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Essex County, New York
Map of New York highlighting Essex County
Location in the state of New York (state)
Map of the U.S
New York's location in the U.S.
Founded 1799
Seat Elizabethtown
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

1,916 sq mi (4,962 km²)

120 sq mi (311 km²), 6.25%
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

37,381
21/sq mi (8/km²)

Essex County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,381. Its name is from the English county of Essex. Its county seat is Elizabethtown. Along with Hamilton County, Essex is entirely within the Adirondack Park.

History[]

When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Essex 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, Charlotte County, contained the eastern portion.

In 1784, 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.

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. (near Clunes)

Essex County was split from Clinton County in 1799.

Notable people, past and present[]

  • Vincent Colyer (1825-1888), a successful Nineteenth-century artist and humanitarian, was born in Bloomingdale.
  • James Renwick (1818-1895), a successful Nineteenth-century architect, was born in Bloomingdale.
  • Johnny Podres (1932- ), Pitcher for Brooklyn Dodgers and 1955 World Series MVP, was born in Witherbee.

Geography[]

Essex County is in the northeastern part of New York State, just west of Vermont along the eastern boundary of the State. The eastern boundary of Essex County is Lake Champlain, which serves as the New York-Vermont border. The highest point in New York, Mount Marcy is in the Town of Keene.

The Ausable River forms a partial northern boundary for the county.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,964 km² (1,916 sq mi). 4,654 km² (1,797 sq mi) of it is land and 310 km² (120 sq mi) of it (6.25%) is water.

Adjacent Counties[]

Demographics[]

As of the census² of 2000, there were 38,851 people, 15,028 households, and 9,828 families residing in the county. The population density was 8/km² (22/sq mi). There were 23,115 housing units at an average density of 5/km² (13/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 94.84% White, 2.81% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.69% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. 2.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 15,028 households out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.20% were married couples living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.60% were non-families. 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the county the population was spread out with 22.80% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 29.80% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from 45 to 64, and 16.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 107.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,823, and the median income for a family was $41,927. Males had a median income of $30,952 versus $22,205 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,194. 11.60% of the population and 7.80% of families were below the poverty line. 14.50% of those under the age of 18 and 8.60% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Politics[]

Essex County is a swing county. It voted for George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 elections, switched to Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 and then flipped to Donald Trump in 2016, then to Joe Biden in 2020. Before 1996, however, Essex, like most of the North Country, was powerfully Republican. Until Bill Clinton won it in 1996, it had voted for a Democratic presidential candidate only once since the Civil War, when Barry Goldwater lost every county in New York State in 1964.

United States presidential election results for Essex County, New York[1]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 8,982 46.59% 9,950 51.61% 348 1.80%
2016 7,958 46.22% 7,762 45.08% 1,498 8.70%
2012 6,647 39.76% 9,784 58.53% 286 1.71%
2008 7,913 42.55% 10,390 55.88% 292 1.57%
2004 9,869 51.72% 8,768 45.95% 445 2.33%
2000 8,822 49.18% 7,927 44.19% 1,189 6.63%
1996 6,379 37.55% 7,893 46.47% 2,714 15.98%
1992 8,278 43.63% 6,717 35.40% 3,978 20.97%
1988 10,350 60.48% 6,623 38.70% 140 0.82%
1984 12,114 69.94% 5,119 29.56% 87 0.50%
1980 9,025 53.16% 6,443 37.95% 1,510 8.89%
1976 10,194 60.59% 6,556 38.97% 74 0.44%
1972 11,763 70.22% 4,955 29.58% 34 0.20%
1968 9,377 61.07% 5,218 33.98% 760 4.95%
1964 5,837 35.19% 10,739 64.75% 9 0.05%
1960 11,557 64.56% 6,334 35.38% 10 0.06%
1956 13,930 82.11% 3,035 17.89% 0 0.00%
1952 12,800 75.53% 4,130 24.37% 16 0.09%
1948 10,287 69.90% 4,088 27.78% 342 2.32%
1944 10,128 68.44% 4,637 31.34% 33 0.22%
1940 11,868 68.01% 5,545 31.77% 38 0.22%
1936 11,599 67.88% 5,447 31.88% 42 0.25%
1932 10,062 63.74% 5,597 35.46% 127 0.80%
1928 10,462 66.34% 5,291 33.55% 17 0.11%
1924 8,553 73.96% 2,639 22.82% 373 3.23%
1920 8,042 77.48% 2,218 21.37% 119 1.15%
1916 4,643 65.39% 2,373 33.42% 84 1.18%
1912 3,127 44.20% 2,070 29.26% 1,878 26.54%
1908 5,167 69.09% 2,033 27.18% 279 3.73%
1904 5,385 70.88% 2,028 26.69% 184 2.42%
1900 5,064 70.31% 1,994 27.69% 144 2.00%
1896 5,356 74.24% 1,760 24.40% 98 1.36%
1892 4,636 60.39% 2,710 35.30% 331 4.31%
1888 5,043 62.28% 2,930 36.19% 124 1.53%
1884 4,551 61.06% 2,776 37.25% 126 1.69%



Cities, Towns, Villages, and other locations[]

Bridge at crown point NY

The bridge at Crown Point

Lake Placid

Lake Placid

Harris Lake

Harris Lake in Newcomb.

Note: Designation in parentheses is the official political level.

Education[]

External links[]

Coordinates: 44°07′N 73°46′W / 44.11, -73.77


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Essex County, New York. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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