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Monroe County, New York

Coordinates: 43°18′N 77°41′W / 43.30°N 77.69°W / 43.30; -77.69
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Monroe County
County
Map of New York highlighting Monroe County
Location within the U.S. state of New York
Map of the United States highlighting New York
New York's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 43°18′N 77°41′W / 43.3°N 77.69°W / 43.3; -77.69
Country United States
State New York
Founded1821
SeatRochester
Population
 (2000)
 • Total735,343
Websitewww.co.monroe.ny.us

Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2000 census, the population was 735,343. It is named after James Monroe, fifth President of the United States of America. Its county seat is the city of Rochester. The current county executive is [Ed Diana], It is one of only four counties in New York State to currently have a woman county executive.

History

When counties were established in the Province of New York in 1683, the present Monroe 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 order to honor 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.

In 1789, Ontario County was split off from Montgomery. The actual area split off from Montgomery County was much larger than the present county, also including the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and part of Schuyler and Wayne Counties.

Genesee County was created by a splitting of Ontario County in 1802. This was much larger than the present Genesee County, however. It contained the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Wyoming, and portions of Livingston and Monroe Counties.

Finally, Monroe County was formed from parts of Genesee and Ontario Counties in 1821.

Geography

Monroe County is in northwestern New York State, northeast of Buffalo and northwest of Syracuse.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,537 km² (1,366 mi²). 1,708 km² (659 mi²) of it is land and 1,829 km² (706 mi²) of it (51.72%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

Government

The current County Executive is Maggie Brooks, a former news anchor in Rochester.

Economy

Monroe County is a home to a number of international businesses, including Eastman Kodak,[1] Bausch & Lomb,[2] Constellation Brands[3] and Paychex,[4] all of which make Monroe County world headquarters. Xerox, while no longer headquartered in Rochester, has its principal offices and manufacturing facilities in Monroe County.[citation needed]

Because of the prevalence of imaging and optical science among the industry and the universities, Rochester is known as the world capital of imaging. The University of Rochester's Institute of Optics doctoral program was ranked in 2004 as number one in the country by the National Research Council in number of publications published per faculty member,[5] and the Rochester Institute of Technology has one of the best imaging science departments in the country.[citation needed]

Rochester is also home to regional businesses such as Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.,[6] Roberts Communications, Inc.,[7] The Sutherland Group, PAETEC Holding Corp., and major fashion label Hickey-Freeman.

Eastman Kodak has been going through successive rounds of layoffs for years, which are a strain on the local economy. But the economy is rebounding with many small technology firms and communications companies.[citation needed]

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 735,343 people, 286,512 households, and 184,513 families residing in the county. The population density was 431/km² (1,115/mi²). There were 304,388 housing units at an average density of 178/km² (462/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.14% White, 13.75% African American, 0.27% Native American, 2.44% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.44% from other races, and 1.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.31% of the population. 18.6% were of Italian, 15.3% German, 11.3% Irish and 8.3% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 4.64% of the population reported speaking Spanish at home, while 1.43% speak Italian.[8]

There were 286,512 households out of which 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.40% were married couples living together, 13.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.60% were non-families. 28.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.90% 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 3.08.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.60% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $44,891, and the median income for a family was $55,900. Males had a median income of $41,279 versus $29,553 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,821. About 8.20% of families and 11.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.50% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or over.

Cities, Towns, and Villages

Colleges and universities

Trivia

References

Citations

  1. ^ "Eastman Kodak Company information and related industry information from Hoover's". Hoover's, Inc. 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  2. ^ "Bausch & Lomb information and related industry information from Hoover's". Hoover's, Inc. 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  3. ^ "Constellation Brands, Inc. information and related industry information from Hoover's". Hoover's, Inc. 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  4. ^ "Paychex, Inc. information and related industry information from Hoover's". Hoover's, Inc. 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  5. ^ "University of Rochester Institute of Optics celebrates its 75th anniversary". SPIE—The International Society for Optical Engineering. 2004. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  6. ^ "Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. information and related industry information from Hoover's". Hoover's, Inc. 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  7. ^ "Roberts Communications, Inc. information and related industry information from Hoover's". Hoover's, Inc. 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  8. ^ "MLA Language Map Data Center: Monroe County, New York". Modern Language Association. 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-25.

Sources

43°18′N 77°41′W / 43.30°N 77.69°W / 43.30; -77.69

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