Yates County, New York
Yates County is a county located in the state of New York. As of 2000, the population is 24,621. The county seat is Penn Yan. The name is in honor of Joseph C. Yates, who as Governor of New York signed the act establishing the county.
When counties were established in New York State in
1683, the present Yates 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 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, and Yates Counties, and part of
Schuyler and
Wayne Counties.
In
1796,
Steuben County was split off from Ontario County.
In
1802, Ontario County was reduced in size by the splitting off of
Genesee County. The actual area split off from Ontario County was much larger than the present county, also including the present
Allegany,
Cattaraugus,
Chautauqua,
Erie,
Niagara,
Orleans and
Wyoming Counties and parts of
Livingston and
Monroe Counties.
In
1821, Ontario County was reduced in size by combining portions of Genesee and Ontario Counties to create
Livingston and
Monroe Counties.
In
1823, Yates County was formed from portions of Steuben and Ontario Counties.
Yates County is in the western part of New York State, west of
Ithaca and southeast of Rochester. It has a total area of 973 km² (376 mi²). 876 km² (338 mi²) of it is land and 97 km² (38 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 9.99% water. Yates County is in the Finger Lakes Region.
As of the
census2 of
2000, there are 24,621 people, 9,029 households, and 6,284 families residing in the county. The
population density is 28/km² (73/mi²). There are 12,064 housing units at an average density of 14/km² (36/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 97.90%
White, 0.56%
African American, 0.15%
Native American, 0.28%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander, 0.36% from
other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. 0.93% of the population are
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There are 9,029 households out of which 31.50% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.00% are
married couples living together, 9.40% have a female householder with no husband present, and 30.40% are non-families. 24.60% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.60% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.59 and the average family size is 3.08.
In the county the population is spread out with 26.70% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 95.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 91.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $34,640, and the median income for a family is $40,681. Males have a median income of $29,671 versus $21,566 for females. The
per capita income for the county is $16,781. 13.10% of the population and 8.90% of families are below the
poverty line. Out of the total population, 20.90% of those under the age of 18 and 7.10% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
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Barrington (town)
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Benton (town)
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Dresden (village)
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Dundee (village)
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Italy (town)
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Jerusalem (town)
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Middlesex (town)
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Milo (town)
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Penn Yan (village)
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Potter (town)
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Rushville (village)
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Starkey (town)
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Torrey (town)
: ==> label within parentheses is official designation.
Keuka College and
Finger Lakes Community College are in ths county.
Penn Yan Airport, the principal airport in the county, is on a hill south of Penn Yan.
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Yates County, New York *
Yates County information *
Finger Lakes information *
Brief history of Yates County and related materials *
Yates County historical information 
