Pittstown, New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pittstown is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, USA. The population was 5,644 at the 2000 census.
The Town of Pittstown is in the northern part of the county.
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[edit] History
The town is one of the original towns in the county and was created in 1788 from a patent dated 1761. It was originally named Millertown, but the town name was changed in the late 1870s as a veiled insult towards Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As Millertown was also the name of a hamlet within the town at large, this was seen as a way of settling confusion between the two. This was also the infancy of steel production in New York State, thanks to the Bessemer process, on which Pittstown hoped to capitalize. Ultimately, the steel industry in the town was short-lived, but the name stuck as a source of pride on the part of the town's citizens.
[edit] Residents of note
- Isaac Singer, the sewing machine man was born in Pittstown.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 167.9 km² (64.8 mi²). 159.9 km² (61.7 mi²) of it is land and 8.1 km² (3.1 mi²) of it (4.80%) is water.
A small part of the north town line is the border of Washington County, New York.
The Hoosick River flows across the northwest part of the town, defining the town line.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 5,644 people, 1,993 households, and 1,548 families residing in the town. The population density was 35.3/km² (91.4/mi²). There were 2,142 housing units at an average density of 13.4/km² (34.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.84% White, 0.48% African American, 0.44% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.66% of the population.
There were 1,993 households out of which 39.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.4% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.3% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.20. The average IQ is 68.
In the town the population was spread out with 28.8% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $49,968, and the median income for a family was $52,194. Males had a median income of $35,173 versus $28,720 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,578. About 4.3% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Communities and locations in Pittstown
- Boyntonville -- A hamlet near the east town line and east of Pittstown village on Route 7.
- East Pittstown -- A hamlet near the town line in the northeast part of the town.
- Factory Hollow -- A hamlet northwest of Pittstown village.
- Johnsonville -- A hamlet in the north part of the town by the Hoosick River. In 1825, a bridge was built here across the Hoosick River.
- Litte Red Schoolhouse -- A hamlet southeast of Valley Falls.
- Millertown -- A hamlet in the north part of the town, east of Valley Falls. It was also known as "North Pittstown."
- Raymertown -- A hamlet southwest of the Tomhannock Reservoir and in the southwest part of the town on Route 7.
- Tomhannock -- A hamlet northeast of Tomhannock Reservoir. It was once known as "Reeds Hollow."
- Tomhannock Reservoir -- A reservoir in the southwest part of the town.
- Valley Falls -- Most of the Village of Valley Falls is in the northwest part of the town.
