Steuben County, New York

History

When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Steuben 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 honor of 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.

Ontario County was split off from Montgomery County in 1789. This was much larger than the present Ontario County.

Steuben County was created in 1796, split off from Ontario County. It was rather larger than the present county, however.

Steuben County was reduced in size in 1823 by the combination of a portion of the county with a portion of Ontario County to form Yates County.

Steuben County was reduced in size in 1854 by the combination of a portion of the county with portions of Chemung and Tompkins Counties to form Schuyler County.

Geography

Steuben County is in the southwestern part of the state, immediately north of the Pennsylvania border. The population of Steuben County according to the 2000 U. S. census was 98,726.

The county has a total area of 3,637 km² (1,404 mi²). 3,607 km² (1,393 mi²) of it is land and 30 km² (11 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.82% water.

Demographics

As of 2000, there are 98,726 people, 39,071 households, and 26,216 families residing in the county. The population density is 27/km² (71/mi²). There are 46,132 housing units at an average density of 13 persons/km² (33 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 96.43% White, 1.36% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.90% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. 0.81% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 39,071 households out of which 31.80% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.70% are married couples living together, 10.60% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 32.90% are non-families. 27.20% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.90% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.49 and the average family size is 3.01.

In the county the population is spread out with 26.00% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 15.20% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 93.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county is $35,479, and the median income for a family is $41,940. Males have a median income of $32,155 versus $24,163 for females. The per capita income for the county is $18,197. 13.20% of the population and 9.90% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 18.70% are under the age of 18 and 5.80% are 65 or older.

Cities and Towns

• Addison[?]
• Arkport
• Avoca[?]
• Bath[?]
• Bradford
• Cameron
• Campbell
• Canisteo[?]
• Caton
• Cohocton[?]
• Corning[?]
• Dansville
• Erwin
• Fremont
• Gang Mills
• Greenwood
• Hammondsport
• Hartsville
• Hornby
• Hornell
• Hornellsville
• Howard
• Jasper
• Lindley
• North Hornell
• Painted Post
• Prattsburgh
• Pulteney
• Rathbone
• Riverside
• Savona
• South Corning
• Thurston
• Troupsburg
• Tuscarora
• Urbana
• Wayland[?]
• Wayne
• West Union
• Wheeler
• Woodhull