Pittstown 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 ...

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 5,540 at the 2020 census. It is in the northern part of the county. A small part of the northern town line is Rensselaer County's border with Washington County. Moving west, the

Hoosic River The Hoosic River, also known as the Hoosac, the Hoosick (primarily in New York) and the Hoosuck (mostly archaic), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed October 3, 2011 tr ...

defines the town's northwestern line to the crux of its border with the town of Schaghticoke, which juts south to form the western town line. The towns of Brunswick and Grafton border to the southwest and southeast, respectively, with the town of Hoosick to the east. The majority of the town is served by the Hoosic Valley Central School District, while the southern part of the town is serviced by

Brunswick (Brittonkill) Central School District Brunswick (Brittonkill) Central School District (BCSD) is a Rural–urban fringe, rural fringe Administrative divisions of New York#Central school district, central school district located east of the city of Troy, New York, Troy whose main c ...

, with a portion of the eastern part of the town served by the Hoosick Falls Central School District.

History

The town is one of the original towns in the county and was created in 1788, from a patent dated 1761. The Coletti–Rowland–Agan Farmstead,

Howard–Odmin–Sherman Farmstead Howard–Odmin–Sherman Farmstead, also known as the Hidden Pond Farm, is a historic home and farm located at Pittstown, Rensselaer County, New York. The farmhouse was built about 1860, and consists of a two-story, three-bay, frame dwelling with ...

, and Tomhannock Methodist Episcopal Church 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

New York State Route 67 New York State Route 67 (NY 67) is an east–west state highway in eastern New York in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 5 in the town of St. Johnsville. Its eastern terminus is ...

runs along the

, which defines the northeast town line. In western Pittstown, a manmade body of water, the Tomhannock Reservoir, provides water to the residents of the city of

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

. The Pittstown State Forest is in the southeast corner of the town, where

New York State Route 7 New York State Route 7 (NY 7) is a state highway in New York (state), New York in the United States. The highway runs from the New York–Pennsylvania border, Pennsylvania state line south of Binghamton (city), New York, Binghamton ...

runs along the northern edge of the Rensselaer Plateau. 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, of it is land (95.2%) and of it is water (4.8%).

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 5,644 people, 1,993 households, and 1,548 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 2,142 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.84%

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 ...

, 0.48%

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 ...

, 0.44% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 0.78% 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 0.66% of the population. There were 1,993 households, out of which 39.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.4% 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, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.3% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.20. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.8% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $49,968, and the median income for a family was $52,194. Males had a median income of $35,173 versus $28,720 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 $18,578. About 4.3% of families and 6.0% 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 7.7% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Pittstown

*Boyntonville – 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 ...

near the eastern town line on Route 7. *East Pittstown – A hamlet near the town line, in the northeastern part of the town. *Factory Hollow – A hamlet. * Johnsonville – A hamlet in the northern part of the town by the Hoosick River. In 1825, a bridge was built here across the Hoosic River. *Little Red Schoolhouse – A hamlet southeast of Valley Falls. *Millertown – A hamlet in the northern part of the town, east of Valley Falls. It was also known as "North Pittstown." *Raymertown – A hamlet southwest of the Tomhannock Reservoir and in the southwestern part of the town, on Route 7. The community was named after the local Raymer family. *Tomhannock – A hamlet northeast of Tomhannock Reservoir. It was once known as "Reeds Hollow." * Tomhannock Reservoir – A

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

in the southwestern part of the town. * Valley Falls – The Village of Valley Falls is in the northwestern part of the town. *Redemption Christian Academy - Private christian school

References

External links