Kinderhook, New York

Kinderhook, New York
Town
Main square in Kinderhook
Location of Kinderhook, New York
Coordinates: 42°24′46″N 73°40′53″W / 42.41278°N 73.68139°W / 42.41278; -73.68139
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Columbia
Settled	1750
Established	1788
Government
• Type	Town Council
• Town Supervisor	Tim Ooms (R)
• Town Council	Members' List • Debbie Devine (United States) • Philip Bickerton (United States) • Sean Casey (United States) • Jason Graham (United States)
Area [1]
• Total	32.41 sq mi (83.95 km2)
• Land	31.81 sq mi (82.38 km2)
• Water	0.61 sq mi (1.57 km2)
Elevation	239 ft (73 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	8,330
• Density	260/sq mi (99/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Code	12106
Area code	518
FIPS code	36-021-39573
GNIS feature ID	0979116
Website	www.kinderhook-ny.gov

Kinderhook is a town in the northern part of Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 8,330 at the 2020 census,^[2] making it the most populous municipality in Columbia County. The name of the town means "Children's Corner" in the language of the original Dutch settlers (Kinderhoek). The name "Kinderhook" has its root in the landing of Henry Hudson in the area around present-day Stuyvesant, where he was greeted by Native Americans with many children. With the Dutch kind meaning "child" and hoek meaning "corner", it could be that the name refers to a bend (or "corner") in the river where the children are. The eighth president of the United States, Martin Van Buren, was born in Kinderhook and retired to it.

The town of Kinderhook contains two villages, one of which is also named Kinderhook; the other is the village of Valatie. In addition, the town contains the hamlet of Niverville, next to Kinderhook Lake.