| Official Name: | Princetown, New York |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Mapsize: | 260px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | New York |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Schenectady |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 62.71 |
| Area Land Km2: | 61.97 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.74 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 24.21 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 23.93 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.29 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 2024 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation M: | 321 |
| Elevation Ft: | 1053 |
| Coordinates: | 42.7997°N -74.0772°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 12056 |
| Area Code: | 518 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 36-59861 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0979399 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2016 |
| Population Est: | 2105 |
Princetown is a town in Schenectady County, New York, United States. The population was 2,024 at the 2020 census.[3] [4] It is in the central part of the county, west of the town of Rotterdam.
The current Town of Princetown was established in 1798 by the New York State Legislature combining lands formerly known as Corry's Bush and land belonging to the Dutch Reformed Church in Schenectady.[5] It was named for John Prince, a New York State assemblyman from Albany County who lived in Schenectady proper at the time.[6] [7] Many of the early settlers of the town were from Scotland,[8] and for almost all of its history, the town has been rural with an economy based in agriculture. Today the town is mostly a mix of farming and exurban development with a little light industry.
In the past, the town had seven one-room schools.[9] It was also home to the Princetown Academy and Female Seminary which opened in 1853 but operated for only three years before succumbing to financial mismanagement. The Academy was sponsored by the local Presbyterian church. In 1854, it had more than 400 students mostly from the local region but also included students from as far away as Cuba, Germany and Scotland.[10] The Academy was located in the former hamlet of Princetown (Center).
In the south end of the town was Cheeseman's Tavern (c. 1784) located in the hamlet of Gifford's (Corners). Its owner, Joshua Cheeseman, was for a few years, a regionally well-known shinplaster banker, producing a number of paper notes used across the region.
In the north end of the town, on the border with Duanesburg, was the location of the estate of George William Featherstonaugh, which was the subject of several Thomas Cole paintings. Featherstonaugh was an English-American geographer and geologist also especially interested in the use of rail transportation to modernize farming.
The north town line is the border of Montgomery County, and the south town line is the border of Albany County. The town of Rotterdam is to the east, and the town of Duanesburg is to the west. The center of Princetown is 7miles west of downtown Schenectady.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 62.7km2, of which 62km2 is land and 0.7km2, or 1.18%, is water.[11]
In the 2000 census,[12] there were 2,132 people, 797 households, and 611 families residing in the town. The population density was 88.7sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 835 housing units at an average density of 34.7sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the town was 98.69% White, 0.19% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.66% of the population.
There were 797 households, out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.9% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.3% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $57,250, and the median income for a family was $63,077. Males had a median income of $45,750 versus $28,362 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,292. About 1.6% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.3% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.