Ulster County, New York
Ulster County is located in the Mid-Hudson River Valley and contains a large part of the Catskill Mountains. The United States Census Bureau determined the population ending July 1 2007 to be 181,860 residents. The county seat is the city of Kingston. Ulster County is named after the Irish province of Ulster.
The area of present day Ulster County was called Esopus by the first European settlers. In 1652 Thomas Chambers a freeholder from Rensselear wyck purchased land at Esopus and began trading there. In 1683, the Duke of York created twelve counties in his province. Ulster County was one of them. Its boundaries at that time included the present Sullivan, and portions of the present Delaware, Orange and Greene Counties. The county of Ulster contains a large part of the Catskill Mountains.
In 1777, the first capital of New York State was established at Kingston, until the British burned the City.
