Castleton gets its name from the exploration of the North River by Henry Hudson. While traveling up the river, he came upon a Mahican Indian village noted for a large structure located on a rise above the river. This structure was a storehouse for foodstuffs, but was of such size that it was thought to be a "castle". Another theory for the derivation of the name "Castleton" comes from Rutherford Hayner's Troy and Rensselaer County New York: A History. Hayner states "Although the exact location of this landing of Hudson's has been more or less conjectural, the weight of opinion places it at or near the present site of the village of Castleton, for on Castle Hill, back of the village, stood the dwelling of the chief of the Mohicans." The area of Castleton was settled in 1792. When the small village was incorporated into Rensselaer County on 13 April 1827, there were about 100 people living in the area, mostly along the banks of the river. Between 1890 and 1920, the village had a booming economy, with small industry, a hotel, and a small port to gain access to river traffic. However, a large flood destroyed much of the business district in 1936, and the industry took the opportunity to relocate. These days the town is a very residential suburb, with some light agriculture. The name of the village was changed from Castleton to Castleton-on-Hudson in 1927. The Gazetteer of the State of New York of 1860 reports that Castleton was formerly known as Morriches Hastie. The District School No. 3 and Joachim Staats House and Gerrit Staats Ruin are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,619 people, 615 households, and 399 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,025.5 people per square mile. There were 654 housing units at an average density of 818.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 96.79% White, 1.36% African American, 0.25% Asian, 0.93% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.79% of the population. There were 615 households out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couplesliving together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.06. In the village, the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.0 males. The median income for a household in the village was $44,141, and the median income for a family was $51,957. Males had a median income of $36,019 versus $26,976 for females. The per capita income for the village was $18,660. About 2.5% of families and 8.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.
Notable residents
James L. Hogeboom: Christian Rieseberg-nonprofit leader
