Livingston County, New York
U.S. County|
county = Livingston County|
state = New York |
seal = Seal of Livingston County, New York.jpg |
map = Map of New York highlighting Livingston County.png |
map size = 250|
founded =
1821| seat =
Geneseo | area = 1,659
km² (640
mi²) |
area water = 22 km² (8 mi²) |
area percentage = 1.30% |
census yr = 2000|
pop = 64,328 |
density = 39|
web = www.co.livingston.state.ny.us |}}
Livingston County is a
county located in the
U.S. state of
New York. As of 2000, the population was 64,328. It is named after
Robert R. Livingston, delegate to the
1775 Continental Congress, member of the committee that drafted the
Declaration of Independence, and father-in-law of
Richard Montgomery, after whom
Montgomery County (and similarly named counties in many other states) were named. Its
county seat is
Geneseo.
There is also a town named Livingston in
Columbia County.
When counties were established in New York State in
1683, the present Livingston 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 order 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,
Ontario County was split off 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.
Genesee County was created by a splitting of Ontario County in
1802. This was much larger than the present Genesee County, however. It contained the present
Allegany,
Cattaraugus,
Chautauqua,
Erie,
Niagara,
Orleans,
Wyoming, and portions of Livingston and
Monroe Counties.
Livingston County was formed from Genesee and Ontario Counties in
1821.
Livingston County is home to the State University of New York, College at Geneseo (now
SUNY Geneseo), one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country.
Livingston County is located in western New York State, south of
Rochester and east of
Buffalo.
A popular tourist location in partly in Livingston County is the
Finger Lakes.
Letchworth State Park in partly in the western part of the county. The
Genesee River flows northward through the county.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,659
km² (640
mi²). 1,637 km² (632 mi²) of it is land and 22 km² (8 mi²) of it (1.30%) is water.
Adjacent counties and areas
The northern boundary is
Monroe County. The western boundary is formed with
Genesee and
Wyoming Counties. On the south are
Allegany and
Steuben Counties.
Ontario County is to the east.
As of the
census² of 2000, there were 64,328 people, 22,150 households, and 15,349 families residing in the county. The
population density was 39/km² (102/mi²). There were 24,023 housing units at an average density of 15/km² (38/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.04%
White, 3.01%
African American, 0.27%
Native American, 0.76%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.85% from
other races, and 1.04% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 2.27% of the population.
There were 22,150 households out of which 34.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.80% were
married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.70% were non-families. 23.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the county the population was spread out with 23.40% under the age of 18, 14.20% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 11.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 100.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $42,066, and the median income for a family was $50,513. Males had a median income of $36,599 versus $25,228 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $18,062. About 5.80% of families and 10.40% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 9.70% of those under age 18 and 6.50% of those age 65 or over.
*
Livingston County webpage *
Brief histories of Livingston towns *
Summary history of Livingston County and its towns 
