Cortland County, New York

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Cortland County, New York
Cortland County Courthouse (Built 1922-1923), Cortland, New York.jpg
Cortland County Courthouse
Seal of Cortland County, New York
Seal
Map of New York highlighting Cortland County
Location in the U.S. state of New York
Map of the United States highlighting New York
New York's location in the U.S.
Founded 1808
Named for Pierre Van Cortlandt
Seat Cortland
Largest city Cortland
Area
 • Total 502 sq mi (1,300 km2)
 • Land 499 sq mi (1,292 km2)
 • Water 2.8 sq mi (7 km2), 0.5%
Population
 • (2010) 49,336
 • Density 99/sq mi (38/km²)
Congressional district 22nd
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website www.cortland-co.org

Cortland County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population of Cortland County was 49,336.[1] The county seat is Cortland.[2] The county is named after Pierre Van Cortlandt, president of the convention at Kingston that wrote the first New York State Constitution in 1777, and first lieutenant governor of the state.

Cortland County comprises the Cortland, NY Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Ithaca-Cortland, NY Combined Statistical Area.

The Cortland apple is named for the county.

History

Early history

Located in the glaciated Appalachian Plateau area of Central New York, midway between Syracuse and Binghamton, this predominantly rural county is the southeastern gateway to the Finger Lakes Region. Scattered archaeological evidence indicates the Iroquois also known as the Haudenosaunee controlled the area beginning about AD 1500.

What was to become Cortland County remained within Indian territory until the American Revolution. It became part of the Military Tract, when, in 1781, more than 1¼ million acres (5,100 km²) were set aside by the State's Legislature to compensate two regiments formed to protect the State's western section from the English and their Iroquois allies, at the close of the Revolution. To encourage settlement in the upstate isolated wilderness, the State constructed a road from Oxford through Cortland County to Cayuga Lake in 1792-94. This, and construction of privately financed roads, were the major impetus to settlement.

When counties were established in New York in 1683, the present Cortland County was part of Albany County, which encompassed the northern part of New York and all of the present State of Vermont, as well as indeterminate territory to west. On March 12, 1772, present day Cortland County became part of Tryon County, named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, the name of the county was changed to honor General Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec, thus replacing the name of the locally unpopular British governor. Present day Cortland County became part of Herkimer County in 1791, then became a part of Onondaga County when it split from Herkimer in 1794. Cortland County was formed by the splitting of Onondaga County in 1808.

Settlement of the county

Eastern New Yorkers and New Englanders, wanting new land to farm, welcomed the opening of this frontier. The first white settlement in the county was made in 1791 by Amos Todd, Joseph Beebe and Rhoda Todd Beebe, emigrants from Connecticut who paddled up the Tioughnioga River from Windsor, to live near the head of navigation in the Town of Homer. Following them came a flood of settlers who, in 1808, petitioned the State Legislature for county status. Thus, Cortland County was created from the southern half of Onondaga County as part of the Boston Ten Towns on April 8, 1808, and was named in honor of the Pierre Van Cortlandt family - Pierre, Sr. having been the first lieutenant governor of the state.

Nineteenth century

The 76th New York Volunteer Infantry was one of the most famous of the New York units in the Civil War. It was raised in 1861 primarily from Cortland County and the surrounding areas (about a third of the men were from the Cherry Valley area). The 76th was in most of the major battles the Army of the Potomac fought from Second Bull Run through Petersburg, at which time the three-year enlistment of most of the men ran out and the 300 or so men remaining from the 1,100 who left Cortland either returned home or transferred to other units.

At the Battle of Gettysburg, the 76th New York was one of the first infantry regiments on the field, holding down the extreme right of the Union line on the first day. The regiment took huge casualties in that battle - nearly one-third of its strength - including its commander Major Andrew J. Grover, the first infantry officer killed in the battle.

The Cortland Baking Company (COBAKCO) was the first bakery east of the Mississippi River to make enriched breads, wrap loaves in cellophane and sell pre-sliced white, wheat and rye bread. They invented the phrase "the greatest thing since sliced bread". (ref-cortlandtourism.com)

Modern Cortland County

Today, Cortland county is noted for the production of CNC milling machines; hospitality supplies; medical instruments and components; textiles; electrical components; plastic consumer goods; components for NASA and a variety of other goods and services. International exporting is an integral part of many of the corporations in the area.

The county's present reflects its past. Agri-business flourishes yet, consistent with the pattern elsewhere in New York State, the number of farms has declined while farm size and yield have increased. Continued growth in the service and light industry sectors is contributing to the growing strength of the Central New York region and the Southern Tier region.

The loss of many of its local businesses has led to the current economic decline of the region. Cornell University, Syracuse University, State University of New York Binghamton and Ithaca College are all within an easy 45 minute drive of the City of Cortland. The State University College at Cortland and Tompkins Cortland Community College are located in the county.

Government and politics

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Cortland County is a swing county. In 2000, Al Gore lost Cortland County by only about 1%. In 2004, George Bush defeated John Kerry by 5 points. The city of Cortland itself, the largest city in the county, leans Democratic. In 2008, Barack Obama defeated John McCain 54-45%. In 2012, Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney 53-44%. [1] Bill Clinton carried it with a plurality in 1992 and 1996. The last Democrat to win a majority in Cortland County prior to Obama was Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Cortland County's lawmaking body is the legislature which consists of 17 members. All 17 members are elected from single member districts.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 502 square miles (1,300 km2), of which 499 square miles (1,290 km2) is land and 2.8 square miles (7.3 km2) (0.5%) is water.[3]

Cortland County is sometimes considered to be part of Central New York and Southern Tier regions of New York and is also somewhat to the southwest of the center of New York, south of Syracuse and north of Binghamton.

Adjacent counties

Major highways

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1810 8,869 —
1820 16,507 86.1%
1830 23,791 44.1%
1840 24,607 3.4%
1850 25,140 2.2%
1860 26,294 4.6%
1870 25,173 −4.3%
1880 25,825 2.6%
1890 28,657 11.0%
1900 27,576 −3.8%
1910 29,249 6.1%
1920 29,625 1.3%
1930 31,709 7.0%
1940 33,668 6.2%
1950 37,158 10.4%
1960 41,113 10.6%
1970 45,894 11.6%
1980 48,820 6.4%
1990 48,963 0.3%
2000 48,599 −0.7%
2010 49,336 1.5%
Est. 2014 49,024 [4] −0.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]
1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7]
1990-2000[8] 2010-2013[1]

As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 48,599 people, 18,210 households, and 11,617 families residing in the county. The population density was 97 people per square mile (38/km²). There were 20,116 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile (16/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.95% White, 0.86% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. 1.16% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.3% were of English, 16.9% Irish, 14.2% German, 13.0% Italian and 9.9% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.0% spoke English and 1.4% Spanish as their first language.

There were 18,210 households out of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.20% were married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.20% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.70% under the age of 18, 15.50% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 21.80% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 93.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,364, and the median income for a family was $42,204. Males had a median income of $30,814 versus $22,166 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,622. About 9.30% of families and 15.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.40% of those under age 18 and 10.80% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Communities

City

Towns

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Villages

Census-designated places

Notable residents

See also

References

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External links

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 Cayuga County Onondaga County Madison County
Chenango County
  Cortland County, New York  
Tompkins County and Tioga County Broome County
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