Editing Olive, New York

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name            = Olive
|settlement_type          = [[Administrative divisions of New York#Town|Town]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

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|pushpin_map             = New York
|pushpin_label_position   = 
|pushpin_map_caption      = Location within the state of New York-->
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|image_map                = Ulster County New York incorporated and unincorporated areas Olive highlighted.svg
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|map_caption              = Location in [[Ulster County, New York|Ulster County]] and the state of [[New York (state)|New York]].
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<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[New York (state)|New York]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in New York|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Ulster County, New York|Ulster]]
|government_footnotes     = 
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<!-- 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|access-date=July 5, 2017}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 168.85
|area_land_km2            = 151.38
|area_water_km2           = 17.47
|area_total_sq_mi         = 65.19
|area_land_sq_mi          = 58.45
|area_water_sq_mi         = 6.74

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = <ref>US Census Bureau, 2020 Census, Olive town, Greene County, New York https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Olive%20town,%20Ulster%20County,%20New%20York</ref>
|population_total         = 4226
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|timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|elevation_footnotes      = 
|elevation_m              = 215
|elevation_ft             = 705
|coordinates              = {{coord|41|57|N|74|15|W|region:US-NY|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 12461
|area_code                = [[Area code 845|845]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 36-54749
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 0979307
|website                  = {{URL|http://town.olive.ny.us/|Town website}}
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'''Olive''' is a [[Administrative divisions of New York#Town|town]] in [[Ulster County, New York|Ulster County]], [[New York (state)|New York]], United States.  The town is west of [[Kingston, New York]], and is inside the [[Catskill Park]]. The population was 4,226 at the 2020 census.<ref>US Census Bureau, 2020 Census, Olive town, Greene County, New York https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Olive%20town,%20Ulster%20County,%20New%20York</ref>

== History ==
The town was settled ''circa'' 1740. The town of Olive was established in 1823 from parts of the towns of [[Hurley (town), New York|Hurley]], [[Marbletown, New York|Marbletown]], and [[Shandaken, New York|Shandaken]].  A limited edition 1973 commemorative plate, shown below, includes this text on the back:

<blockquote>The town of Olive, Ulster County, New York, was taken from Shandaken, Marbletown, and Hurley and erected by law on April 15, 1823. At that time a name was suggested for the new town by quoting the following verse from the Bible: 'and Noah sent out a Dove from the Ark and when the waters subsided she returned with an Olive leaf in her mouth.' 'Let us call it the Town of Olive.' The first town meeting was held on the second Tuesday in May 1824. The seal was adopted by the Olive Town Board on November 9, 1971. It was suggested by the Town Historian, Vera Sickler, and designed and executed by Mrs. Tisanne Gardner of Boiceville, N.Y.</blockquote>

{| class="wikitable" border="1"
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! front (symbol)
! back (history)
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| <gallery>Image:TownofOlivePlateFront.jpg</gallery>
| <gallery>Image:TownOfOlivePlate-Back.jpg</gallery>
|}

The creation of the [[Ashokan Reservoir]] in 1917 covered some of the communities of Olive.  The reservoir is owned by [[New York City]] and is part of the city's water system.

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|65.1|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|58.7|sqmi|km2}}  is land and {{convert|6.5|sqmi|km2}}  (9.93%) is water.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1830= 1636
|1840= 2023
|1850= 2710
|1860= 3262
|1870= 3083
|1880= 2927
|1890= 2649
|1900= 2465
|1910= 4497
|1920= 1237
|1930= 1196
|1940= 1320
|1950= 1463
|1960= 1999
|1970= 2857
|1980= 3924
|1990= 4086
|2000= 4579
|2010= 4419
|2020= 4226
|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|access-date=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|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref> 2020<ref>US Census Bureau, 2020 Census, Olive town, Greene County, New York https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Olive%20town,%20Ulster%20County,%20New%20York</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 4,579 people, 1,869 households, and 1,263 families residing in the town.  The population density was {{convert|78|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 2,306 housing units at an average density of {{convert|39.3|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The racial makeup of the town was 96.68% [[white (U.S. Census)|white]], .61% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], .17% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], .92% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], .17% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], .48% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.96% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 2.51% of the population.

There were 1,869 households, out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 31.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.1 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $45,409, and the median income for a family was $50,931. Males had a median income of $33,125 versus $27,008 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $21,569.  About 3.5% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.

== Communities and locations in Olive ==
'''The Nine Hamlets''' are:<ref>Map of the Nine Hamlets of Olive in John Bierhorst, ''The Ashokan Catskills: A Natural History'', Fleischmanns, New York: Purple Mountain Press, 1995, p. 4. The town of Olive website lists only seven hamlets, omitting Brodhead and Brown's Station, which are almost completely under water now. {{Cite web|url=https://town.olive.ny.us|title=town.olive.ny.us}}</ref>
*'''Ashokan''' &ndash; north of the reservoir on [[New York State Route 28|Route 28]], bordering the towns of [[Hurley, New York|Hurley]] and [[Woodstock, New York|Woodstock]].
*'''Brodhead''' &ndash; a remnant of a pre-reservoir hamlet located southwest of the reservoir, between West Shokan and Olivebridge.
*'''[[Boiceville, New York|Boiceville]]''' &ndash; at the northwestern end of the reservoir on [[New York State Route 28|Route 28]].
*'''[[Brown's Station, New York|Brown's Station]]''' &ndash; on the eastern border of Olive, now mostly submerged under the reservoir.
*'''[[Krumville, New York|Krumville]]''' &ndash; southeastern corner of Olive, bordering [[Samsonville, New York|Samsonville]], [[Olivebridge, New York|Olivebridge]] and the town of [[Marbletown, New York|Marbletown]].
*'''[[Olivebridge, New York|Olivebridge]]''' &ndash; south of the reservoir on [[New York State Route 213|Route 213]]. Relocated from its pre-reservoir site on Esopus Creek. The area now called Olivebridge was formerly known as Tongore.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://town.olive.ny.us/history/175th-anniversary/historical-quilt/|title=Olive historical quilt}}</ref>
*'''[[Samsonville, New York|Samsonville]]''' &ndash; the southwestern corner of Olive, bordering the town of [[Rochester, Ulster County, New York|Rochester]].
*'''[[Shokan, New York|Shokan]]''' &ndash; north of the reservoir on [[New York State Route 28|Route 28]], west of Ashokan.
*'''[[West Shokan, New York|West Shokan]]''' &ndash; south of Boiceville at the western end of the reservoir, bordering the towns of [[Shandaken, New York|Shandaken]] and [[Denning, New York|Denning]] to the west.

Other locations
*'''[[Ashokan Reservoir]]''' &ndash; the western end of the reservoir is inside the town.
*'''Brodhead's Bridge''' &ndash; a former railroad station submerged by the reservoir.
*'''Cold Brook''' &ndash; a former railroad station in [[Boiceville, New York|Boiceville]].
*'''Davis Corners''' &ndash; part of [[Olivebridge, New York|Olivebridge]], at the intersection of Ulster County routes 2A and 4.
*'''Olive City''' &ndash; a now-submerged hamlet between the original sites of Shokan and Ashton (a former hamlet in the town of [[Hurley, New York|Hurley]], site of the Olive Branch station on the Ulster & Delaware railroad).<ref>Rosendale USGS Topographic Map, 1903.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.catskillarchive.com/gazetteer/Ashton/index.htm|title=Catskill Archive}}{{Cite web|url=http://catskillarchive.com/gazetteer/Ulster_And_Delaware/ud-mainline.html|title= Catskill Archive, U&D RR}}</ref>
*'''Winchell''' &ndash; now part of [[Olivebridge, New York|Olivebridge]], bordering [[Samsonville, New York|Samsonville]] and [[Krumville, New York|Krumville]]. Former site of a schoolhouse.

==See also==
{{Portal|Hudson Valley|New York (state)}}
*[[Olive and Hurley Old School Baptist Church]]
*[[Ashokan Center]]

==Further reading==
* McHugh, Melissa. ''Town of Olive (Images of America)''. Arcadia Publishing, 2024

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [https://townofolive.org Town of Olive, NY]
* [http://www.catskillarchive.com The Catskill Archive - history of the Catskill Mtns.]
* [http://olivefreelibrary.org/ Olive Free Library]
* [http://www.ashokancenter.org Ashokan Center]
{{Ulster County, New York}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Towns in Ulster County, New York]]
[[Category:Catskills]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1740]]
[[Category:1823 establishments in New York (state)]]