Washington County, New York

Infobox U.S. County
county = Washington County
state = New York




map size = 250
founded = March 12, 1772
seat = Fort Edward | area_total_sq_mi =846
area_water_sq_mi =10
area percentage = 1.23%
census yr = 2000
pop = 61042
density_km2 =28
web = www.co.washington.ny.us
|

Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Glens Falls, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the population was 61,042. It was named for the Revolutionary War general (and later President of the United States) George Washington. The county seat is Fort Edward.

History

When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Washington 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.

In 1784, the name "Charlotte County" was changed to honor George Washington, the American Revolutionary War general and later President of the United States of America.

In 1788, Clinton County was split off from Washington County. This was a much larger area than the present Clinton County, including several other counties or county parts of the present New York State.

In 1791, the Town of Cambridge was transferred from Albany County to Washington County.

In 1813, Warren County was split off from Washington County. [http://www.rootsweb.com/~nywarren/countyhistory/smith/xvi.htm History of Warren County, edited by H. P. Smith - Chapter XVI: To the Present Time] ]

In 1994, with the completion of the new municipal center, the county seat was moved from Hudson Falls to Fort Edward.

Historic Sites

Washington County has four historic covered bridges, each listed on the National Register of Historic Places:
* Buskirk Bridge
* Eagleville Bridge
* Rexleigh Bridge
* Shushan BridgeIncluding those, it has a total of 35 sites listed on the National Register. The Lemuel Haynes House is further designated to be a National Historic Landmark.

Notable Natives/Residents

* Grandma Moses, American painter and centenarian

* Don Warren, a luthier (guitar maker); the owner and creator of Warren Guitars. Several guitar legends such as Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult, Dan Toler, (former member of The Allman Brothers Band) and Marc Colombo, (offensive line player for The Dallas Cowboys) have used or are currently using, Warren Guitars. A Warren Guitar can be heard during the video game "SpiderMan 3".

Geography

Washington County is located in the northeastern section of the State. The eastern boundary of Washington County is the New York-Vermont border, part of which is Lake Champlain.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 846 square miles (2,191 km²), of which, 835 square miles (2,164 km²) of it is land and 10 square miles (27 km²) of it (1.23%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

*Essex County, New York - north
*Addison County, Vermont - northeast
*Rutland County, Vermont - east
*Bennington County, Vermont - southeast
*Rensselaer County, New York - south
*Saratoga County, New York - southwest
*Warren County, New York - west

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 61,042 people, 22,458 households, and 15,787 families residing in the county. The population density was 73 people per square mile (28/km²). There were 26,794 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile (12/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.97% White, 2.92% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. 2.02% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.5% were of Irish, 14.1% French, 12.1% English, 11.1% American, 9.0% Italian and 7.7% German ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.9% spoke English and 1.4% Spanish as their first language.

There were 22,458 households out of which 33.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.20% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.60% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 105.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,668, and the median income for a family was $43,500. Males had a median income of $31,537 versus $22,160 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,958. About 6.80% of families and 9.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.30% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

*Argyle (village)
*Argyle (town)
*Cambridge (village)
*Cambridge (town)
*Dresden (town)
*Easton (town)
*Fort Ann (village)
*Fort Ann (town)
*Fort Edward (village)
*Fort Edward (town)
*Granville (town)
*Granville (village)
*Greenwich (village)
*Greenwich (town)
*East Greenwich (hamlet)
*Hampton (town)
*Hartford (town)
*Hebron (town)
*Hudson Falls (village)
*Jackson (town)
*Kingsbury (town)
*Putnam (town)
*Salem (village)
*Salem (town)
*White Creek (town)
*Whitehall (village)
*Whitehall (town)

ee also

References

External links

* [http://www.co.washington.ny.us Washington County, New York; Official Website]
* [http://www.washingtoncounty.org Washington County]
*
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/NY/WA.html Politcal history/notable people of Washington County]