Editing Canaan, New York

{{More citations needed|date=March 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name                   = Canaan, New York
| settlement_type                 = [[Administrative divisions of New York#Town|Town]]
| nickname                        = 
| motto                           = <!-- Images -->
| image_skyline                   = Lace House, Canaan, NY.jpg
| imagesize                       = 
| image_caption                   = The Lace House in Canaan
| image_flag                      = 
| image_seal                      = <!-- Maps -->
| pushpin_map                     = 
| pushpin_label_position          = <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
| pushpin_map_caption             = 
| pushpin_mapsize                 = 
| image_map                       = Columbia County New York incorporated areas Canaan highlighted.svg
| mapsize                         = 
| map_caption                     = Location of Canaan, New York
| image_map1                      = 
| mapsize1                        = 
| map_caption1                    = <!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type                = Country
| subdivision_name                = United States
| subdivision_type1               = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1               = New York
| subdivision_type2               = [[List of counties in New York|County]]
| subdivision_name2               = [[Columbia County, New York|Columbia]]
| government_footnotes            = 
| government_type                 = [[Town council]]
| leader_title                    = [[Town supervisor]]
| leader_name                     = Brenda Adams ([[United States Democratic Party|D]])
| leader_title1                   = [[Town board]]
| leader_name1                    = {{Collapsible list
 |title       = 
 |frame_style = border:none; padding: 0;
 |title_style = <!-- (optional) -->
 |list_style  = text-align:left;display:none;
 |1           = • William Powers ([[United States Democratic Party|D]])
 |2           = • David Patzwahl ([[United States Republican Party|R]])
 |3           = • Ginny Nightingale ([[United States Democratic Party|D]])
 |4           = • Brian Lifsec ([[United States Democratic Party|D]])
}}
| established_title               = 
| established_date                = <!-- Area -->
| unit_pref                       = Imperial
| area_footnotes                  = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2016">{{cite web|title=2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2016_Gazetteer/2016_gaz_place_36.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=July 4, 2017}}</ref>
| area_magnitude                  = 
| area_total_km2                  = 95.65
| area_land_km2                   = 94.93
| area_water_km2                  = 0.72
| area_total_sq_mi                = 36.93
| area_land_sq_mi                 = 36.65
| area_water_sq_mi                = 0.28

<!-- Population -->| population_as_of                = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes            = <ref name="ReferenceA">US Census Bureau, 2020 census, Canaan town, Columbia County, New York</ref> 
| population_total                = 1570
| population_density_km2          = auto 
| population_density_sq_mi        = auto 
<!-- General information -->| timezone                        = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset                      = -5
| timezone_DST                    = EDT
| utc_offset_DST                  = -4
| elevation_footnotes             = 
| elevation_m                     = 299
| elevation_ft                    = 981
| coordinates                     = {{coord|42|24|7|N|73|26|47|W|region:US-NY|display=inline}}
| postal_code_type                = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code                     = 12029
| area_code                       = [[Area code 518|518]]
| blank_name                      = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
| blank_info                      = 36-021-12056
| blank1_name                     = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info                     = 0978781
| website                         = {{URL|canaannewyork.org}}
| footnotes                       = 
| pop_est_as_of                   =  
| pop_est_footnotes               = <ref name="USCensusEst2016"/>
| population_est                  =  
| name                            = 
}}
'''Canaan''' is a [[Administrative divisions of New York#Town|town]] in [[Columbia County, New York|Columbia County]], [[New York (state)|New York]], United States. The population was 1,570 at the 2020 census,<ref name="ReferenceA">US Census Bureau, 2020 census, Canaan town, Columbia County, New York</ref>  down from 1,710 at the 2010 census.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/0600000US3602112056| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212153828/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/0600000US3602112056| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 12, 2020| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Canaan town, Columbia County, New York| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| accessdate=December 9, 2014}}</ref> The town is in the northeastern part of the county.

== History ==
The first settlers arrived around 1759. The town was founded in 1772 as "Kings District". The name was changed to "Canaan" in 1788. One of the oldest sections of Canaan is Frisbie Street, settled in 1770 by Gideon Frisbie, an immigrant from [[Canaan, Connecticut]].<ref>Pg. 1 – "Most Likely To Succeed" – Alan Gelb 1990 {{ISBN|0-312-92566-2}}</ref> Frisbie Street fronts what was once the [[Albany, New York|Albany]]-[[Boston]] [[stagecoach]] route.

At approximately 1 p.m. (EDT) on August 28, 1973, an F4 tornado touched down in Canaan and moved in a south-southeast direction across the Massachusetts state line into the town of West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It caused significant damage to the Berkshire Farm for Boys in Canaan then “obliterated” nearly every house in its path in West Stockbridge. Finally, it leveled the Berkshire Truck Stop on Massachusetts Route 102 near the Massachusetts Turnpike, overturning and throwing trucks and cars and ripping gas pumps out of their stands. When it was over, four people had been killed (including three at the truck stop), 36 were injured, and approximately $25 million ($148 million, 2021 USD) in damage had been done.

The [[Lace House (Canaan, New York)|Lace House]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1985.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|95.7|km2|disp=flip}}, of which {{convert|95.0|km2|disp=flip}} is land and {{convert|0.7|km2|disp=flip}}, or 0.76%, is water.<ref name="Census 2010"/> The majority of the town drains westward or northward via tributaries of [[Kinderhook Creek]] to the [[Hudson River]], notably Queechy Lake Brook and Buttercup Creek, both of which flow into the Stony Kill. The southeastern corner of the town drains via Flat Brook into the Williams River in [[Massachusetts]] and thence to the [[Housatonic River]], which flows south into [[Connecticut]].

The eastern town line is the border of Massachusetts.

[[Interstate 90 in New York|Interstate 90]] passes through the town, connecting the [[Massachusetts Turnpike]] to the east with the [[New York State Thruway]] to the west. I-90 has one interchange in the town, with [[New York State Route 22]].

The [[Taconic Mountains]] rise in the northeastern corner of the town.
[[File:Taconic countryside on NY-22 near Edwards Park Road, Canaan, New York.jpg|thumb|The Taconic Mountain area countryside on NY-22 near Edwards Park Road, Canaan, New York.]]

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1820= 2079
|1830= 2064
|1840= 1957
|1850= 1941
|1860= 2197
|1870= 1877
|1880= 1654
|1890= 1561
|1900= 1307
|1910= 1167
|1920= 1085
|1930= 979
|1940= 1042
|1950= 1284
|1960= 1272
|1970= 1472
|1980= 1654
|1990= 1773
|2000= 1820
|2010= 1710
|2020= 1570
|estyear= 
|estimate= 
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2016">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2016.html|title=Population and Housing Unit Estimates|accessdate=June 9, 2017}}</ref>
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref> 2020<ref name="ReferenceA">US Census Bureau, 2020 census, Canaan town, Columbia County, New York</ref> 
}}
As of the census<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 1,820 people, 643 households, and 414 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|49.6|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 970 housing units at an average density of {{convert|26.4|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the town was 87.80% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 8.63% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.33% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.66% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 1.21% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.37% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 2.25% of the population.

There were 643 households, out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 34.2% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 20.9% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 137.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $51,607, and the median income for a family was $62,656. Males had a median income of $44,063 versus $37,083 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,209. About 2.7% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

== Communities and locations in Canaan ==
[[File:Canaan, New York town hall.jpg|thumb|Canaan Town Hall]]
*Canaan – The [[Hamlet (New York)|hamlet]] of Canaan is in the north-central part of the town at the junction of [[New York State Route 295]] and County Road 5. It was formerly "Canaan Corners".
*Canaan Center – A hamlet south of Canaan village on Route 5, just south of the geographic center of the town.
*[[East Chatham, New York|East Chatham]] – A hamlet at the western town line.
*Edwards Park – A location southeast of Flatbrook.
*Flatbrook – A hamlet southeast of Canaan village and located on Route 22.
*Queechy – A hamlet east of Canaan village[[File:Queechy Lake (winter) Canaan, New York.jpg|thumb|Queechy Lake seen from Queechy Lake Drive in Canaan, New York, December 23, 2021.]]Queechy Lake – (formerly [[Whiting's Pond]]) A {{convert|600|acre|km2|adj=on}} lake near the eastern town boundary.
*Red Rock – A hamlet at the southern town line.

==Notable people==
*[[Phoebe Hinsdale Brown]] (1783–1861), first American woman to write a hymn of wide popularity, "[[I love to steal awhile away]]"
*[[Asa Adgate]] (1767–1832), born in Canaan, [[U.S. congressman]]<ref name="Marquis 1607-1896">{{cite book | title = Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607–1896 | publisher=Marquis Who's Who | location = Chicago | year = 1963}}</ref>
*[[Daniel G. Garnsey]], U.S. congressman
*[[Anne Meacham]] (1925-2006), American actress
*[[Eleazer Root]] (1802–1887), born in Canaan, educator and [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal]] priest<ref>'The Rev Eleazar Root Dead,' '''New York Times,''' August 5, 1887</ref>
*[[Al Roker]] (born August 20, 1954) television personality, weather forecaster, actor, and author (owns a summer home in Canaan)
*[[Henry L. Warner]], farmer and member of the [[New York State Assembly]] in 1892

==References==
{{portal|New York (state)}}
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.canaannewyork.org  Town of Canaan official website]
* [http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/county/columbia/canaan/index_canaan.htm  Historical information about Canaan, NY]
* [http://chatham.lib.ny.us/ Canaan Branch of the Chatham Public Library]

{{Coord|42|24|43|N|73|26|49|W|type:city_region:US-NY|display=title}}

{{Columbia County, New York}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Columbia County, New York]]
[[Category:Towns in New York (state)]]