At the arrival of European colonists the area was inhabited by theindigenousMohican Indians. To the west of the river were the Mohawk and other four tribes of theIroquois Confederacy, extending past what is now the border of New York state. The first known European exploration of Columbia County was in 1609, whenHenry Hudson, an English explorer sailing for the Dutch, ventured up theHudson River. An accident to his craft forced him to stop at what is now known as Columbia County and there search for food and supplies.[4] In 1612, the Dutch established trading posts and minor settlements, building New Amsterdam (nowNew York City) and Fort Orange (nowAlbany). Fort Orange became a center of thefur trade with theMohawk people. Traders stopped at points along the Hudson River on their travels between New Amsterdam and Fort Orange; small settlements arose along the river to supply the traders' ships.[4]
Dutch colonists bought land [from whom?] nearClaverack in 1649 and 1667.[5] As more Dutch arrived, the region slowly developed. In 1664, the English took over New Netherland and renamed it the "Province of New York"; they also renamed Fort Orange "Albany".[5]
In the late 17th century,Robert Livingston, a Scots immigrant by way of Rotterdam, built on his connections asIndian agent in the colony and purchased two large tracts from the Native Americans. He gained much larger grants from the provincial government, for a total of 160,240 acres. He was madelord ofLivingston Manor by theCrown, with all its perquisites, and developed the property withtenant farmers. In 1710, he sold 6,000 acres of his property toQueen Anne of Great Britain for use as work camps and for the resettlement ofPalatine German refugees. The Crown had supported their passage to New York, and they were to pay off the cost byindentured labor.[6] Some 1,200Palatine Germans were brought to Livingston Manor (nowGermantown). New York's Governor Hunter had also helped with these arrangements: the workers were to makenaval stores (e.g., pitch, resin, and turpentine) from the pine trees in theCatskill Mountains.
They were promised land for resettlement after completing their terms of indenture.[5] They were refugees from years of religious fighting along the border with France, as well as crop failures from a severe winter.[6] Work camps were established on both sides of the Hudson River. The Germans quickly established Protestant churches at the heart of their community, which recorded their weddings, births and deaths, among the first vital records kept in the colony.[6]
After many years, some of the colonists were granted land in the frontier of the central Mohawk Valley west of present-dayLittle Falls in the 100 lots of the Burnetsfield Patent; in the Schoharie Valley, and other areas, such asPalatine Bridge along the Mohawk River west of Schenectady. They were buffer communities between the British settlements and the Iroquois and French (the latter located mostly in Canada.)
Columbia County was formed in 1786 after theAmerican Revolutionary War from portions ofAlbany County,[nb 1] once a vast area until new communities were developed and jurisdictions were organized. In 1799, the southern boundary of Columbia County was moved southward to include that portion of Livingston Manor located inDutchess County.
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Voters in Columbia County since the mid-19th century have mostly electedRepublicans to office. But from 1996 to 2007, new voter registrations byDemocrats have outpaced those by Republicans by a margin of 4 to 1.[9] Democrats have been able to win the county in every presidential election since 1996, withJoe Biden's 57% of the vote in 2020 being the highest for a Democrat in the county since 1964.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 648 square miles (1,680 km2), of which 635 square miles (1,640 km2) is land and 14 square miles (36 km2) (2.1%) is water.[11]
Columbia County is in the southeast south-to-central part of New York State, southeast ofAlbany and immediately west of theMassachusetts border. The western border is theHudson River.
The highest point is on theMassachusetts state line, near the summit of Alander Mountain, at approximately 2,110 feet (640 m) above sea level, in the town of Copake. The lowest point is at or near sea level, along the Hudson.
Columbia County is accessible by two limited-access highways. TheTaconic State Parkway, which is not accessible to trucks or commercial traffic, runs through the center of the county from south to north, ending at an interchange withInterstate 90 and connecting the county with points south. Columbia County is the last New York county located along eastboundInterstate 90 (and the first county along westbound I-90), which passes through the towns of Canaan and Chatham as the Berkshire Connector portion of theNew York Thruway. I-90 has two exits within the county; for the southboundTaconic State Parkway in Chatham, and forNYS Route 22 in Canaan. Depending on precise location within the county, road travel distance to New York City ranges between 96 and 145 miles (154 and 233 km).
Several other major routes cross Columbia County including north–southU.S. Route 9, east–westNYS Route 23, north–southNYS Route 22 and a short portion of east–westU.S. Route 20 in the county's northeastern corner.
The Hudson River forms the western border of the county. Other notable creeks include; the Ancram Creek,Claverack Creek, Copake Creek,Kinderhook Creek,Roeliff-Jansen Kill, and Valatie Kill. The Rossman Falls and Stuyvesant Falls lie on the Kinderhook Creek. Notable lakes and ponds includeCopake Lake, Kinderhook Reservoir,Queechy Lake, andLake Taghkanic.
Columbia County is home to many local farms supplying the area with fresh meat, eggs, herbs, and produce, including Holmquest, Ronnybrook, Fix Brothers Fruit Farm, Eger Brothers, Hover Farms, Marsh Meadow Farm, Schober Farm, Millerhurst, Ooms Farm, Churchtown Dairy, Pigasso, Common Hands Farm, Darlin' Doe, Blue Star Farm, Green Mead Farm, Little Ghent Farm, and Ironwood Farm.[12] Other farms include the large, well-known Hawthorne Valley Farm which includes a farm store and training programs, the biodynamic Roxbury Farm, and FarmOn! at Empire Farm, also a teaching farm.
As of thecensus[18] of 2000, there were 63,094 people, 24,796 households, and 16,588 families residing in the county. The population density was 99 inhabitants per square mile (38/km2). There were 30,207 housing units at an average density of 48 units per square mile (19/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 92.09%White, 4.52%Black orAfrican American, 0.21%Native American, 0.80%Asian, 0.03%Pacific Islander, 0.90% fromother races, and 1.45% from two or more races. 2.53% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race. 17.2% were ofGerman, 14.7%Italian, 14.5%Irish, 9.0%English, 6.3%Polish and 6.1%American ancestry according toCensus 2000. 94.0% spokeEnglish and 2.1%Spanish as their first language.
There were 24,796 households, out of which 29.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.20% weremarried couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.10% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.10% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 26.30% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 99.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $41,915, and the median income for a family was $49,357. Males had a median income of $34,702 versus $25,878 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $22,265. About 6.40% of families and 9.00% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 11.80% of those under age 18 and 6.80% of those age 65 or over.
As of the 2010 census, the racial makeup of the county was 90.6% White, 4.5% African American, 0.2% Native American and 1.6% Asian. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.9% of the population.[19]
Interstate 90 runs east–west through the county. TheTaconic State Parkway runs from I-90 south towards Westchester County. The main arterial north–south road,U.S. 9, runs through the larger towns towards the Hudson River.
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