Below is an index of some of the maps and graphics that we have found or created over the years to help tell the story of landscape change in Columbia County. They are divided into five categories:
- General overview
- Socio-economic demographics and recent development trends
- Historic human settlement and industry
- Agriculture and landscape change (historic and current)
- Natural resources and habitats (historic and current)
- Physical/ecological
Some of these have appeared in presentations, others in reports and publications. Feel free to make use of them in your own work, but please credit the Farmscape Ecology Program when using graphics we have created.
We also are beginning to create online interactive “crowd sourced” maps, where we invite your additions. These currently include a map of plant and animal observations and a map of people’s special places.
Clickable Index of Maps and Graphics
General overview
Socio-Economic Demographics and Recent Development Trends
- Racial demographics of Columbia County (map)
- Human population density in Columbia County from 2000 Census (map)
- Major transportation routes in Columbia County (map)
- Construction and agriculture in Columbia County from 2000-2005 (map)
- Composition of Columbia County work force, 1964 (graph)
- Composition of Columbia County work force, 2004 (graph)
- Employment categories for Columbia County: percent change from 1969-2000 (graph)
- Service sector employment categories in Columbia County: percent change 2000-2004 (graph)
- Columbia County unemployment rate as a percentage of New York State rate, 1990-2006 (graph)
- Average annual wage in Columbia County as percentage of state average, 1997-2006 (graph)
- Percent of population working in Columbia County, 1970-2000 (graph)
- Percent of workers who work outside of Columbia County (map)
- Median household incomes of Columbia County residents, 2000 (map)
- Percent of population below poverty line by town, 2000 (map)
- Average annual percent change in parcel count, 2000-2003 (map)
- Addresses of extra-county owners of homes built between 2000-2005 (map)
- Distribution of vacant homes from 2000 census (map)
- Annual number of building permits issued for single family homes in Columbia County, 1980-2006 (graph)
- Total number of single family home building permits, 2001-2005 (map)
- Median house prices in Columbia County since 2000 (graph)
- House affordability index, 1999 (map)
- Median house value in 1999 by census block (map)
- Liberal/conservative percentages in Columbia County (graph)
Historic Human Settlement and Industry
- Spread of settlement in Columbia County: 1700, 1740, 1780, 1820 (map)
- Early industry in Columbia County, 1839 (map)
- Population of Albany County, 1680-1780 (graph)
- New and old roads in Columbia County from 1830 Census (map)
- Map of Columbia County, 1700 (map)
- Map of Columbia County, 1775 (map)
- Columbia County census population, 1700-2000 (graph)
- Houses built before 1725 in Columbia County (map)
- Map of Livingston Manor, 1714 (map)
- Settlement in Columbia County, 1850 (map)
- Hillsdale circa 1880 (sketch)
- Harlemville aerial photo, 1948 (photo)
- Harlemville aerial photo, 2006 (photo)
- Structures built along Route 9 corridor, 1948 (map)
- Structures built along Route 9 corridor, 1980 (map)
- Structures built along Route 9 corridor, 2004 (map)
- Columbia County Industry around 1880 (map)
- Columbia County employment trends for agriculture, manufacturing and service/retail, 1800-present (graph)
- Role of Dutch in first settlement in Columbia County and current percentage of population with Dutch ancestry (maps)
- Role of Germans in first settlement in Columbia County and current percentage of population with German ancestry (maps)
- Role of Yankees/English in first settlment and year of colonial settlement in different towns in Columbia County (maps)
- Map of Columbia County from DeWitt’s state map, 1802 (map)
- Burr map of Columbia County, 1840 (map)
- Location of current (2000-2010) manufacturing industry in Columbia County (map)
- Location of historic manufacturing industry (1870-1890) in Columbia County (map)
- Location and type of early manufacturing industry (1870-1890) in Columbia County, with legend (map)
Agriculture and Landscape Change (Historic and Current)
- Population, Number of Farms, Forested Areas: 1800-2000 (graph)
- Change in livestock and farm production in Columbia County, 19th-20th century (graph)
- Percent of Columbia County plowed, in meadow, and in pasture 1864 (map)
- New Lebanon aerial photos 1942/2004 (photo)
- Land in agriculture in Eastern US: 1850, 1910, 1997 (map)
- Change in average farm size and number of farms in Columbia County (graph)
- Lindenwald aerial photos 1948/1959 showing change in mechanization (photo)
- Roxbury farm aerial photos in 1948/1959 showing change in mechanization (photos)
- Number of sheep in Columbia County, 19th century (graph)
- Decline in population and number of farms, 1800-1950 (graph)
- Changes in farming technique and yield, 1840-1940 (graph)
- Changes in farm size, 1800 – 1950 (graph)
- Percent of Columbia County in farmland, 1800-1940 (graph)
- Intensity of agriculture in Northeast US, 1870 (map)
- Columbia County population/number of farms, 1800-2000 (graph)
- Columbia County farm size graphed against number of farms, 1800-2000 (graph)
- Columbia County milk production, 1850-2000 (graph)
- Modern distribution of agriculture in Columbia County in 2005: field crop farms, commercial orchards, horse farms, dairy operations (map)
- Percent of improved acres in Columbia County by town in 1820, alongside USDA prime agricultural soil map of County (maps)
- Early pasture in Columbia County: percent of land in pasture by town (1855) and sheep density (1820) (maps)
- Meadow distribution in neighboring Berkshire County in 1830 (map)
- Percent of towns in hay meadows in Columbia County and standardized hay production, 1855 (maps)
- Early cropland in Columbia County: percent of town in ploughed land (1855) and standardized grain production (1845) by town (maps)
- Livestock in Columbia County, 18th century-2002 (graph)
- Decline in improved acreage between 19th century maximum and 1930 (map)
- Relationship between farmland abandonment (seen in 1942 aerial photograph) and topography (photo and map)
- Farmland abandonment: relationship between timing of agriculture and land characteristics (table)
- Relative agricultural production of Columbia County (wheat, sheep, rye, hay, apples, corn and milk), 1800s-Present (graphs)
- Relative densities of horses and working oxen in Columbia County, 1855 (maps)
- Milk cows per acre (1845) and milk production (1855) in Columbia County (maps)
- Change in acreage in Columbia County towns under various agricultural uses between 1855 and 1875 (table)
- Change in improved acreage as percent of total area, 1875-1930 (map)
- Change in improved acreage as percent of total acreage, 1875-2001 (map)
- Change in improved acreage as percent of total acreage, 1930-2001 (map)
- Proportion of land in improved farmland (1900-1997) for counties in Northeast, US (maps)
- Population density (people/acre) (1900-1990) for counties in Northeast, US (maps)
- Land in hay, improved land, sheep per hectare, and land in grains, 19th century (maps)
- New Farms (less than 10 years old) in Columbia County, created in 2012 (map)
Natural Resources and Habitats (Historic and Current)
- Early forests of Columbia County, from land surveys 18th/19th centuries (map)
- Land survey data from late 18th/early 19th centuries (graph)
- Estimate of pond acreage in Columbia County from15th-21st centuries (graph)
- Forest decline in Columbia County, 1600-1800 (graph)
- Decline in grasslands, 1780-1940 (graph)
- Decline in New England grasslands, 1930 (map)
- Shrublands and forest change, 1800-1950 (graph)
- Select wildlife levels, 1600-2000 (graph)
- Change in wetlands, shrubland, grasslands, woods, 1780-1980 (graph)
- Percent of Columbia County in forest, 1600- 2000 (graph)
- Percent forest land, 1600-2000, by state (second clearing) (graph)
- Percent of trees in Columbia County forests, early/modern (graph)
- Presumed original and existing ancient floodplain forests (map)
- 19th century floodplain forests (map)
- Average buck harvest, Columbia County and New York State (graph)
- Land use map of Columbia County alongside deer harvest map (maps)
- Relationship between White Oak and cropland in 1845 (graph)
- Early distribution of trees in the flatland towns of Columbia County, late 18th and early 19th centuries (map and graph)
- Early distribution of trees in the hilltowns of Columbia County
- Relative abundance of different types of organisms (i.e. wetland, forest), 1800-Present (graph)
- Relative pollen abundance, 1700s-2000 (graph)
- Location of rare, non-riverine animals in relationship to 1940 milk cow density in Columbia County (map)
Physical/Ecological
- Bedrock of Columbia County (map)
- Surficial Geology in Columbia County (map)
- Prime Agricultural Soils in Columbia County (map)
- Climatic variation in Columbia County (map)
- Lightning flash density map in Columbia County and recorded tornadoes (maps)
- Forest types of Northeastern US, indicating position of Columbia County (map)
- Distribution boundaries of tree species in New York (map)
- Topography of Columbia County (map)