Palenville, New York

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Palenville is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Greene County, New York, USA. The population was 1,120 at the 2000 census.

Palenville is in the southwest part of the Town of Catskill, located at the junction of Routes 23A and 32A. It lies at the foot of Kaaterskill Clove, nestled against the base of the Catskill Mountains. Kaaterskill Creek runs through the town, and is spanned by a locally famous swinging footbridge. The creek provides a number of swimming holes in the summer months, and the Long Path runs through the town.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] History

Palenville was an important center of the Hudson River school of art in the Nineteenth Century. Thomas Cole, Frederic Church, and other notable painters stayed and worked in Palenville during the height of the movement. The famous painting Kindred Spirits depicts Cole and William Cullen Bryant in the background can be seen Kaaterskill Falls, just uphill from the town. The famous Catskill Mountain House was also located just outside Palenville. Palenville is also the fictional home of Rip van Winkle.

Palenville historically is considered the 'First Art Colony in America' (as noted by Dr. Roland Van Zandt, author of The Catskill Mountain House). It is located at the base of the Catskill Mountains at the entrance of the Kaaterskill Clove. There you will find countless waterfalls and many of the motifs of the most famous of 19th century American artists. In fact, it was called the Village of Falling Waters. As noted above, Palenville sits at the entrance to the Kaaterskill Clove. This remains today, a popular motif for painters. In the later part of the 20th century the arts were revived in Palenville. Theatre, Opera and the Circus-arts flurished; and the Terrance Gallery exhibited more than 1200 artists from all over the country, in a call to revisit the historic gathering place of the 19th century painters.

Other noted artists who frequented Palenville and the Clove were: Winslow Homer, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Addison Richards, Frederick Kensett and Sanford R. Gifford. Landscape painters of the 20th century, to name a few, included: Albert Handel, Barry Hopkins, Athena Billias and Patti Ferrara. George H. Hall who was a 'gendre' painter, took up residence in Palenville towards the end of the 19th century; and Terrance J. DePietro an abstract painter, who was early on influenced by the Hudson River School, maintained residence and a studio from the later part of the 20th century into the 21st.(He brought artists from Quebec, Canada, i.e. Nicole Lemelin & Remi LaRoche to find inspiration beneath the "shadow of the mountain".)

[edit] Geography

Palenville is located at 42°10′11″N, 74°1′9″W (42.169858, -74.019110).^GR1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 8.6 km² (3.3 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,120 people, 433 households, and 287 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 130.3/km² (337.2/mi²). There were 551 housing units at an average density of 64.1/km² (165.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.16% White, 0.45% African American, 0.27% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 0.27% from other races, and 1.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.23% of the population.

There were 433 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $40,833, and the median income for a family was $51,250. Males had a median income of $32,353 versus $23,542 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $18,848. None of the families and 7.4% of the population were living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and none of those over 64.