Herkimer County, New York

Herkimer County, New York
Location in the state of New York
New York's location in the U.S.
Founded	1791
Seat	Herkimer
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,458 sq mi (3,776 km²) 1,411 sq mi (3,654 km²) 47 sq mi (122 km²), 3.23%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	64,519 46/sq mi (17.6/km²)
Website	www.herkimercounty.org

Herkimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. As of the 2010 census, the population was 64,519. It is named after General Nicholas Herkimer, who died from battle wounds in 1777 after taking part in the Battle of Oriskany during the Revolutionary War. Its county seat is the Village of Herkimer.

Herkimer County is part of the Utica-Rome, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

For the history of Herkimer County before 1791, see Montgomery County.

In 1791, Herkimer County was created as one of three counties split off from Montgomery (the other two being Otsego and Tioga counties, as New York State was developed after the American Revolutionary War. Its area was much larger than the present county, however, and was reduced subsequently as more counties were organized.

Part of Herkimer County was included in the Macomb's Purchase of 1791, during the wide-scale sale of public lands after the state forced Iroquois tribes allied with the British during the war to cede their territory. Suddenly the state was selling 5 million acres (20,000 km²) of land in upstate, central and western New York.

In 1794, Onondaga County was split off from Herkimer County. This county was larger than the current Onondaga County, and included the present Cayuga, Cortland, and part of Oswego counties.

In 1798, portions of Herkimer and Tioga counties were taken to form Chenango County.

Another part of Herkimer was split off to form Oneida County. It was then larger than the current Oneida County, including the present Jefferson, Lewis, and part of Oswego counties.

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

Geography

Herkimer County is in central New York State, northwest of Albany, and east of Syracuse. The northern part of the county is in the Adirondack Park. The Mohawk River flows across the south part of the county.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,458 square miles (3,776.2 km²), of which 1,411 square miles (3,654.5 km²) is land and 47 square miles (121.7 km²) (3.23%) is water.

Economy

Herkimer County is known for producing unusual clear, doubly terminated quartz crystals, marketed as Herkimer diamonds.

Ilion in Herkimer County has one of two production sites of the Remington Arms Company, where many of the company's firearms are produced.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1800	14,479		—
1810	22,046		52.3%
1820	31,017		40.7%
1830	35,870		15.6%
1840	37,477		4.5%
1850	38,244		2.0%
1860	40,561		6.1%
1870	39,929		−1.6%
1880	42,669		6.9%
1890	45,608		6.9%
1900	51,049		11.9%
1910	56,356		10.4%
1920	64,962		15.3%
1930	64,006		−1.5%
1940	59,527		−7.0%
1950	61,407		3.2%
1960	66,370		8.1%
1970	67,633		1.9%
1980	66,714		−1.4%
1990	65,797		−1.4%
2000	64,427		−2.1%
2010	64,519		0.1%
Source

As of the census of 2000, there were 64,427 people, 25,734 households, and 17,113 families residing in the county. The population density was 46 people per square mile (18/km²). There were 32,026 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile (9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.83% White, 0.51% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. 0.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 20.6% were of Italian, 16.3% German, 13.9% Irish, 9.3% English, 7.7% Polish, 6.2% American and 5.2% French ancestry according to Census 2000. 95.2% spoke English, 1.2% Spanish and 1.1% Italian as their first language.

There were 25,734 households out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.20% were married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.50% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.40% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 26.60% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 16.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,924, and the median income for a family was $40,570. Males had a median income of $29,908 versus $21,518 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,141. About 8.90% of families and 12.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.60% of those under age 18 and 10.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

The Herkimer County Legislature consists of 17 members each elected from single member districts.

Cities, Towns and Villages

• Cold Brook (village)
• Columbia (town)
• Danube (town)
• Dolgeville (village)
• Fairfield (town)
• Frankfort (town)
• Frankfort (village)
• German Flatts (town)
• Herkimer (village)
• Herkimer (town)
• Ilion (village)
• Litchfield (town)
• Little Falls (town)
• Little Falls (city)
• Manheim (town)
• Middleville (village)
• Mohawk (village)
• Newport (town)
• Newport (village)
• Norway (town)
• Ohio (town)
• Poland (village)
• Russia (town)
• Salisbury (town)
• Schuyler (town)
• Stark (town)
• Warren (town)
• Webb (town)
• West Winfield (village)
• Winfield (town)

• Label in parentheses indicates official level of government

See also

• List of counties in New York
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Herkimer County, New York

Further reading

• Benton, Nathaniel Soley (1856). A History of Herkimer County, Including the Upper Mohawk Valley, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. Albany, New York: J. Munsell. OCLC 11081494. http://books.google.com/books?id=G1IOAAAAIAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s. 

External links

• Herkimer County official website
• President Benjamin Harrison's Summer home
• Herkimer County at the Open Directory Project
• Early history summary of Herkimer County
• Herkimer County history pages