Washington County | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 43°18′N73°24′W / 43.3°N 73.4°W | |
Country | United States |
State | New York |
Founded | March 12, 1772 [lower-alpha 1] (Took its name on April 2, 1784) |
Named for | George Washington |
Seat | Fort Edward |
Largest village | Hudson Falls |
Area | |
• Total | 846 sq mi (2,190 km2) |
• Land | 831 sq mi (2,150 km2) |
• Water | 15 sq mi (40 km2) 1.7% |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 61,302 [1] |
• Estimate (2023) | 60,047 |
Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
Congressional district | 21st |
Website | www |
Washington County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,302. [2] The county seat is Fort Edward. [3] The county was named for U.S. President George Washington. The county is part of the Capital District region of the state.
When counties were established in the colony of New York in 1683, the present Washington 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. The other two were called Tryon County (later renamed Montgomery County) and Charlotte County. [lower-alpha 1]
On April 2, 1784, [lower-alpha 1] Charlotte County was renamed Washington County in honor of 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. [lower-alpha 1] 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 1791, the Town of Cambridge was transferred from Albany County to Washington County.
In 1813, Warren County was split off from Washington County. [lower-alpha 1] [4]
In 1994, with the completion of the new municipal center, the county seat was moved from Hudson Falls to Fort Edward.
In 2006, Cambridge Town Supervisor Jo Ann Trinkle made history by being elected as the first chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors.
Washington County has four historic covered bridges, each listed on the National Register of Historic Places:
Including those, it has a total of 35 sites listed on the National Register. The Lemuel Haynes House is designated as a National Historic Landmark, the highest level of significance.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 846 square miles (2,190 km2), of which 831 square miles (2,150 km2) is land and 15 square miles (39 km2) (1.7%) is water. [5]
Washington County is a long narrow county located in the northeastern section of the State. It is known for its rich valley farm land and is part of the Great Appalachian Valley (also known simply as the 'Great Valley') which is a long narrow valley strip often between tall mountain ranges. The county transitions from the Taconic Mountains to the Adirondack Mountains, and from the Lake Champlain Valley to Hudson River Valley.
Much of the county is part of the slate valley of the Upper Taconic Mountains (Taghkanic, meaning 'in the trees'). The eastern boundary of Washington County is the New York–Vermont border, part of which is Lake Champlain. This is also the border with New England proper. The northern end of the county is within the 6.1 million acre Adirondack Park. Western boundaries include primarily the Hudson River and Lake George.
Washington County belongs to the following valleys and watersheds: Champlain Valley / Lake George Watershed—02010001 [6] Hudson River Valley / Hudson-Hoosic Watershed—02020003 [6] Waters in the northern part drain into Lake Champlain via Lake George (Horican) or the Mettawee River, and then flow into the Saint Lawrence River (Kaniatarowanenneh). These waters mingle in the Saint Lawrence with waters of all the Great Lakes as they flow northeast into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and ultimately join the Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile, the remainder of waters drain south via the Hudson River (Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk or Muhheakantuck), and ultimately flow south into the Atlantic Ocean below New York City. See the approximation of the watershed divide mapped in context of mountains [7] and valleys. [8]
Nearly half of its borders are by long bodies of water. Winding across the bottom of the county is the legendary Batten Kill (Dionondehowa), famous for its worldclass flyfishing, and its marvelous falls (near the Washington County fairgrounds).
Black Mountain, in the Adirondacks, is the tallest peak in Washington County at approximately 2,640 feet (800 meters), and has beautiful views of Lake George, Lake Champlain, the surrounding countryside, and the Adirondacks, Taconic Mountains and Green Mountains. Willard Mountain is a ski center in the southern part of the county.
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1790 | 14,077 | — | |
1800 | 35,574 | 152.7% | |
1810 | 44,289 | 24.5% | |
1820 | 38,831 | −12.3% | |
1830 | 42,635 | 9.8% | |
1840 | 41,080 | −3.6% | |
1850 | 44,750 | 8.9% | |
1860 | 45,904 | 2.6% | |
1870 | 49,568 | 8.0% | |
1880 | 47,871 | −3.4% | |
1890 | 45,690 | −4.6% | |
1900 | 45,624 | −0.1% | |
1910 | 47,778 | 4.7% | |
1920 | 44,888 | −6.0% | |
1930 | 46,482 | 3.6% | |
1940 | 46,726 | 0.5% | |
1950 | 47,144 | 0.9% | |
1960 | 48,476 | 2.8% | |
1970 | 52,725 | 8.8% | |
1980 | 54,795 | 3.9% | |
1990 | 59,330 | 8.3% | |
2000 | 61,042 | 2.9% | |
2010 | 63,216 | 3.6% | |
2020 | 61,302 | −3.0% | |
2023 (est.) | 60,047 | −2.0% | |
U.S. Decennial Census [9] 1790-1960 [10] 1900-1990 [11] 1990-2000 [12] 2010-2020 [2] |
As of the census [13] of 2000, there were 61,042 people, 22,458 households, and 15,787 families residing in the county. The population density was 73 inhabitants per square mile (28/km2). There were 26,794 housing units at an average density of 32 units per square mile (12/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 94.97% White, 2.92% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. 2.02% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.5% were of Irish, 14.1% French, 12.1% English, 11.1% American, 9.0% Italian and 7.7% German ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.9% spoke English and 1.4% Spanish as their first language.
There were 22,458 households, out of which 33.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.20% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 24.00% 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 2.55 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.60% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 105.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,668, and the median income for a family was $43,500. Males had a median income of $31,537 versus $22,160 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,958. About 6.80% of families and 9.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.30% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.
Race | Num. | Perc. |
---|---|---|
White (NH) | 54,605 | 89.1% |
Black or African American (NH) | 1,563 | 2.6% |
Native American (NH) | 149 | 0.24% |
Asian (NH) | 319 | 0.52% |
Pacific Islander (NH) | 22 | .03% |
Other/Mixed (NH) | 2,883 | 4.7% |
Hispanic or Latino | 1,761 | 2.9% |
The county government consists of a board of supervisors with weighted votes. Each town supervisor holds a seat on the county government, and their votes are based on the population of their town, with Kingsbury and Fort Edward supervisors having the largest number of votes, and Putnam having the fewest votes. The 2017 weighted vote totals are available on the county website.
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third parties |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | 62.76%12,879 | 31.24% 6,411 | 6% 1,232 |
2014 | 58.26%8,699 | 32.59% 4,866 | 9.15% 1,367 |
2010 | 42.03% 7,669 | 51.98%9,485 | 5.99% 1,093 |
2006 | 38.62% 7,024 | 59.51%10,822 | 1.87% 340 |
2002 | 56.50%9,491 | 22.42% 3,767 | 21.07% 3,541 |
Prior to 1996, Washington County was a Republican stronghold, with the only time between 1884 and 1992 that a Republican presidential candidate failed to win the county being 1964 when Barry Goldwater lost every county in New York in his statewide and national landslide loss. Since 1996, it has become a bellwether county, but Republican candidate margins of victory have been greater than those by Democratic candidates and broke its bellwether streak in 2020 when Donald Trump won the county. In his 2020 performance, Trump received the highest percentage of the vote for a Republican since 1988 when George H. W. Bush received 62 percent. No Democrat aside from Lyndon B. Johnson in the aforementioned 1964 election has managed to win majority of the county's votes.
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 15,941 | 56.65% | 11,565 | 41.10% | 632 | 2.25% |
2016 | 13,610 | 55.49% | 9,098 | 37.09% | 1,820 | 7.42% |
2012 | 11,085 | 48.00% | 11,523 | 49.89% | 487 | 2.11% |
2008 | 12,533 | 48.71% | 12,741 | 49.52% | 456 | 1.77% |
2004 | 13,827 | 55.08% | 10,624 | 42.32% | 652 | 2.60% |
2000 | 12,596 | 53.47% | 9,641 | 40.93% | 1,318 | 5.60% |
1996 | 8,954 | 39.72% | 9,572 | 42.46% | 4,018 | 17.82% |
1992 | 10,305 | 41.00% | 8,429 | 33.53% | 6,401 | 25.47% |
1988 | 14,103 | 62.64% | 8,201 | 36.42% | 211 | 0.94% |
1984 | 16,580 | 73.48% | 5,909 | 26.19% | 74 | 0.33% |
1980 | 12,835 | 58.59% | 7,144 | 32.61% | 1,927 | 8.80% |
1976 | 13,946 | 65.40% | 7,262 | 34.06% | 116 | 0.54% |
1972 | 16,136 | 73.80% | 5,677 | 25.97% | 51 | 0.23% |
1968 | 12,694 | 61.71% | 6,806 | 33.09% | 1,069 | 5.20% |
1964 | 8,160 | 37.10% | 13,826 | 62.87% | 7 | 0.03% |
1960 | 15,037 | 64.49% | 8,274 | 35.48% | 6 | 0.03% |
1956 | 18,449 | 79.30% | 4,817 | 20.70% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 17,551 | 73.80% | 6,210 | 26.11% | 22 | 0.09% |
1948 | 13,975 | 68.29% | 6,017 | 29.40% | 472 | 2.31% |
1944 | 13,861 | 66.03% | 7,100 | 33.82% | 31 | 0.15% |
1940 | 15,960 | 66.57% | 7,977 | 33.27% | 38 | 0.16% |
1936 | 15,186 | 65.13% | 7,713 | 33.08% | 418 | 1.79% |
1932 | 14,478 | 65.26% | 7,512 | 33.86% | 194 | 0.87% |
1928 | 15,499 | 66.91% | 7,221 | 31.17% | 443 | 1.91% |
1924 | 13,774 | 71.50% | 4,321 | 22.43% | 1,169 | 6.07% |
1920 | 13,647 | 75.43% | 4,124 | 22.79% | 322 | 1.78% |
1916 | 7,310 | 63.77% | 3,907 | 34.08% | 246 | 2.15% |
1912 | 4,593 | 40.94% | 3,555 | 31.68% | 3,072 | 27.38% |
1908 | 7,933 | 65.63% | 3,593 | 29.73% | 561 | 4.64% |
1904 | 8,324 | 67.37% | 3,517 | 28.47% | 514 | 4.16% |
1900 | 8,209 | 68.34% | 3,357 | 27.95% | 446 | 3.71% |
1896 | 8,139 | 69.12% | 3,239 | 27.51% | 397 | 3.37% |
1892 | 6,794 | 59.54% | 3,731 | 32.70% | 885 | 7.76% |
1888 | 8,023 | 63.21% | 4,284 | 33.75% | 386 | 3.04% |
1884 | 7,337 | 61.51% | 4,222 | 35.39% | 370 | 3.10% |
The following public use airports are located in the county: [17]
Amtrak's Adirondack and Ethan Allen Express services each travel through Washington County once a day in each direction on their routes between New York, New York and Montreal, Québec or Burlington, Vermont, respectively. Both routes stop in Fort Edward and the Adirondack additionally serves Whitehall. The Adirondack was temporarily suspended from March 2020 through early April 2023 due to the closure of the Canadian/American border in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and related logistical challenges. [18]
Lake Champlain is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the US states of New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec.
Clinton County is the northeastern most county in the northeastern corner of the state of New York, in the United States and bordered by the Canadian province of Quebec. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 79,843. Its county seat is the city of Plattsburgh. The county lies just south of the border with the Canadian province of Quebec and to the west of the State of Vermont. The county is named for George Clinton, the first Governor of New York, who later was elected as Vice President. He had been a Founding Father who represented New York in the Continental Congress. Clinton County comprises the Plattsburgh, New York Micropolitan statistical area. The county is part of the North Country region of the state.
Columbia County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. At the 2020 census, the population was 61,570. The county seat is Hudson. The name comes from the Latin feminine form of the surname of Christopher Columbus, which was at the time of the formation of the county a popular proposal for the name of the United States. The county is part of the Capital District region of the state.
Essex County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,381. Its county seat is the hamlet of Elizabethtown. Its name is from the English county of Essex. Essex is one of two counties that are entirely within the Adirondack Park, the other being Hamilton County. The county is part of the North Country region of the state.
Dresden is a town in northern Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 677 at the 2000 census.
Hebron is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 1,773 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the ancient city of Hebron, in the present-day West Bank.
Dorset is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,133 at the 2020 census. Dorset is famous for being the location of Cephas Kent's Inn, where four meetings of the Convention that signed the Dorset Accords led to the independent Vermont Republic and future statehood. Dorset is the site of America's oldest marble quarry and is the birthplace of Bill W., co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. East Dorset is the site of the Wilson House and the Griffith Library. The town is named after the English county of Dorset.
The Berkshires are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut Rivers. Highlands of northwest Connecticut may be seen as part of the Berkshires and sometimes called the Northwest Hills or Litchfield Hills. The segment of the Taconic Mountains in Massachusetts is often considered a part of the Berkshires, although they are geologically separate and are a comparatively narrow range along New York's eastern border.
The Champlain Valley is a region of the United States around Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York extending north slightly into Quebec, Canada. It is part of the St. Lawrence River drainage basin, drained northward by the Richelieu River into the St. Lawrence at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec. The Richelieu valley is not generally referred to as part of the Champlain Valley.
New York State Route 22 (NY 22) is a north–south state highway that parallels the eastern border of the U.S. state of New York, from the outskirts of New York City to the hamlet of Mooers in Clinton County near the Canadian border. At 337 miles (542 km), it is the state's longest north–south route and the third longest state route overall, after NY 5 and NY 17. Many of the state's major east–west roads intersect with, and often join, NY 22 just before crossing into the neighboring New England states, where U.S. Route 7 (US 7), which originally partially followed NY 22's alignment, similarly parallels the New York state line.
Area codes 518 and 838 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan for eastern Upstate New York in the United States. 518 is one of the 86 original North American area codes created in 1947. Area code 838 was added to the 518 numbering plan area in 2017. The two area codes serve 24 counties and 1,200 ZIP Code areas in a numbering plan area (NPA) that extends from the eastern Mohawk Valley to the Vermont border, and from the Canada–US border to south of Albany. The bulk of the population is in the Capital District, the vicinity of the cities Albany, Schenectady, and Troy. Other cities in the NPA are Glens Falls, Plattsburgh, and Saratoga Springs. It includes the Upper Hudson Valley counties, Greene and Columbia counties, and some northern parts of Dutchess County.
The geography of New York varies widely across the state. Most of New York is dominated by farms, forests, rivers, mountains, and lakes. New York's Adirondack Park is larger than any U.S. National Park in the contiguous United States. Niagara Falls, on the Niagara River as it flows from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, is a popular attraction. The Hudson River begins near Lake Tear of the Clouds and flows south through the eastern part of the state without draining lakes George or Champlain. Lake George empties at its north end into Lake Champlain, whose northern end extends into Canada, where it drains into the Richelieu River and then the St. Lawrence. Four of New York City's five boroughs are on the three islands at the mouth of the Hudson River: Manhattan Island, Staten Island, and Brooklyn and Queens on Long Island.
The Batten Kill, Battenkill, or Battenkill River is a 59.4-mile-long (95.6 km) river rising in Vermont that flows into New York and is a tributary of the Hudson River. It is the longest Hudson tributary on that river's east. As "kill" means a creek, the name "Battenkill River" is pleonastic.
The Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in Upstate New York, anchored by the city of Glens Falls. It is considered to be a part of the greater Capital District. As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 128,942.
The La Chute River, also known as Ticonderoga Creek, is a short, fast-moving river, near the Vermont–New York border. It is now almost wholly contained within the municipality of Ticonderoga, New York, connecting the northern end and outlet of the 32-mile (51 km) long Lake George and the southern end of the 107-mile (172 km) long Lake Champlain through many falls and rapids. The river drops about 230 feet in its three and a half-mile (6 km) course, which is a larger drop than Niagara Falls.
Argyle is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 3,644 at the 2020 census. The town was named by its many early settlers from Scotland after Argyllshire.
Fort Ann is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 5,812 at the 2020 census. The town contains a village, also called Fort Ann, located in its southeastern corner.
Greenwich is a town in the southwestern part of Washington County, New York, United States. The town is located on the western border of the county. The population was 4,868 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. Greenwich features several homes that were a part of the Underground Railroad.
The Champlain Valley National Heritage Area is a federally designated National Heritage Area encompassing eleven counties in New York and Vermont surrounding Lake Champlain. The heritage area designation recognizes the area's historical and scenic significance. The region was a strategic corridor between the Hudson Valley of the United States and the Richelieu Valley of Quebec during the American Revolution in the late 18th century, and saw considerable military action during the War of 1812. During the American Civil War the valley was a part of the Underground Railroad network.
The Northeastern Highlands Ecoregion is a Level III ecoregion designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. states of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The ecoregion extends from the northern tip of Maine and runs south along the Appalachian Mountain Range into eastern Pennsylvania. Discontiguous sections are located among New York's Adirondack Mountains, Catskill Range, and Tug Hill. The largest portion of the Northeastern Highlands ecoregion includes several sub mountain ranges, including the Berkshires, Green Mountains, Taconic, and White Mountains.