Queensbury | |
|---|---|
 Warren County Municipal Center | |
| Motto: Home of Natural Beauty ... A Good Place to Live | |
 Location of Queensbury within Warren County | |
  Queensbury Location of Queensbury in New York | |
| Coordinates (Seat of town government):43°21′34″N73°39′25″W / 43.35944°N 73.65694°W /43.35944; -73.65694 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Warren |
| Established | 1786 |
| Named after | Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz |
| Seat | Queensbury Town Center |
| Government | |
| • Supervisor | John Strough (Democrat) |
| Area | |
• Total | 64.84 sq mi (167.93 km2) |
| • Land | 62.83 sq mi (162.73 km2) |
| • Water | 2.01 sq mi (5.20 km2) 2.78% |
| Elevation | 502 ft (153 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 29,169 |
| • Density | 464.25/sq mi (179.25/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 12804 |
| Area code | 518 |
| Official butterfly[6] | Karner Blue |
| Website | https://www.queensbury.net |
Queensbury is atown inWarren County, New York, United States.[8] The population was 29,169 at the 2020 census.[5][4]
It contains thecounty seat of Warren County, located at a municipal center complex onU.S. Route 9 south of the village ofLake George.[9] It was moved to the complex in 1963 from the original county seat of Lake George.[10] The town is located in the southeastern corner of the county and is part of theGlens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area.[11] It is named in honor ofQueen Charlotte.[12] Although primarily located north of thecity ofGlens Falls, Queensbury surrounds the city on three sides.[13]
Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor, aSix Flags theme park, is located in northwest Queensbury.West Mountain, a downhill skiing area, is located in the southwestern part of town.[13]
The roots of Queensbury trace back to the Queensbury Patent in 1762, a colonial land grant authorized by the British Crown. It was designed to encourage settlement in the area near the southern Adirondack foothills, close to Lake George and the Hudson River. This patent, named in honor of Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III, successfully attractedQuaker settlers the following year in 1763. Quaker families began to move into the area, clearing land and establishing farms and homesteads. In 1777, their peaceful existence was disrupted by theRevolutionary War. The Quakers, known for their pacifist beliefs, abandoned Queensbury during the war due to hostilities and the proximity to military campaigns. The region was largely uninhabited during this period. Following the end of the war, the Quakers returned to Queensbury in 1783 and resumed their settlement efforts.[14]
In 1786, the settlement was re-established as the town of Queensbury. In 1788, the town included all of what is today Warren County. It lost territory in 1792 when the town of Fairfield (Lake Luzerne) was formed and again in 1810 to form part of the town of Caldwell (Lake George). In 1908, the then largestvillage within Queensbury, Glens Falls, incorporated as a city and became a separate municipality.[14][15] The population of Queensbury has exceeded that of Glens Falls since the1980 Census.[16]
In 2003, with permission from Queensbury,[17] Glens Falls annexed approximately 49 acres (0.20 km2) of the town. The land, known as Veterans Field[18] or the Northway Industrial Park, is on Veterans Road between Luzerne Road and Sherman Avenue[17] and is just east of I-87.[19] The land was vacant at the time.[17] A thin, 0.5 miles (0.80 km) strip of Sherman Avenue[20] was part of this annexation,[18] in order to comply with state law regarding contiguity of annexed land. Both the city and town now share ownership of this stretch of highway as a result.[20]
TheSanford House andAsa Stower House are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[21]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 64.81 square miles (167.9 km2), of which 63.01 square miles (163.2 km2) is land and 1.80 square miles (4.7 km2) (2.78%) is water.[22] The town is located within the southeastern part of theAdirondack Mountains. The western town line is the border with the town ofLake Luzerne. The southern town boundary is defined by the border with the city of Glens Falls and theHudson River, across which liesSaratoga County. The eastern town line is the border ofWashington County, also New York State. The northern border is defined by the town ofLake George[23] and, according to the town and Warren County, by the shoreline of the body of water,Lake George, itself.[24][25] However, several maps, including those published by theUSGS, depict the northern boundary as including part of the lake, including Speaker Heck Island and Happy Family Islands.[26]
Parts of western and northern Queensbury are within theAdirondack Park.[23]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 2,433 | — | |
| 1830 | 3,080 | 26.6% | |
| 1840 | 3,789 | 23.0% | |
| 1850 | 2,597 | −31.5% | |
| 1860 | 7,146 | 175.2% | |
| 1870 | 8,387 | 17.4% | |
| 1880 | 9,805 | 16.9% | |
| 1890 | 2,340 | −76.1% | |
| 1900 | 2,377 | 1.6% | |
| 1910 | 2,667 | 12.2% | |
| 1920 | 2,584 | −3.1% | |
| 1930 | 3,169 | 22.6% | |
| 1940 | 4,199 | 32.5% | |
| 1950 | 5,907 | 40.7% | |
| 1960 | 10,004 | 69.4% | |
| 1970 | 14,506 | 45.0% | |
| 1980 | 18,978 | 30.8% | |
| 1990 | 22,630 | 19.2% | |
| 2000 | 25,441 | 12.4% | |
| 2010 | 27,901 | 9.7% | |
| 2020 | 29,169 | 4.5% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[27][28] | |||
As of thecensus of 2020, there were 29,169 people, 12,907 households, and 8,308 families residing in the town. The population density was 464.5 inhabitants per square mile (179.3/km2). There were 11,223 housing units at an average density of 178.1 per square mile (68.8/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 93.4%White, 0.9%African American, 0.20%Native American, 0.5%Asian, 0.02%Pacific Islander, 0.22% fromother races, and 4.1% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 3.3% of the population.[5]
There were 12,907 households, out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.1% weremarried couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.97.[5]
In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.[5]
The median income for a household in the town was $47,225, and the median income for a family was $54,880. Males had a median income of $39,260 versus $25,036 for females. Theper capita income for the town was $24,096. About 3.8% of families and 5.0% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 7.4% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.[5]
Queensbury is a town of the first class, and as such has a town board with atown supervisor and fourcouncilmen.[1] Town residents petitioned to establish award system in 1981[29] and again in 1985[30] whereby the town would be divided into four wards. In a ward system, whereas the supervisor is elected by the entire town electorate, each councilman is elected by only the electorate of the ward he or she will be representing.[1] Having been approved by the voters by referendum in 1985, the first town board to be elected under the ward system convened in 1986.[31] Queensbury is one of only ten of New York's 932 towns that had a ward system as of 2000.[32] The town has an ethics board, planning board, and zoning board of appeals.[33]
As of 2025, the town government officials are:
In county government, Queensbury is entitled to five of the 20 seats on the Warren CountyBoard of Supervisors. (Glens Falls also has five seats, whereas the remaining ten towns in the county have one seat each.) Four of Queensbury's seats are filled by town-wide election, whereas the fifth is reserved for the town supervisor.[34]
Emergency services can be accessed by dialing911, which routes calls to Warren County's 911 Communications Center.[35]
Law enforcement and other police services are provided by the Warren County Sheriff's Office[35] and are supplemented by theNew York State Police, which maintains a barracks in the town.[36] Queensbury has not had its own police force since disbanding it in 1982.[37]
The town is divided into fivefire protection districts: Bay Ridge, North Queensbury, Queensbury Central, South Queensbury, and West Glens Falls. Each district contains at least one fire station, with Queensbury Central and West Glens Falls each having two stations.[38]
Threeemergency medical services (EMS) districts provide out-of-hospital acute care and ambulance services: Bay Ridge EMS, North Queensbury EMS, and West Glens Falls EMS.[39]
AState Emergency Management Office regional office is located on Fox Farm Road.[40]
Queensbury was the home of theLake George Opera Festival from 1965 to 1998. During this period, the festival was held in the 875-seatQueensbury High School auditorium, producing three to seven operas per year.[41]
The town of Queensbury falls within four publicschool districts:[42]
Municipalities and communities ofWarren County, New York,United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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