COLUMBIA COUNTY 



Tin's county lies in the southeastern part of the state, on the 

 cast bank of the Hudson, the state of Massachusetts forming a 

 great part of its eastern border. It has an area of 412,100 acres, 

 and extends from north to south approximately 3-1 miles, and 

 from east to wesl approximately 19 miles. The population is 

 distributed as follows: 



Hudson (city) 



Ancr&m 



Austerlitz 



Canaan 



Chatham . . . . 



Claverack 



Clermont 



Copako 



Gallatin 



German town 

 Ghent 



Porn-ATTON by Cities and Townships 



(Census of 1915) 

 11, 544 Greenport 



1. 110 



SS9 



1,057 



3.301 



4,403 



881 



1,368 



780 



1,745 



3J18 



Hillsdale . . . 

 Kinderhook . 



Livingston . . 

 New Lebanon 

 Stockport . . . 

 Stuyvesant . 

 Taghkanic . . 



Total 



470 

 313 

 346 

 ,522 



369 

 313 



841 

 741 



44.111 



* Hudson is the county seat. 



HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS 



The land now included in Columbia County originally formed 

 a part of Albany County and. was taken off in 1786. The first 

 settlements were made in the northern part of the county under 

 the Dutch government. Dutch families later settled in various 

 part? of the county and their names are still prominent among 

 their descendants. Many of the names given by them to the towns 

 and natural features of the county are also retained. Among them 

 is Kinderhook, signifying " Children's Point." It is stated that 

 the name was given by Hudson because of the number of Indian 

 children congregated at a point above Stuyvesant Landing to see 

 his vessel. This town is celebrated as the birthplace of Martin 

 Van Duron, formerly President of the United States. Another 

 name bestowed by these people is that of the town of Claverack or 

 " Clover Reach," from the large clover fields abounding there at 

 the time of the early settlements. 



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