Clinton County is a
county located in the
U.S. state of
New York. As of the
2000 census, the population was 79,894. Its name is in honor of the first
Governor of New York as a state,
George Clinton. Its
county seat is
Plattsburgh.
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.
Government and Politics
Clinton County is considered a blue county. It is frequently won by Democratic candidates in both 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 the county's every municipality), 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 percent of vote. However, local races are most often won by Republican candidates. For example, the region has never sent a Democrat to Congress, 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. The legislature currently consists of 6 Republicans and 5 Democrats. Clinton County does not have a county executive.
Geography
Clinton County is in the northeastern part of New York State, just 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. The
Ausable River forms a large part of the south county line.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,118
square miles (2,895
km²), of which, 1,039 square miles (2,691 km²) of it is land and 79 square miles (204 km²) of it (7.04%) is water.
The southwest part of the county is in the
Adirondack Park.
Adjacent counties
Demographics
thumb|left|200px|Age distribution (2000 census)thumb|right|200px|Population (2000-2008)thumb|left|200px|Median income (2000 census)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.
Cities, towns, villages, and other locations
The following table shows the 14 Clinton County towns and one city, and the villages, hamlets and census designated places within each of those towns.
*Population according to the
United States Census, 2000**The City of Plattsburgh is surrounded by the Town of Plattsburgh, but is not part of it.
***There is question among the residents of
Cumberland Head whether or not the peninsula is still a part of the Town of Plattsburgh, or its own town.
Clinton County Information
Adjacent counties and locations
The northern boundary of Clinton County is shared with the Regional County Municipalities of
Les Jardins-de-Napierville and
Le Haut-Richelieu within the
province of Quebec in
Canada. The western boundary abuts
Franklin County, and the southern boundary is shared with
Essex County. Clinton county and the state of
Vermont share the eastern boundary along with
Lake Champlain.
See also
