Kinderhook (''Kinderhoeck'' in Dutch) 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 the town of Kinderhook in Columbia County, New York, United States. The village population was 1,170 at the 2020 census, slightly down from 1,211 at the 2010 census. The village of Kinderhook is located in the south-central part of the town on US 9. The eighth

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...

, was born in Kinderhook and retired to the area ( Lindenwald).

History

The area was named 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 ...

in 1609 as ''Kinderhoeck'' ( Dutch for "children's corner") because he had seen Native American children frequently playing there. First settled by the Dutch around 1640, the area was surrendered to the English in 1664. In 1686, the area was granted the Great Kinderhook Patent and organized into one township. Much of the area's growth did not occur until the 19th century - in 1813, the village had only twenty dwellings. By 1843, the number had grown to 86, and just seven years later, there were about 200 buildings and 1,400 inhabitants. The size of the village has remained steady since then, and the Kinderhook Village District has been 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 ...

since 1974. In 1838, Kinderhook was chartered as a village.

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...

was born in the town of Kinderhook, and was known as "Old Kinderhook". The home where he was raised, his father's tavern, no longer exists; however, a historical marker is located near the site at 46 Hudson Street. The

Martin Van Buren National Historic Site Martin Van Buren National Historic Site is a unit of the United States National Park Service in Columbia County, New York, south of the village of Kinderhook, north of New York City and south of Albany. The National Historic Site preser ...

, Van Buren's retirement home is located south of the village and is open to the public. Van Buren's burial place is in the Kinderhook Reformed Church Cemetery along Albany Avenue in the northwest part of the village, about a half mile from his childhood home. U.S. Route 9 runs through Kinderhook and intersects with Columbia County route 21 at the center of the village. Northwest of the intersection, CR 21 is known as Albany Avenue, while southeast it is called Hudson Street.

Geography

Kinderhook is located at (42.393707, -73.705094). 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. Kinderhook Creek, a tributary 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 ...

, forms the southeastern boundary of the village.

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 1,275 people, 546 households, and 361 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 576 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.12%

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 ...

, 0.63%

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, 0.08% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.86% 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 1.41% of the population. There were 546 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% 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, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.91. In the village, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $57,500, and the median income for a family was $69,115. Males had a median income of $46,827 versus $29,545 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 $29,047. About 0.3% of families and 2.3% 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 2.5% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Kinderhook is part of the Ichabod Crane Central School District.

Notable people

George McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey and as Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 186 ...

, U.S. congressman *

Mordecai Myers Mordecai Myers (November 9, 1794 – February 21, 1865) was a 19th-century American politician and landowner in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Life and career Named for his paternal grandfather, Myers was born in 1794 in South Carolina to p ...

, member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

, 8th U.S. President

Sister city

Buren Buren () is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Betuwe region of the Netherlands. Buren has 27,168 inhabitants as of 1 January 2022. Geography Buren is located in Gelderland, a province of the Netherlands. It is pa ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

References

External links

Village of Kinderhook official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinderhook (Village), New York Villages in New York (state) Villages in Columbia County, New York Martin Van Buren Dutch-American culture in New York (state) 1640 establishments in the Dutch Empire