Cayuga County, New York

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




map size = 250
founded = 1799
seat = Auburn | area_total_sq_mi =864
area_water_sq_mi =170
area percentage = 19.74%
census yr = 2000
pop = 81963
density_km2 =46
web = www.co.cayuga.ny.us
|

Cayuga County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It was named for one of the tribes of Indians in the Iroquois Confederation. Its county seat is Auburn.

History

When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Cayuga 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. One of the other pieces, 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. In the years prior to 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to Canada. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, the name of Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County in honor of 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 1789, Montgomery County was reduced in size by the splitting off of Ontario County. 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.

Herkimer County was one of three counties split off from Montgomery County (the others being Otsego and Tioga Counties) in 1791.

Onondaga County was formed in 1794 by the splitting of Herkimer County.

Cayuga County was formed in 1799 by the splitting of Onondaga County. This county was, however, much larger than the present Cayuga County. It then included the present Seneca and Tompkins Counties.

In 1804, Seneca County was formed by the splitting of Cayuga County. Then in 1817, in turn, a portion of Seneca County was combined with a piece of the remainder of Cayuga County to form Tompkins County.

Geography

Cayuga County is located in the west central part of the state, in the Finger Lakes region. Owasco Lake is in the center of the county, and Cayuga Lake forms part of the western boundary. Lake Ontario is on the northern border, and Skaneateles Lake is at the eastern border. Cayuga County has more waterfront land than any other county in the state not adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 864 square miles (2,237 km²), of which, 693 square miles (1,795 km²) of it is land and 170 square miles (441 km²) of it (19.74%) is water.

Adjacent counties

*Oswego County, New York - northeast
*Onondaga County, New York - east
*Cortland County, New York - southeast
*Tompkins County, New York - south
*Seneca County, New York - west
*Wayne County, New York - west

Major highways

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Demographics

USCensusPop
1800 = 15871
1810 = 29843
1820 = 38897
1830 = 47948
1840 = 50338
1850 = 55458
1860 = 55767
1870 = 59550
1880 = 65081
1890 = 65302
1900 = 66234
1910 = 67106
1920 = 65221
1930 = 64751
1940 = 65508
1950 = 70136
1960 = 73942
1970 = 77439
1980 = 79894
1990 = 82313
2000 = 81963
estyear = 2007 [ [http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/tables/CO-EST2007-01-36.xls Population Estimates as of July 1, 2007 by U.S. Census Bureau] ]
estimate = 80066
footnote = Source [ [http://www.empire.state.ny.us/nysdc/StateCountyPopests/CountyPopHistory.PDF New York State Department of Economic Development] ] As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 81,963 people, 30,558 households, and 20,840 families residing in the county. The population density was 118 people per square mile (46/km²). There were 35,477 housing units at an average density of 51 per square mile (20/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.34% White, 3.99% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.88% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. 1.97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.3% were of Irish, 16.0% English, 15.7% Italian, 11.3% German, 9.5% American and 6.3% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000 [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-context=dt&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_PCT016&-CONTEXT=dt&-tree_id=] . 94.9% spoke English, 2.0% Spanish and 1.0% Italian as their first language.

There were 30,558 households out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.00% were married couples living together, 11.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 26.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.10% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 29.70% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 102.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,487, and the median income for a family was $44,973. Males had a median income of $33,356 versus $23,919 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,003. About 7.80% of families and 11.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.90% of those under age 18 and 8.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government and Politics

Cayuga County is considered a swing county in national elections. In 2000 Democrat Al Gore won Cayuga County with 50% of the vote to Bush's 44. In 2004 however Republican 'George Bush defeated John Kerry by a margin of only 0.58% or 49.22% to 48.64%. In statewide elections it has gone for Democrats both Eliot Spitzer and Hillary Clinton won it in 2006 with over 60% of the vote.

ee also

* USS "Cayuga County" (LST-529)
* Cayuga County Sheriff's Office
* Cayuga County Community College
* Cayuga Community College Office of Public Safety

References

External links

* [http://www.co.cayuga.ny.us County of Cayuga]
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~nycayuga/index.htm Cayuga County NYGenWeb Project]
* [http://history.rays-place.com/ny/cty-cayuga.htm Cayuga County history pages]
* [http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/state/his/bk9/ch5.html Summary early history of counties and towns of Cayuga County]
* [http://www.nonesuchfolks.com Area photos, maps, history and genealogy]
* [http://www.co.cayuga.ny.us/sheriff Cayuga County Sheriff]
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* [http://www.cayuga-cc.edu Cayuga Community College]