Monticello ( ) 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 Thompson, Sullivan County, within the

Catskills 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 ...

region of New York, United States. It is the seat for the town of Thompson, and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Sullivan County. The population was 7,173 at the 2020 census. The village was named after the residence of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

. The village is located in the central part of Thompson, adjacent to New York Route 17 and 17B. Monticello is the largest village in the county in both population and area. It is roughly located at the half-way point between

Binghamton, New York Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the c ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

along NY 17.

History

In 1801, Samuel F. Jones was given the task of finding a route for the Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike to connect The

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

and

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

s. While he marked the path through what was then Orange and Ulster counties he saw an opportunity to build a village on the turnpike. Samuel convinced his younger brother, John Patterson Jones, to buy a 1861-acre tract of land that would be bisected by the turnpike so they could build this new village. In 1803, John and 11 other men started work on a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

, and other infrastructure to help them build the village. The group left the area during the winter but would return in the early months of 1804 to continue their work. In spring of the same year the route for the turnpike was finalized and the two brothers started to plan the village. After the plan was completed, the first tree was chopped down by John September 4, 1804, on the property that would later become his house. The village grew from there, having 20 houses by 1813 and being officially incorporated on April 20, 1830.

1909 fire

On the evening of August 10, 1909, a major fire started in the Broadway district of Monticello. The fire started in a local power station and quickly spread from building to building, engulfing the whole of Broadway street in flames. Local fire departments were scrambled to stop the fire, quickly containing the fire and stopping its spread to residential areas. By the time the dust had settled, 40 buildings had been reduced to ash, causing roughly 1 million dollars in damages. Luckily, no one was killed in the fire and the village soon rebuilt.

Geography

Monticello is located at (41.653, -74.690). 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 of Monticello is located in the southern portion of the

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 ...

region of Lower New York. By driving distance, Monticello is approximately NE of

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

, southeast of Binghamton, southeast of Elmira, northwest of

, northwest of Lakewood, New Jersey, and southwest of Albany.

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 6,512 people, 2,554 households, and 1,460 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 3,758 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 55.57%

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 ...

, 29.32%

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 ...

, 0.31% Native American, 2.13% Asian, 0.05%

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 ...

, 8.14% from other races, and 4.48% 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 23.16% of the population. There were 2,554 households, out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.9% 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, 21.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.8% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.14. In the village, the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males. The median income for a household in the village was $22,671, and the median income for a family was $29,554. Males had a median income of $32,623 versus $22,827 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 $14,433. About 30.8% of families and 35.6% 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 49.7% of those under age 18 and 23.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Monticello Central School District operates five schools. *Project Excel: preschool *George L. Cooke Elementary School: Grades K–2 *Kenneth L. Rutherford Elementary School: Grades 3–5 *Emma C. Chase Elementary School: Grades K–5 *Robert J. Kaiser Middle School: Grades 6–8 * Monticello High School: Grades 9–12

Media

Monticello is home to the radio station WSUL 98.3 FM that features Adult Contemporary music and is Sullivan County's most popular station. Other stations in the area include WVOS 1240 AM and WVOS-FM 95.9 FM, licensed to the Village of Liberty. Thunder 102.1 Thunder Country has moved from Liberty to Monticello.

Transportation

Monticello is located adjacent to

New York State Route 17 New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate New York, Downstate regions of New York (state), New York in the United States. It begins at the New York–Pennsylvani ...

(known regionally as the Quickway and eventually upgraded to be Interstate 86). It is also at the eastern terminus of New York State Route 17B.

New York State Route 42 New York State Route 42 (NY 42) is a north–south, discontinuous state highway in the Catskill Mountains region of New York (state), New York in the United States. The southernmost of the highway's two segments begins at an interse ...

also serves the area, running North and South. The local bus station is served by Coach USA Short Line, and the station acts as a hub for the region. There is also local service provided by Sullivan County Transportation that runs once a week on two routes. The New York, Ontario & Western Railway had a branch to Monticello. Patronage was heavy until after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when competition from the automobile led its abandonment on March 30, 1957.

Tourism

Monticello is known for its Monticello Raceway, which attracted people from all over the northeast in its heyday. Now the Raceway has turned into a

racino A racino is a combined horse racing track, or other live parimutuel betting facility, and casino. In some cases, the permitted form of casino gambling is limited to slot machines or video lottery terminals, but many locations also offer table ...

, hosting electronic slot machines as well as horse racing. The casino portion of Monticello Casino and raceway was closed in 2019, and now serves as a raceway only. Just away from the Raceway is Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, site of the 1969

Woodstock Festival 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 ...

. An

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

circuit, Monticello Motor Club, is also located nearby.

Resorts World Catskills Resorts World Catskills is a hotel and casino located in Monticello, New York, Monticello, New York (state), New York. History It opened on February 8, 2018, and is owned and operated by Empire Resorts. It was built on the former site of the C ...

, Vegas-style casino, luxury hotel and spa opened within the towns location near the old Concord Resort property in February 2018. The community— the center of what was colloquially known as the "

Borscht Belt The Borscht Belt, or Yiddish Alps, is a region which was noted for its summer resorts that catered to Jewish vacationers, especially residents of New York City. The resorts, now mostly defunct, were located in the southern foothills of the Catski ...

"— was once well known internationally for its massive Jewish resorts including the Concord and Grossinger's resorts, among many others. Only a handful survived into the 21st century. Kutsher's Hotel was one of the last to close. The remnants were auctioned off on February 6, 2014. Today, only the Raleigh Hotel remains open.

Notable people

* Stephanie Blythe, opera singer * Lawrence H. Cooke, former Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals who has a monument dedicated to him on the Sullivan County courthouse front lawn (now named the Lawrence H. Cooke Sullivan County Court House) dedication speech given by Professor Vincent Bonventre (Albany Law School) * Stanley Finch, the first director of the

Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. An agency of the United States Department of Justice, the FBI is a member of ...

, which is now the FBI. *

Robert S. Kapito Robert Steven Kapito (born February 8, 1957) is an American businessman and investor. He is a co-founder (with Larry Fink and Susan Wagner) and president of the New York City-based investment management firm BlackRock. Early life and education ...

, co-founder and president of Blackrock *

Judith Kaye Judith Ann Kaye ( Smith; August 4, 1938 – January 7, 2016) was an American lawyer, jurist and the longtime Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, serving in that position from 1993 to 2008. She was the first woman to serve as chief j ...

, former Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals * Ivan C. Lafayette (1930–2016), politician * Catello Manzi,

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

driver * Elisabeth Worth Muller, suffragist, clubwoman * Daniel Bennett St. John, Original Owner of the New York Times.

Houses of worship

* Chevro Ahavath Zion Synagogue
Iglesia de Dios - Amor & Fe (Church of God Love & Faith) - Bilingual (Spanish & English)
* Monticello United Methodist Church https://www.umcmonticello.com/

References

External links

Village of Monticello website

on city-data.com {{authority control Villages in New York (state) County seats in New York (state) Villages in Sullivan County, New York 1801 establishments in New York (state)