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New York Counties
 Click Image to Enlarge New York CountiesThere are 62 counties in the State of New York. The first twelve counties in New York were created immediately after the British annexation of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, although two of these counties have since been abolished. The most recent county formation in New York was in 1912, when Bronx County was created from the portions of New York City that had been annexed from Westchester County. New York's counties are named for a variety of Native American words, British provinces, cities, and royalty, early American statesmen and generals, and state politicians. |
Dutchess County, New YorkDutchess County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
Etymology - Origin of County NameNamed in honor of the Duchess of York, wife of James II Demographics:County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts County HistoryDutchess County was organized in 1683. It is on the E. side of the Hudson river, 75 miles S. of Albany, and 74 N. of New York. Greatest length N. and S. 38, greatest breadth E. and E. 26 miles. This county is one of the most opulent in the state, though its area has been reduced by the erection of the small county of Putnam from its southern end. Along the eastern border towns are the ranges of hills called the Fishkill or Matteawan mountains. Along the western borders of these, the surface is tossed into ridges and valleys, knolls and dales, fancifully diversified, producing a great variety of position, of soil and aspect, and a multitude of brooks and springs. In the southern part are some of the highest peaks of the Highlands. That called the Old Beacon, two miles from Matteawan village, and three from Fishkill Landing, raises its crest 1,471 feet, and the New Beacon, or Grand Sachem, half a mile southward, towers 1, 685 above tide. Their names are derived from the Beacons placed on their summits during the revolution. From the top of the latter, the view on the S. embraces the country upon the Hudson, for 25 miles to Tappan bay; on the SE. includes Long Island and the Sound; and upon the NE. and W. comprehends in the diameter of a circle, 50 miles in extent, scenery of every diversity, blending the beauties of cultivation with the stern and unchangeable features of nature. The principal streams are the Hudson river on its western boundary, Ten Mile, Fishkill, and Wappinger's creeks. As a whole, the county is highly fertile, producing abundantly wheat, rye, corn, oats, and grass, and an immense amount of produce is annually exported to New York. The County is divided into 18 towns. (Historical Collections of the State of New York, Past and Present, by Clark Albien & Co. 1851. The Dutch claims based on Hudson’s explorations made the entire river basin and coastal areas theirs, but more than half a century elapsed before any Dutch arrived here. The practices of the Dutch West India Company may have contributed to this. A charter of “Privileges and Exemptions” enacted in 1629 gave to the patrons who directed the Company title in perpetuity to enormous land holdings in the valley and virtually made their tenants feudal vassals, discouraging rather than encouraging colonization. Eager to make money, the company directors paid the Native Americans for the land but found few Dutchmen interested in the rigors of frontier life. Full History at NYSAC GeographyDutchess County is located in eastern New York State, between the Hudson River on its west and the New
York-Connecticut border on its east, about halfway between the cities of Albany and New York. It contains two
cities: Beacon and Poughkeepsie. Neighboring Counties:
Cities and Towns:
County Resources:Enter County Resources and Information Here |
County Resources
The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define
the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local.
And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions,
reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history. Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally." |
