Cortland, New York

This article is about the city in Cortland County, New York. For Cortlandt, New York in Westchester County, see Cortlandt, New York.

Cortland

Cortland (New York)

Cortland is a city in Cortland County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 18,740. It is the county seat of Cortland CountyTemplate:GR.

The City of Cortland, near the west border of the county, is surrounded by the Town of Cortlandville.

Air service to the city is provided by Cortland County, Chase Field (N03), lying west of the city.

History

Main Street, from a postcard sent in 1906

The city is within the former Central New York Military Tract.

Cortland, settled in 1791, was made a village in 1853 (recharted in 1864), and was incorporated as a city in 1900 as the 41st city in the State of New York. When the county was formed in 1808, Cortland vied with other villages and won the status of becoming the county seat. The City of Cortland is the county seat of Cortland County. Known as the "Crown City" because of its location on a plain formed by the convergence of seven valleys, Cortland is situated about 1,130 feet (344 m) above sea level, making it the uppermost city to crown the state. 40 stars, representing the 40 cities incorporated before Cortland, circle the State of New York and Crown on the Official City Seal. The seven points of the Crown create seven valleys depicting Cortland's seven surrounding valleys. The 41st star in the center of the Crown illustrates Cortland as the closest incorporated City to the geographic center of New York.

Notable residents

• William Dillon Composer, lyricist, and vaudevillian.
• Nancy Duffy, Syracuse news personality and founder of the Syracuse St. Patrick's Day Parade.
• Ronnie James Dio former frontman for Rainbow and Black Sabbath who now fronts his own band. A street in Cortland is named for him (Dio Way).
• Alton B. Parker Democratic candidate for President in 1904.
• Elmer Ambrose Sperry Prolific Inventor who invented gyroscopic compass and held over 400 patents. USS Sperry (AS-12) named after him.

Geography

Cortland is located at 42°36′2″N 76°10′53″W (42.600658, -76.181284)Template:GR. Cortland lies between Syracuse, New York and Binghamton, New York.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.2 km² (3.9 mi²). 10.2 km² (3.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.51%) is water.

The Tioughnioga River flows southward past the city.

Interstate 81, US Route 11, and New York State Route 281 are north-south highways servicing the city. New York State Route 13 and New York State Route 41 also service the city.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 18,740 people, 6,922 households, and 3,454 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,845.8/km² (4,778.6/mi²). There were 7,550 housing units at an average density of 743.6/km² (1,925.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.72% White, 1.56% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.56% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.72% of the population.

There were 6,922 households out of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.7% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.1% were non-families. 36.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 18.3% under the age of 18, 28.4% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,478, and the median income for a family was $39,167. Males had a median income of $29,857 versus $21,614 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,267. About 13.9% of families and 24.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.8% of those under age 18 and 15.2% of those age 65 or over.

See also

• Cortland County, Town of Cortlandville.

External links

• Official website for SUNY Cortland College
• Official City Site of Cortland NY
• Early history of Cortland area
• Cortland business guide
• Information on the City of Cortland
• Job Search Engine for Cortland and Central New York