Ghent, New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ghent is a town in Columbia County, New York, USA, with a ZIP code of 12075. The population was 5,276 at the 2000 census. 2004 estimates put the population at 5,316.
The Town of Ghent is centrally located in the county. Ghent is northeast of the City of Hudson.
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[edit] History
Around 1735, early settlers, exploiting areas cleared by the natives, moved into the area. In 1818, the Town of Ghent was founded from parts of the Towns of Chatham, Claverack, and Kinderhook.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 117.6 km² (45.4 mi²). 117.0 km² (45.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.48%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 5,276 people, 2,020 households, and 1,397 families residing in the town. The population density was 45.1/km² (116.8/mi²). There were 2,244 housing units at an average density of 19.2/km² (49.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.93% White, 1.10% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.28% from other races, and 1.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.35% of the population.
There were 2,020 households out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the town the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.8 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $43,529, and the median income for a family was $52,096. The median house value is $114,000. Males had a median income of $32,191 versus $23,958 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,365. About 2.2% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Communities and locations in Ghent
- Arnolds Mill -- A hamlet in the northeast corner of the town, northeast of Ghent village.
- Buckleyville -- A hamlet in the northeast part of the town, northeast of Ghent village.
- Chatham -- Part of the Village of Chatham is on the north town line.
- Columbia County Airport (1B1) -- An airport in the southwest part of the town.
- Ghent -- The hamlet of Ghent is on Route 66 in the northeast part of the Town of Ghent.
- Omi -- A hamlet in the northwest part of the town, east of West Ghent on Route 22.
- Pulvers -- A hamlet in the south part of the town.
- West Ghent -- A hamlet in the northwest part of the town on Route 9H.
