Clinton County, New York

History

When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Clinton 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.

In 1799, Essex County was split off from Clinton County.

In 1802, parts of Clinton, Herkimer, and Montgomery counties were taken to form the new St. Lawrence County.

In 1808, Franklin County was split off from Clinton County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,118 square miles (2,900 km²), of which 1,038 square miles (2,690 km²) is land and 80 square miles (210 km²) (7.1%) is water.

Clinton County is in the northeastern part of the State of New York, west of Vermont and south of the Canadian province of Quebec. The eastern boundary of Clinton County is Lake Champlain, which serves as the New York-Vermont border. Because of this, the encompassing region is referred to as the Adirondack Coast. The Ausable River forms a large part of the south county line.

The southwest part of the county is in the Adirondack Park.

Adjacent counties and municipalities

Government and politics

Clinton County is considered a Republican county. However, it was won by Democratic candidates in recent national and statewide election. In the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, Barack Obama carried the county by a 22.9% margin over John McCain (Obama won every municipality in the county), with Obama winning by a 26.9% margin over McCain statewide. In 2006, both Eliot Spitzer and Hillary Clinton carried it winning 63% and 64% of vote. In 2010, Andrew Cuomo, and Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand carried the county with over 60 percent of the vote. However, local races are most often won by Republican candidates. For example, the region had never sent a Democrat to Congress until 2009, and has not sent a Democrat to Albany as a Senator or Assemblyperson since the 1960s.

The Clinton County Legislature is the lawmaking body of the county. It consists of 10 members each elected from individual districts. Legislative District Maps The legislature currently consists of 8 Democrats and 2 Republicans. County Executive, Michael Zurlo is the County Administrator and runs the day-to-day operations of the County

Clinton County Legislature

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 79,894 people, 29,423 households, and 19,272 families residing in the county. The population density was 77 people per square mile (30/km²). There were 33,091 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile (12/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.33% White, 3.58% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.10% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 2.46% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23.7% were of French, 15.0% French Canadian, 12.5% American, 11.8% Irish, 7.6% English and 5.5% German ancestry according to Census 2000. 94.1% spoke English, 2.8% French and 1.7% Spanish as their first language.

There were 29,423 households out of which 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.00% were married couples living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.50% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.00% under the age of 18, 12.40% from 18 to 24, 30.60% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 11.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 104.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,028, and the median income for a family was $45,732. Males had a median income of $33,788 versus $25,520 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,946. About 9.40% of families and 13.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.30% of those under age 18 and 11.40% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The State University of New York at Plattsburgh is located in the City of Plattsburgh. The county is also served by Clinton Community College, which is located in the Town of Plattsburgh.

Infrastructure

Clinton Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison is located in the village of Dannemora.

Highways

Airports

The following public use airports are located in the county:

City

Villages

Hamlets