Колумбия округы, Нью-Йорк штаты

County in New York, United States
the town of Columbia

Columbia County is a county in the U. S. state of New York. At the 2020 census, the population was 61,570. The county seat is Hudson. The name comes from the Latin feminine form of the surname of Christopher Columbus, which was at the time of the formation of the county a popular proposal for the name of the United States. The county is part of the Capital District region of the state.

At the arrival of European colonists the area was inhabited by the indigenous Mohican Indians. To the west of the river were the Mohawk and other four tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy, extending past what is now the border of New York state. The first known European exploration of Columbia County was in 1609, when Henry Hudson, an English explorer sailing for the Dutch, ventured up the Hudson 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. In 1612, the Dutch established trading posts and minor settlements, building New Amsterdam (now New York City) and Fort Orange (now Albany). Fort Orange became a center of the fur trade with the Mohawk 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. 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". Some 1,200 Palatine Germans were brought to Livingston Manor (now Germantown). New York's Governor Hunter had also helped with these arrangements: the workers were to make naval stores (e. g., pitch, resin, and turpentine) from the pine trees in the Catskill Mountains. They were promised land for resettlement after completing their terms of indenture.

According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 648 square miles (1,678 km2), of which 635 square miles (1,645 km2) is land and 14 square miles (36 km2) (2.1%) is water. Columbia County is in the southeast south to central part of New York State, southeast of Albany and immediately west of the Massachusetts border. The western border is the Hudson River. The landscapes of the county were among the scenes depicting by the Hudson River School, a mid 19th century art movement. 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 the census of 2000, there were 63,094 people, 24,796 households, and 16,588 families residing in the county. The population density was There were 30,207 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the county was 92.09% White, 4.52% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.90% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. 2.53% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.2% were of German, 14.7% Italian, 14.5% Irish, 9.0% English, 6.3% Polish and 6.1% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 94.0% spoke English 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% were married 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. The per capita income for the county was $22,265. About 6.40% of families and 9.00% of the population were below the poverty 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.

Columbia–Greene Community College is located in Hudson, NY.

Interstate 90 runs east–west through the county. The Taconic 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.

Amtrak passenger trains of the Empire Service corridor, as well as the Adirondack, Ethan Allen Express and Maple Leaf make stops at Hudson station. Until 1960s, the Penn Central railroad's local service between Albany, NY and Boston, made stops in Chatham. Neither the Penn Central's New England States (discontinued, 1967) nor Amtrak's Boston bound section of the Lake Shore Limited, making the same route, have made stops in Columbia county. Into the latter 1930s, the Rutland Railroad (in map above) operated trains between Bennington, Vermont and Chatham. At Chatham Union Station there were connections to New York Central's Harlem Line to Grand Central Terminal. Penn Central (successor to the New York Central) truncated service on the Harlem Line from Chatham to Dover Plains in 1972.

Columbia County Airport is located in Hudson and provides general aviation services.