Lewis County, New York
U.S. County|
county = Lewis County|
state = New York |
seal = Lewis County ny seal.gif |
map size = 250|
founded =
1805| seat =
Lowville | area = 3,341
km² (1,290
mi²) |
area land = 3,303 km² (1,275 mi²) |
area water = 37 km² (14 mi²) |
area percentage = 1.12% |
census yr = 2000|
pop = 26,944 |
density = 8|
web = www.lewiscountyny.org |}}
Lewis County is a
county located in the
U.S. state of
New York. As of 2000, the population was 26,944. It is named after
Morgan Lewis,
Governor of New York when the county was established. Its
county seat is
Lowville.
When counties were established in New York State in
1683, the present Lewis 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 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
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 one of these, in
1794, produced
Onondaga County. This county was larger than the current Onondaga County, including the present
Cayuga,
Cortland, and part of
Oswego Counties.
Oneida County (as well as a part of
Chenango County), was split off from Herkimer County in
1798.
Lewis County was split off from Oneida County in
1805.
In
January 1997, much of the county was socked in a world record-breaking
snowburst, with nearly 2 meters of snow in just a 24-hour period.
Lewis County is located in northwestern New York State, slightly east of due north from
Syracuse. A large part of the county is in the
Adirondack State Park. Part of the
Tug Hill Plateau is in the southern part of the county.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,341
km² (1,290
mi²). 3,303 km² (1,275 mi²) of it is land and 37 km² (14 mi²) of it (1.12%) is water.
As of the
census² of 2000, there were 26,944 people, 10,040 households, and 7,309 families residing in the county. The
population density was 8/km² (21/mi²). There were 15,134 housing units at an average density of 5/km² (12/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.17%
White, 0.39%
African American, 0.28%
Native American, 0.23%
Asian, 0.05%
Pacific Islander, 0.28% from
other races, and 0.59% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 0.64% of the population.
There were 10,040 households out of which 35.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.40% were
married couples living together, 8.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.20% were non-families. 22.60% 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 2.66 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the county the population was spread out with 27.80% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,361, and the median income for a family was $39,287. Males had a median income of $30,479 versus $21,115 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $14,971. About 10.10% of families and 13.20% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 16.40% of those under age 18 and 14.00% of those age 65 or over.
*
Castorland (village)
*
Constableville (village)
*
Copenhagen (village)
*
Croghan (town)
*
Croghan (village)
*
Denmark (town)
*
Diana (town)
*
Greig (town)
*
Harrisburg (town)
*
Harrisville (village)
*
Lewis (town)
*
Leyden (town)
*
Lowville (village)
*
Lowville (town)
*
Lyons Falls (village)
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Lyonsdale (town)
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Martinsburg (town)
*
Montague (town)
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New Bremen (town)
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Osceola (town)
*
Pinckney (town)
*
Port Leyden (village)
*
Turin (town)
*
Turin (village)
*
Watson (town)
*
West Turin (town) :
==> Label in parentheses is official designation*
Lewis County website *
Early history notes of Lewis County *
Early history summary of Lewis County 
