Columbia 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 ...

Herkimer County, New York Herkimer 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 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer (village), New York, Herkimer. The co ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 1,569. 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 (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 ...

, 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 Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

, which was itself created by a partition of the town of German Flatts. The population of Columbia in 1865 was 1,732.

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 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 ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

, 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 (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...

New York State Route 28 New York State Route 28 (NY 28) is a state highway extending for in the shape of a "C" between the Hudson Valley city of Kingston and southern Warren County in the U.S. state of New York. Along the way, it intersects several major ...

is a major north–south highway through Columbia.

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 1,630 people, 581 households, and 457 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 631 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.53%

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 ...

, 0.06%

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 ...

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

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 ...

, and 0.74% 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 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 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, 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 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 $15,591. 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 Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

at the western town line on County Road 18. *

Columbia Center The Columbia Center or Columbia Tower, formerly named the Bank of America Tower and Columbia Seafirst Center, is a skyscraper in downtown Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The 76-story structure is the tallest building in ...

– 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 often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

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