,298 at the 2020 census, the largest town in the county. The western part of the town is in the

Catskill Park The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. 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 ...

. The town contains 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 ...

, also called Catskill. The village of Catskill has a well-defined Main Street. There is a public boat launch on 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 ...

called Dutchman's Landing.

History

The first settler was Derrick Teunis van Vechten, who built a house here in 1680. The town was established on March 7, 1788, as part of Albany County. When Greene County was formed on March 25, 1800, Catskill became part of the new county. The town was increased by an addition from the town of

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

in 1800, but was later decreased upon the formation of the towns of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

(1803) and

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 ...

(1815). Catskill is the location of the story "Rip Van Winkle" by

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

. On July 23, 2003, an F2 tornado ripped across the town. The worst of the damage occurred at the Kiskatom flats. The tornado crossed over New York Route 32 and went past the Friar Tuck Inn, causing two mobile homes to flip over. Image:Cole Thomas View on the Catskill Early Autumn 1837.jpg,

Thomas Cole Thomas Cole (February 1, 1801 – February 11, 1848) was an English-born American artist and the founder of the Hudson River School art movement. Cole is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for hi ...

, ''View on the Catskill, Early Autumn'', 1837 File:Morning, Looking East over the Hudson Valley from Catskill Mountains.jpg,

Frederic Edwin Church Frederic Edwin Church (May 4, 1826 – April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painting, landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters, best known for paintin ...

, ''Morning, Looking East over the Hudson Valley from

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...

'', 1848 File:Catskill, N.Y. LOC 75694756.jpg, Perspective map of Catskill from 1889 by L. R. Burleigh with list of landmarks

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 64.2 square miles (166.2 km²), of which 60.5 square miles (156.8 km²) is land and 3.7 square miles (9.5 km², or 5.69%) is water. The eastern town line is defined by the

, forming the border with Columbia County. The southern town line is the 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. The count ...

. The Town is bordered by the town of Athens on the north, Cairo to the northwest,

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

to the west, and Saugerties to the south.

Communities and locations in the Town of Catskill

* Alsen – 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 ...

in the southeast part of the town on Route 9W. * Cairo Junction – A hamlet in the northwest part of the town. * Catskill – A village that is the primary settlement in the town, located in the northeast on both sides of Catskill Creek. * Cauterskill – A hamlet west of Catskill village. CatskillNYtown

* Hamburg – A hamlet north of Catskill village on the Hudson River. * High Falls – A hamlet by the south town line. * Jefferson Heights – A hamlet and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

northwest of Catskill village. * Kiskatom – A hamlet southwest of Catskill village. * Lawrenceville – A hamlet in the western part of the town. *

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

– A hamlet and census-designated place by the north town line. * Palenville – A hamlet and

in the southwest corner of the town. * Smith's Landing – A hamlet south of Alsen on Route 9W.

Transportation

The

New York State Thruway The New York State Thruway (officially the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway and colloquially "the Thruway") is a system of controlled-access toll roads spanning within the U.S. state of New York. It is operated by the New York State Thruway ...

( Interstate 87) and

U.S. Route 9W U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the states of New Jersey and New York. It begins in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as Fletcher Avenue crosses the US 1/9, US 46, and Interstate 95 (I- ...

pass north–south through the town.

New York State Route 23 New York State Route 23 (NY 23) is an east–west state highway in the eastern portion of New York (state), New York in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with New York State Route 26, NY 26 in the Central Ne ...

passes east–west through the town and heads east across the Hudson River to Columbia County.

Greene County Transit Greene County Transit is a bus system in Greene County, New York. The system offers fixed bus routes throughout the county, plus a route connecting to Hudson in Columbia County and countywide dial-a-ride service. The system is managed, owned, ...

serves the county, with its hub in the village of Catskill. Until 1958 the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

operated twice daily, in each direction, passenger trains between

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

and

Weehawken, New Jersey Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's po ...

on the NYC's

West Shore Railroad The West Shore Railroad was a U.S. railway company active in the states of New York and New Jersey between 1885 and 1952. It was incorporated in 1885 to reorganize the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway, which had originally been inten ...

. The rail line continues today as the CSX's River Subdivision, serving freight operations.

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 11,849 people, 4,780 households, and 3,035 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 5,700 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 89.84%

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 ...

, 6.03%

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 ...

, 0.32% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.86% from other races, and 2.32% 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 4.03% of the population. There were 4,780 households, out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. Of all households, 29.7% were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.94. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $33,531, and the median income for a family was $42,807. Males had a median income of $33,832 versus $25,058 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 $18,563. About 11.2% of families and 14.9% 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 21.4% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Charles W. Berry (1871–1941) was a physician, soldier, and

New York City Comptroller The Office of Comptroller of New York City, a position established in 1801, is the chief financial officer and chief auditor of the city agencies and their performance and spending. The comptroller also reviews all city contracts, handles the s ...

. *

Jedediah Berry Jedediah Berry (born 1977) is an American writer. He is the author of two novels, ''The Manual of Detection'' (2009) and ''The Naming Song '' (2024). Background and education Berry was born in Randolph, Vermont, and spent his childhood in Catski ...

, (b 1977) is an American writer. *

James Bogardus James Bogardus (March 14, 1800 – April 13, 1874) was an American inventor and architect, the pioneer of American cast-iron architecture, for which he took out a patent in 1850. Early life Bogardus was born in the town of Catskill (town), New Yo ...

, (1800–1874) was an inventor and architect, the pioneer of American cast-iron architecture *

Mickey Brantley Michael Charles Brantley Sr. (born June 17, 1961) is an American former professional baseball player. He was the hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB) from early to September . Early life Brantley grew up in C ...

, (b 1961) is a former professional baseball player and hitting coach. * Kyle Carrozza, (b 1979) is an American animator and voice actor * Robert Charels, (b 1958) is a blues singer. *

, (1826–1900) was a landscape painter. *

, (1801–1848) was an English-American landscape painter and founder of the

Hudson River School The Hudson River School was a mid-19th-century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. Early on, the paintings typically depicted the Hudson River Valley and the sur ...

of painting. *

Cus D'Amato Constantine "''Cus''" D'Amato (January 17, 1908 – November 4, 1985) was an American boxing manager, boxing Promoter (entertainment), promoter and boxing Boxing training, trainer who handled the careers of Mike Tyson, Floyd Patterson, and José ...

, (1908–1985) was an Italian-American boxing manager and trainer * Edward W. Dwight, (1827–1904) was a farmer and politician. * John Hill, (1821–1884) was a clerk, bookkeeper, merchant and Republican Party politician *

Tom Judson Tom Judson (born November 14, 1960) is an American musical theatre actor and composer, particularly for off-Broadway plays (including Vampire Lesbians of Sodom and White Cotton Sheets), and a retired pornographic film actor. His credits include ...

, (b 1960) is a musical theatre actor and composer, particularly for off-Broadway plays, and a retired pornographic film actor. * Sheba Karim, author who writes

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

and

young adult fiction Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

. *

George W. Lay George Washington Lay (July 26, 1798 – October 21, 1860) was an American politician and diplomat who served as a U.S. Representative from New York and Charge D'Affaires to Sweden. Born in Catskill, New York, Lay pursued classical studies an ...

(1798–1860), U.S. congressman *

Sybil Ludington Sybil (or Sibbell) Ludington (April 5, 1761 – February 26, 1839) was an American woman who allegedly made a ride during the American Revolutionary War, though modern accounts dispute this. On April 26, 1777, at age 16, Ludington, the daughter ...

, (1761–1839) Revolutionary War hero * Hugh Malone, (1944–2001) was an American surveyor and politician. Alaska state legislator, born in Catskill. * Charles Palmetier, (1834 - ?) was a businessman and politician. * Jaap Penraat, (1918–2006) was a Dutch resistance fighter during the Second World War. * Robert Seaman, (1822–1904) was an American industrialist *

Zachary Cole Smith Zachary Cole Smith (born November 7, 1984) is an American musician best known for being the founder, frontman, and principal songwriter of the indie rock band DIIV. Previously, he played in the bands Soft Black and Beach Fossils. Initially called ...

, (b 1984) is a musician, model and music video director and frontman of indie rock band

DIIV DIIV (pronounced and formerly known as Dive) is an American Rock music, rock band from Brooklyn, New York City, formed in 2011. The band consists of Zachary Cole Smith (vocals, guitar), Andrew Bailey (guitar), Colin Caulfield (bass, keyboards, gu ...

* Bill Stafford, (1938–2001) was a professional baseball player known for his time with

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

* Jeremy Transue, (b 1983) Alpine skier *

John Thorn John Abraham Thorn (born April 17, 1947) is a German-born American sports historian, author, and publisher. Since 2011, he has served as the Official Baseball Historian for Major League Baseball. Early life Thorn was born in Stuttgart, Germany ...

(b. 1947), the official historian of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

, (b 1966) is a former world professional boxing champion Nicknamed "Iron Mike" *

Abraham Van Vechten Abraham Van Vechten (December 5, 1762 – January 6, 1837) was an American lawyer and a United States Federalist Party, Federalist politician who served twice as New York State Attorney General. Early life Abraham Van Vechten was born on Decemb ...

, (1762–1837) was a

New York State Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has existed in various forms since 1626, originally established under the Dutch c ...

References

External links

Town of Catskill official website

Cedar Grove – Thomas Cole Historic site
* {{Authority control 1788 establishments in New York (state) Catskills New York (state) populated places on the Hudson River Populated places established in 1788 Towns in Greene County, New York Towns in New York (state)