Ulster County, New York


Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 182,977. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. The county is part of the Hudson Valley region of the state.

History

Founding and formation

When part of the New Netherland colony, Dutch traders first called the area of present-day Ulster County "Esopus", a name borrowed for convenience from a locality on the opposite side of the Hudson. "Esopus" meant "land of flowing water and high banks," or "small brook." There is also a town named Esopus located within Ulster County.
The local Lenape indigenous people called themselves Waranawanka, but soon came to be known to the Dutch as the "Esopus Indians" because they were encountered around the settlement known as Esopus. In 1652, Thomas Chambers, a freeholder from the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, purchased land at Esopus. He and several others actually settled and began farming by June 1653. The settlements grew into the village of Wiltwijck, which the English later named Kingston. In 1683, the Duke of York created 12 counties in his province, one of which was Ulster County, named after Prince James, Duke of York whose subsidiary titles included Earl of Ulster. Its boundaries at that time included the present Sullivan County and parts of the present Delaware, Orange, and Greene counties.
The , conducted in the Province of New York in 1755, lists numerous enslaved individuals throughout Ulster.
In 1777, the first state capital of the independent New York State was established at Kingston. The official records of Ulster County were removed to safety to a stone house in Kerhonkson when it became evident that the British would burn Kingston.
In 1797, parts of Otsego and Ulster counties were split off to create Delaware County.
In 1798, Ulster County's southernmost towns were moved into Orange County to compensate Orange for breaking away its southernmost part to form Rockland 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.

Civil War

During the American Civil War, volunteers were recruited from the county and formed the majority of the following regiments:
  • 80th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
  • 120th New York Volunteer Infantry
  • 156th New York Volunteer Infantry
Other regiments with at least one company from the county included:
  • 1st Battalion New York Volunteer Sharpshooters
  • 1st New York Volunteer Engineer Regiment
  • 7th Regiment New York Volunteer Cavalry
  • 7th New York Veteran Infantry Regiment
  • 15th Regiment New York Volunteer Cavalry
  • 20th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
  • 25th Regiment New York Volunteer Cavalry
  • 25th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
  • 56th New York Volunteer Infantry
  • 65th New York Volunteer Infantry
  • 71st New York Infantry
  • 102nd New York Volunteer Infantry
  • 132nd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
  • 168th New York Volunteer Infantry
  • 176th New York Volunteer Infantry
  • 178th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
  • 192nd New York Volunteer Infantry

    Twentieth century

The Lake Mohonk Mountain House on Shawangunk Ridge was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of, of which is land and is water.
Ulster County is in southeastern New York State, south of Albany, immediately west of the Hudson River. Much of it is within the Catskill Mountains and the Shawangunk Ridge. Ulster County has Minnewaska State Park Preserve, Mohonk Preserve, Sundown State Park, VerNooykill State Forest, Witches Hole State Forest, and Shawangunk Ridge State Forest. The Sam's Point section of Minnewaska includes rare dwarf pine trees and Verkeerder Kill falls.
The county's highest point is Slide Mountain, at approximately above sea level. The lowest point is sea level along the Hudson River.

Adjacent counties

2020 Census

As of the 2020 census the population of Ulster County is 181,851. The population density was. The county's racial makeup, as of 2020, was 75.16% non-Hispanic white, 5.8% black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 5.4% from other races or from two or more races. 11.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, the county had 181,440 people, 67,499 households, and 43,536 families. The population density was. There were 77,656 housing units at an average density of. The county's racial makeup, as of 2008, was 83.2% white, 6.50% black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.15% from other races, and 1.70% from two or more races. 7.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 19.2% were of Italian, 16.8% Irish, 15.5% German, 6.8% English, and 4.7% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 90.3% spoke English, 4.5% Spanish, 1.2% Italian, and 1.0% German as their first language.
There were 67,499 households, of which 30.70% had children under age 18 living with them, 49.20% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.50% were non-families. Of all households, 27.90% were made up of individuals, and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.03.
23.50% of the county's population was under age 18, 8.70% was from age 18 to 24, 29.70% was from age 25 to 44, 24.70% was from age 45 to 64, and 13.30% was age 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.60 males.
The county's median household income was $42,551, and the median family income was $51,708. Males had a median income of $36,808 versus $27,086 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,846. About 7.20% of families and 11.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.00% of those under age 18 and 8.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

County government

For a long time, Ulster County had a county-scale version of a council-manager government, with the county legislature hiring a county administrator to handle executive functions. The chair of the legislature had a great deal of power and was accountable only to the voters of their district. The only countywide elected officials were the county clerk, district attorney, and sheriff.
In 2006, voters approved the first-ever county charter, changing to an elected executive branch. Two years later, Michael P. Hein, the last appointed county administrator, became Ulster's first elected county executive. In early 2019, Hein resigned to accept Governor Andrew Cuomo's appointment as commissioner of the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Deputy County Executive Adele Reiter succeeded him as acting county executive until a special election was held in April 2019.
On April 30, 2019, Democrat Patrick K. Ryan was elected in a special election by a margin of 74%-26%. He was sworn in as Ulster County's second County Executive on June 7, 2019. On September 9, 2022, Ryan stepped down as county executive after winning election to the United States House of Representatives, and Johanna Contreras was sworn in as an acting county executive.
Democrat Jen Metzger, a former New York State Senator, defeated Republican Jim Quigley in the 2022 election to replace Ryan. For the election, 14-year-old Hudson Rowan designed the Ulster County "I Voted" sticker, which went viral for its weird design. Metzger took office in 2023.
NamePartyTerm
Michael P. HeinDemocraticJanuary 1, 2009 – February 11, 2019
Adele ReiterDemocraticFebruary 11, 2019 – June 7, 2019
Pat RyanDemocraticJune 7, 2019 – September 9, 2022
Johanna ContrerasDemocraticSeptember 9, 2022 – December 31, 2022
Jen MetzgerDemocraticJanuary 1, 2023 – Present

OfficeNamePartyTerm
County ComptrollerMarch GallagherDemocraticJanuary 1, 2020 – Present
County SheriffJuan FigueroaDemocraticJanuary 1, 2019 – Present
District AttorneyEmmanuel "Manny" NnejiDemocraticJanuary 1, 2024 – Present
County ClerkTaylor BruckDemocraticAugust 22, 2024 – Present

Legislative authority is vested in the County Legislature, which consists of 23 members elected from individual districts, as directed by a county charter reapportionment mandate starting in late 2010. Of the members of the 2024-2025 County Legislature, 14 are part of the Democratic Caucus, and 9 are part of the Republican Caucus.
DistrictLegislatorPartyCaucusResidence
Aaron Levine, Deputy Majority LeaderDemocraticDemocraticSaugerties
Joe MaloneyRepublicanRepublicanSaugerties
Jason KovacsRepublicanRepublicanUlster
Eric KitchenRepublicanRepublicanUlster
Abe Uchitelle, Majority LeaderDemocraticDemocraticKingston
Greg McCoulloughDemocraticDemocraticKingston
Peter Criswell, ChairDemocraticDemocraticKingston
Joe DonaldsonDemocraticDemocraticPort Ewen
Herbert Litts IIIRepublicanRepublicanHighland
Gina HansutRepublicanRepublicanHighland
Thomas Corcoran Jr.RepublicanRepublicanMarlborough
Kevin Roberts, Minority LeaderRepublicanRepublicanPlattekill
Richard WallsRepublicanRepublicanWallkill
Craig Lopez, Deputy Minority LeaderRepublicanRepublicanPine Bush
John GavarisDemocraticDemocraticEllenville
Debra ClintonDemocraticDemocraticGardiner
Megan Sperry, Vice ChairDemocraticDemocraticRifton
Eric StewartDemocraticDemocraticAccord
Manna Jo GreeneDemocraticDemocraticCottekill
Limina Grace HarmonDemocraticDemocraticNew Paltz
Chris HewittDemocraticDemocraticKerhonkson
Kathy NolanDemocraticDemocraticMount Tremper
Jeff CollinsDemocraticDemocraticWoodstock