Coxsackie ( ) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in Greene County, New York, United States. The population in the 2020 census was 8,382, a decrease from the 2010 census. The name of the town is said to be derived from a Native American term, but it has various translations ("owl's hoot" is locally common). Within the area governed as a town, there is also a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

called Coxsackie. The town is in the northeastern part of the county. The town of Coxsackie is notable for being the namesake of the Coxsackievirus, which was first isolated in this town.

History

The settlement of Coxsackie began in the seventeenth century, in approximately 1652, as part of the development of

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva P ...

. The government of the area became established as a district in 1772, and Coxsackie was founded in 1788 with a town form of government. Part of Coxsackie was lost when the town of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

was formed in 1790. Further land was lost in the formation of the newer towns of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

and Greenville (1803), New Baltimore (1811), and

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

(1815). One of the first settlers in Coxsackie was Pieter Bronck, of the same family for which

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

is named. In 1663, he built the Pieter Bronck House in West Coxsackie, which is open as a museum. The nearby family burial ground includes a separate plot with marked graves for slaves of the family.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the town has a total area of 38.4 square miles (99.4 km²), of which 36.9 square miles (95.6 km²) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.8 km², or 3.86%) is water. The eastern town line is defined by the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

and is the border of Columbia County. The New York State Thruway ( Interstate 87) and

U.S. Route 9W U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the states of New Jersey and New York. It begins in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as Fletcher Avenue crosses the US 1–9, US 46, and the Interstate 95 (I-95) approache ...

pass through the town.

Demographics

2000

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 8,918 people, 2,422 households, and 1,583 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 240.8 people per square mile (93.0/km²). There were 2,789 housing units at an average density of 75.6 per square mile (29.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 92.24%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 5.33%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.30% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.85% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.64% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 11.15% of the population. There were 2,422 households, out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.01. In the town, the population was spread out, with 18.7% under the age of 18, 24.3% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 185.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 210.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $37,830, and the median income for a family was $46,189. Males had a median income of $37,823 versus $26,859 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $16,830. About 9.5% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 16.2% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in the town of Coxsackie

* Bronck House – A house in West Coxsackie built by Pieter Bronck in 1663 (open as a museum) * Coxsackie – The village of Coxsackie *Reed Street Historic District is a national historic district located in Coxsackie's village proper on the west bank of the Hudson River, Greene County. The district contains 30 contributing buildings. They are a collection of mid-19th century, two and three story commercial buildings. The district displays a uniformity of style in its

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

style brick facades with ornate brackets and overhanging eaves. Recently, new, independently owned businesses have opened on Reed Street bringing Coxsackie's historic downtown back to life
Mansion + Reed General Store
(a specialty grocery and cafe)
Reed Street Bottle Shop
(a wine and spirits shop)
Pilothouse Paper
(specialty paper and home goods)
Mahalo Toyshop
(gifts for kids and kids at heart)
Heart Land RealtyChe Figata
(an Italian Bistro), and the Yellow Deli (a deli serving breakfast and lunch). *Riverside Park- located at the end of Reed Street in Coxsackie Village. This park offers expansive views of the mighty Hudson River. A boat launch allows easy load-in and load-out for motor boats, canoes, and kayaks (with plenty of parking). Seasonal docks are put out for warm season fishing and sunning. A Farmer's Market is held here on Wednesday evenings during the summer months of May to October- offering farm produce and goods, a weekly visiting food truck, and live music. * Climax – A hamlet northwest of Coxsackie village on Route 81 *Earlton – A hamlet in the western part of the town. The Forestville Commonwealth

Owenite Owenism is the utopian socialist philosophy of 19th-century social reformer Robert Owen and his followers and successors, who are known as Owenites. Owenism aimed for radical reform of society and is considered a forerunner of the cooperative ...

community at Earlton was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1974. * Hudson River Islands State Park *Surprise – A hamlet at the western town line. *Sleepy Hollow Lake – A

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

partly in the southern part of the town (a "resort" development) *West Coxsackie – A hamlet northwest of Coxsackie village on Route 81 * Coxsackie Correctional Facility – A state prison southwest of Coxsackie village *

Greene Correctional Facility The Greene Correctional Facility is a state prison for men located in Coxsackie, Greene County, New York, owned and operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision New is an adjective referring to something ...

-a state prison adjacent to Coxsackie Correctional Facility

References

External links

Town of Coxsackie official websiteCoxsackie Town Court Heermance Memorial Library (Coxsackie)Village of Coxsackie
{{authority control Towns in Greene County, New York 1788 establishments in New York (state) New York (state) populated places on the Hudson River