Ulster County, New York http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/15/Map_of_New_York_highlighting_Ulster_County.png Ulster County is a county located in the U.S. State of New York. As of 2000, the population is 177,749. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named for the Duke of York's earldom in Ireland. History In 1683, New York State established its first twelve counties. Ulster County was one of them. Its boundaries at that time included the present Sullivan County, and portions of the present Delaware and Greene Counties. In 1777, the capital of New York State (the first state capital of independent New York) was established at Kingston, though it was subsequently moved when the British burned that city. In 1797, portions of Otsego and Ulster Counties were split off to create Delaware County. In 1800, portions of Albany and Ulster Counties were split off to create Greene County. In 1809, Sullivan County was split off from Ulster County. Geography Ulster County is in the southeast part of New York State, south of Albany, immediately west of the Hudson River. Much of the county is within the Catskill Mountains and the Shawangunk Ridge. Ulster County also has Sam's Point Preserve, which includes rare dwarf pine trees and VerKeerderkill falls. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,006 km² (1,161 mi²). 2,918 km² (1,126 mi²) of it is land and 89 km² (34 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.95% water. Demographics As of the census2 of 2000, there are 177,749 people, 67,499 households, and 43,536 families residing in the county. The population density is 61/km² (158/mi²). There are 77,656 housing units at an average density of 27/km² (69/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 88.91% White, 5.43% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 1.24% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.15% from other races, and 1.98% from two or more races. 6.16% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 67,499 households out of which 30.70% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.20% are married couples living together, 10.90% have a female householder with no husband present, and 35.50% are non-families. 27.90% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.20% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.47 and the average family size is 3.03. In the county the population is spread out with 23.50% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 29.70% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.30% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.60 males. The median income for a household in the county is $42,551, and the median income for a family is $51,708. Males have a median income of $36,808 versus $27,086 for females. The per capita income for the county is $20,846. 11.40% of the population and 7.20% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 13.00% of those under the age of 18 and 8.70% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. Cities and towns Accord Clintondale Cragsmoor Denning (town) East Kingston Ellenville (village) Esopus (town) Gardiner (town) Glasco Hardenburgh (town) High Falls Highland Hillside Hurley (town) Kerhonkson Kingston (city) Kingston (town) Lake Katrine Lincoln Park Lloyd (town) Malden Marbletown (town) Marlboro (town) Marlborough Milton Napanoch New Paltz (village) New Paltz (town) Olive (town) Phoenicia Pine Hill Plattekill (town) Port Ewen Rifton Rochester (town) Rosendale Village (village) Rosendale (town) Saugerties South Saugerties (village) Saugerties (town) Shandaken (town) Shawangunk (town) Shokan Stone Ridge Tillson Ulster (town) Walker Valley Wallkill Wawarsing (town) West Hurley Woodstock (town) Zena County Information Ulster County contains a large part of Catskill State Park and the Catskill Forest Preserve. The former Delaware and Hudson Canal brought Pennsylvania coal to Kingston on the Hudson. External link Ulster County, NY FAVORITE ARTICLES: History of the World    History of the United States    History of Europe    Ancient History    History    Military History    World War I    Bombing of Dresden    California    US Constitution    Frank Sinatra    Boston    Marbury v. Madison This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_County,_New_York