Kerhonkson, New York

Kerhonkson /kərˈhɒŋksən/ is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 1,684 at the 2010 census.

Kerhonkson

Formerly known as Middleport
hamlet and CDP
Center of town along Route 209
Nickname(s): 
K-Town; The Kerhamptons
Location in Ulster County and the state of New York.
Coordinates: 41°46′28″N 74°17′51″W
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
RegionHudson Valley
CountyUlster
Area
 • Total5.3 sq mi (13.7 km2)
Elevation
262 ft (80 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total1,684
 • Density320/sq mi (120/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal code
12446
Area code(s)845
Websitewww.townofrochester.net

Kerhonkson is a small hamlet which, along with Accord, makes up the Town of Rochester on US 209, just south of the town's boundary with the Town of Wawarsing and just north of where US 44 ends and NY 55 joins 209 south. The town is home to Kerhonkson Elementary school, one of two elementary schools within the Rondout Valley Central School District. Soyuzivka, a Ukrainian resort and cultural center is located here.

Geography

Kerhonkson is located at 41°46′28″N 74°17′51″W.[1]

It is located in the Shawangunk Mountains, famous for the rock climbing and biodiversity of the Shawangunk Ridge.

The Minnewaska State Park Preserve is located in Kerhonkson along Route 44/55.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 5.3 square miles (14 km2), all land.

The Rondout Creek, a tributary of the Hudson River, runs northeast just southeast of the main town.

Demography

As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 1,684 people, 684 households, and 433 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 317.7 per square mile (120.3/km2). There were 857 housing units at an average density of 161.7/sq mi (61.2/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 92.6% White, 1.8% African American, 0.7% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.4% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.8% of the population.

There were 684 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no spouse present, 6.6% had a male householder with no spouse present, and 36.7% were non-families. 29.7% 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 2.46 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the CDP, the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of 19, 6.1% from 20 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.4 males.

As of 2016 the median income for a household in the CDP was $41,541 and the median income for a family was $53,423. The per capita income for the CDP was $17,964. As of 2000 6.4% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.5% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over. Males had a median income of $32,008 versus $24,412 for females.[3]

History

Colonial Era

Kerhonkson is also the site of a colonial fort that protected the early settlers from Indian attacks. The fort was located on Deyo's Hill.[4]

Before the burning of Kingston on October 12, 1777 all the important documents and government officials were moved to Kerhonkson, remaining for two weeks until they were moved to Albany making Kerhonkson the capital of New York for a short while.[5]

Canal Era

The Delaware and Hudson Canal was completed in 1828. This opened up local industries such as coal, lumber, dairy, and hotel. Barges towed by mules transported goods along the Rondout Creek from Pennsylvania to the Hudson River.

Railroad Era

The Delaware and Oswego Railroad was constructed in 1909 along the old canal tow path and a station was constructed along main street to ship out dairy products. Then the tracks were pulled up in 1957 once products were being moved by truck upstate. This path is now a popular local hiking and biking destination referred to as the “Rail Trail”. It is 3.5 miles in length.

Peg Leg Bates

Peg Leg Bates opened a country club resort named “Peg Leg Bates Country Club” in 1951. He ran this, along with his wife Alice E. Bates, until 1987 after his wife’s passing. Once opened it made Bates the first black resort owner in the Catskill Mountains.[6]A portion of Route 209 in Ulster County was named “Clayton Peg Leg Bates Memorial Highway” in his honor. [7]

Religion

Congregation Tifereth Yehuda Veyisroel is the primary Jewish faith building in the area. It was first constructed in 1924. The community house also found on that property was constructed later in 1954. In 2013 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Federated Church of Kerhonkson is a Protestant church that is partially of the Methodist denomination and partially of the Reformed denomination. The church helps its community by having a food pantry dubbed "Christ's Cupboard", a thrift shop, and a pet food pantry.

Local sports

Kerhonkson hosts a baseball Little League, Indian Valley Little League. The league has been operating since 1953. Indian Valley won the 2017 District 16 champions defeating Rondout Valley Little League in the championship game. More recently Indian Valley was forced to remove their long time mascot, Chief Wahoo, from all signs, shirts, hats, website, and Facebook page for “racial insensitivity”.[8]

The local swim team, the Kerhonkson Barracudas, are based out of the Kerhonkson Elementary School pool and compete against other local swim teams in the summer.

Local services

The Kerhonkson Fire Department is located on Main Street near where the old railroad was located. The firehouse is home to a social hall that holds meetings of local organizations, dinners, or parties.

The Kerhonkson-Accord Volunteer Ambulance Corp is located along Route 209 and provides first aid service for both Kerhonkson and Accord.

Notable inhabitants
  • Edward Aldwell - classical pianist
  • Peg Leg Bates - entertainer
  • Imre Beke - former Chairman and President of the American-Hungarian Federation

World records

Kerhonkson contained what was once the world's largest garden gnome, constructed in 2005; it is situated on Route 209 in front of Kelder's Farm and is named Gnome Chomsky.[9] There are two other, larger gnomes that now hold the distinction of being the world's largest.[10]

gollark: Technically there's a big block of multicast ones which aren't "someone's IP".
gollark: It's like having everyone's phone number - entirely useless.
gollark: You just need to iterate over 4 billion numbers. It isn't hard.
gollark: You just need to beat management up all the way to the CEO.
gollark: It's true. The government don't want you to know this, but you can actually take over a company through trial by combat.

References
  1. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Archived from the original on 2002-05-27. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  2. "Kerhonkson, NY Population - Census 2010 and 2000 Interactive Map, Demographics, Statistics, Quick Facts - CensusViewer". censusviewer.com. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
  3. (PDF) https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/phc-2-34-pt1.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. "NYS Museum: Historic Markers". New York State Museum. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  5. "Kerhonkson, NY The Early Years". oldkerhonksonny.tripod.com. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  6. Dunning, Jennifer (1998-12-08). "Peg Leg Bates, One-Legged Dancer, Dies at 91". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
  7. "Kerhonkson – AboutTown". Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  8. "LETTER: Indian Valley Little League was right to retire 'Chief Wahoo'". Daily Freeman. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
  9. Horrigan, Jeremiah. "Kerhonkson gnome pursues Guinness record". Times Herald Record. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  10. Ward, Terence P. (2011-05-12). "Will Rondout be the Valley of the Giants?". Shawangunk Journal. Ellenville, NY: Electric Valley Media LLC. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
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