Northumberland is a
town in
Saratoga County,
New York,
United States. The population was 4,603 at the 2000 census. The name comes from a location in
Great Britain.
The
Town of Northumberland is at the county's east border and northeast of
Saratoga Springs.
History
The area was first settled around 1765. Previously, it was in the territory of
Mohican natives, who had two villages in the town.
The town was formed in 1798 from the
Town of Saratoga. Later part of its territory was removed to form newer town;
Hadley (1801),
Moreau (1805), and
Wilton (1818).
The
Champlain Canal opened in 1832.
Notable residents
- Herman Melville, Author, often visited his mother, Maria Gansevoort Melville, at her home in Northumberland.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 32.9 square miles (85.2 km²), of which, 32.3 square miles (83.8 km²) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.4 km²) of it (1.67%) is water.
The east town line is the border of
Washington County and is marked by the
Hudson River.
US Route 4 is a north-south highway by the Hudson River at the southeast corner of Northumberland.
New York State Route 32 is a north-south highway that intersects
New York State Route 50 at Gansevoort. US-4 and NY-32 are conjoined in Northumberland.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 4,603 people, 1,593 households, and 1,264 families residing in the town. The
population density was 142.3 people per square mile (54.9/km²). There were 1,717 housing units at an average density of 53.1/sq mi (20.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.09%
White, 0.54%
African American, 0.33%
Native American, 0.28%
Asian, 0.17% from
other races, and 0.59% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 0.93% of the population.
There were 1,593 households out of which 44.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.1% were
married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.6% were non-families. 14.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the town the population was spread out with 30.0% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 36.6% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 101.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $51,559, and the median income for a family was $53,523. Males had a median income of $36,964 versus $28,185 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $19,104. About 4.8% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 9.1% of those under age 18 and 2.1% of those age 65 or over.
Communities and locations in Northumberland
- Bacon Hill – A hamlet northwest of Northumberland village. It is named after Ebenezer Bacon, an early settler, but was previously called "Fiddletown" and "Popes Corners."
- Callahans Corners – A hamlet south of Jewell Corner and located near the center of the town on NY-32.
- Griffin Island – An island in the Hudson River in the northeast part of the town.
- Jewell Corner – A hamlet southeast of Gansevoort on NY-32.
- Northumberland – The hamlet of Northumberland is located at the junction of US-4 and NY-32 by the Hudson River.
- Starks Knob – A hamlet south of Northumberland village on US-4.
- Thompson Island – A island in the Hudson River south of Griffin Island.
