St. Lawrence County, New York
St. Lawrence County is a county located in the U.S. State of New York. As of 2000, the population is 111,931. The county seat is Canton. The county is named for the Saint Lawrence River, which in turn was named for the Catholic saint on whose birthday the river was discovered. St. Lawrence County is the largest county in New York based on area (New York County is the smallest).
History
When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present St. Lawrence County was part of Albany County. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State of Vermont and, in theory, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766 by the creation of Cumberland County, and further on March 16, 1770 by the creation of Gloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont.
On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. The other two were called Tryon County (later renamed Montgomery County) and Charlotte County (later renamed Washington County). Tryon County contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of the present city of Schenectady, and the county included the western part of the Adirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of the Delaware River. The area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of New York State. The county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York. Charlotte County contained the eastern portion of Albany County.
In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, the name "Charlotte County" was changed to Washington County to honor George Washington, the American Revolutionary War general and later President of the United States of America, and the name "Tryon County" was changed to Montgomery County to honor the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec, replacing the name of the hated British governor.
In 1788, Clinton County was split off from Washington County. This was a much larger area than the present Clinton County, including part of what would later become St. Lawrence County, as well as several other counties or county parts of the present New York State.
In 1789, the size of Montgomery County was reduced by the splitting off of Ontario County from Montgomery. The actual area split off from Montgomery County was much larger than the present county, also including the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and part of Schuyler and Wayne Counties.
In 1791, Herkimer County was one of three counties split off from Montgomery (the other two being Otsego, and Tioga County). This was much larger than the present county, however, and was reduced by a number of subsequent splits. The first was the splitting off in 1794 of Onondaga County. This county was larger than the current Onondaga County, including the present Cayuga, Cortland, and part of Oswego Counties. This was followed by the splitting off in 1798 from Herkimer County of two portions: one, Oneida County, was larger than the current Oneida County, including the present Jefferson, Lewis, and part of Oswego Counties; another portion, together with a portion of Tioga County, was taken to form Chenango County.
In 1799, Clinton County was reduced in size by the splitting off of Essex County from Clinton County.
In 1802, parts of Clinton, Herkimer, and Montgomery Counties were taken to form the new St. Lawrence County. At that time Ogdensburg was the county seat. In 1828 the county seat was moved to Canton.
Geography
St. Lawrence County is in northwestern New York State, adjacent to the river of the same name.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 7,308 km² (2,821 mi²). 6,956 km² (2,686 mi²) of it is land and 352 km² (136 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 4.82% water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 111,931 people, 40,506 households, and 26,936 families residing in the county. The population density is 16/km² (42/mi²). There are 49,721 housing units at an average density of 7/km² (18/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 94.51% White, 2.38% African American, 0.87% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.69% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. 1.79% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 40,506 households out of which 31.80% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.50% are married couples living together, 10.30% have a female householder with no husband present, and 33.50% are non-families. 26.50% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.20% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.49 and the average family size is 2.99.
In the county the population is spread out with 23.40% under the age of 18, 13.80% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 13.00% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 103.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 102.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $32,356, and the median income for a family is $38,510. Males have a median income of $33,135 versus $22,253 for females. The per capita income for the county is $15,728. 16.90% of the population and 12.30% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 21.30% of those under the age of 18 and 10.30% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
County Information Saint Lawrence County is home to St. Lawrence University, State University of New York at Potsdam, Clarkson University, New York State Ranger School, and the State University of New York at Canton. Part of the County is in the Adirondack State Park. Cities, Towns, and Villages
- Brasher (town)
- Brasher Falls-Winthrop
- Canton (village)
- Canton (town)
- Clare (town)
- Clifton (town)
- Colton (town)
- De Kalb (town)
- De Peyster (town)
- Edwards (town)
- Edwards (village)
- Fine (town)
- Fowler (town)
- Gouverneur (village)
- Gouverneur (town)
- Hammond (town)
- Hammond (village)
- Hermon (town)
- Hermon (village)
- Heuvelton (village)
- Hopkinton (town)
- Lawrence (town)
- Lisbon (town)
- Louisville (town)
- Macomb (town)
- Madrid (town)
- Massena (village)
- Massena (town)
- Morristown (town)
- Morristown (village)
- Norfolk (town)
- Norwood (village)
- Ogdensburg (city)
- Oswegatchie (town)
- Parishville (town)
- Piercefield (town)
- Pierrepont (town)
- Pitcairn (town)
- Potsdam (village)
- Potsdam (town)
- Rensselaer Falls (village)
- Richville (village)
- Rossie (town)
- Russell (town)
- Star Lake
- Stockholm (town)
- Waddington (town)
- Waddington (village)
- => Label in parentheses is official level of government.
Adjacent counties and areas The northwestern edge of St. Lawrence County is an international border with the Province of Ontario in Canada. The eastern border is shared with Franklin County. St. Lawrence's south border is with Herkimer and Hamilton Counties. Jefferson and Lewis counties are on the southwestern border. External links
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