Rifton is 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 ...

(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 ...

) in

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 ...

, New York, United States. The population was 481 at the 2020 census. Rifton is home to the Woodcrest Bruderhof and is located near the western town line of the Town of Esopus on Route 213.

History

Rifton had its beginnings as a smattering of several hamlets and communities. Dashville hamlet was the first of the hamlets to be settled. By 1824, several mills had been built along the Wallkill by Ezekiel Eltinge. In 1861, Jeremiah W. Dimick bought the mill in Arnoldton and renamed the community Rifton Glen. Swartekill hamlet was so named because of its location on the Swartekill Creek where it meets the Wallkill; Dutch "swartekill" means "black river" in English. The hamlet was home to powder mills as early as 1865. Rifton was incorporated as a village on May 20, 1901, encompassing what had been the hamlets of Rifton Glen, Swartekill, and Dashville and the communities of Saltpeterville, and Perrine's Bridge. After the village's mills closed, the state legislature dissolved the village in 1919.

Geography

Rifton is located at (41.8375, -74.0378). 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 CDP has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 501 people, 207 households, and 133 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 235 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.61%

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 ...

, 1.40%

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 ...

, 0.60% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.40% from other races, and 2.40% 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 1.80% of the population. There were 207 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.01. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $44,375, and the median income for a family was $49,643. Males had a median income of $36,500 versus $35,938 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $22,015. None of the population or families were below the poverty line.

Education

The school district for the CDP is Kingston City School District.
Text list
The comprehensive high school of the Kingston City district is Kingston High School.

Notable person

Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth (; born Isabella Bomefree; November 26, 1883) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist and activist for African-American civil rights, women's rights, and Temperance movement, alcohol temperance. Truth was ...

was given the name Isabella Baumfree when she was born to

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

on the Hardenbergh farm in Rifton, in what was then Swartekill hamlet.

References

{{Authority control Census-designated places in New York (state) Wallkill River Census-designated places in Ulster County, New York Hamlets in New York (state) Former villages in New York (state) Hamlets in Ulster County, New York