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New York Counties

There 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.

Nassau County, New York

Nassau County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Mineola
Year Organized: 1899
Square Miles: 287

Court House:

1 West Street
County Courthouse
Mineola, NY 11501-4813

Etymology - Origin of County Name

in honor of William of Nassau, Prince of Orange

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

The small rural towns in Nassau County eagerly awaited New Year's Eve in 1899 and the beginning of the 1900s. Frank Margot of Plainview witnessed the great celebration as the new year was rung in and "the large pickle and cabbage salting factories set up a din with their whistles blowing a full blast and run by steam. There were whistles blowing at at the brickyard and the church bells rang for hours." It was a particularly memorable time for residents of the towns of Hempstead, North Hempstead and Oyster Bay, since the end of the old year marked Nassau County't first year of existences as an independent county. Less than two years before, on January 22, 1898, a public meeting had been called at Allen's Hotel in Mineola to discuss the creation of a new county. The hotel was crowded as P. Halstead Scudder called the meeting to order and indicated the alternatives that faced the residents of the towns. The possibility of annexation to Greater New York was dismissed, to the cheers of the audience, as entirely out of the question. Another, the idea of creation a new county by combining Queens County's easter towns with different towns of western Suffolk, seemed unlikely of adoption. Scudder concluded that the organization of a new county was the only solution to the problem which confronted them.

Before the general discussion began, the meeting choose officers, headed by Benjamin D Hicks of North Hempstead as chairman. Hicks had been a leader in previous attempts to create a new county. For his long years of work in striving for an independent county he deserves to be called the Father of Nassau County. A popular and successful Quaker banker, he was an intelligent and active partisipant in all types of community improvement, Archer B Wallace, son of the assemblyman, was chosen secretary of the meetings. Discussion began after J B Coles Tappen of Oyster Bay made the motion:

Resolved that it is the sense of this meeting that the towns of Hempstead and Oyster Bay withdraw from the county of Queens, and that a new county to include the said towns be formed. A few dissidents took up the question of alternative actions. North Hempstead resident W W Cock favored annexation to Suffolk County while John H Carll wanted to join New York City, but neither proposal received support. Inclusion of Huntington and Babylon in a new county was urged by Fred Herzog, Sr., of Oyster Bay. General James Pearsall of Glen Cove, who had been a member of the assemble in an attempt twenty years before to create a new county, declared it would be impossible to get such a measure through the legislature. Many of those in attendance felt, with Edward N Townsend of Hempstead, that "the county would be an inexpensive on to govern." James H Ludlam of Oyster Bay also stressed the economy aspects, indicating people from his area wanted lower taxes. In appropriate Long Island fashion, D N Munger closed the subject by stating that "they should consider not what should be taken in but what barnacles should be taken off."

The chairman called for a vote and Mr. Tappen's resolution was carried with only a few dissenting votes. James Ludlam of Oyster Bay then offered a motion which was unanimously adopted, as follows:

Whereas, It is for the best interest of the citizens of the towns of Hempstead, North Hempstead and Oyster Bay to withdraw from the county of Queens.

Resolved that......Supervisors Underhill, Smith and Denton be requested to obtain authority....to expend a sum, not exceeding $250. for each town in defraying any expenses.....in drafting and preparation of suck bills, as may be necessary to corry into effect the desire of the people to have a county free from entailing alliance with the great city of New York.

To pursue the action a committee was appointed composed of the following: P Halstead Scudder of Oyster Bay, Lott Vanderwater and William G Miller of Hempstead, Joseph H Bogert and Wilbur Lewis of North Hempstead, James Pearsall and James H Ludlam of Oyster Bay. The meeting closed with the proposal of several names for the count including Matinecock, Norfolk, Nassau and Bryant. Thus began the final and successful attempt to create Nassau County.

From the Book Nassau, Suburbia, USA, Edward J Smits copyright 1974

The Dutch controlled Manhattan, then known as New Amsterdam, in 1640, when a small group of New England British arrived hoping to relocate near Oyster Bay. Dutch authorities soon forced the Englishmen eastward where they eventually established the town of Southampton.

Full History at NYSAC

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 453 square miles (1,173 km²), of which, 287 square miles (743 km²) of it is land and 166 square miles (431 km²) of it (36.72%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Queens County, New York - west
Suffolk County, New York - east
Bronx County, New York - west-northwest, water boundary only, across Long Island Sound
Westchester County, New York - northwest, water boundary only, across Long Island Sound
Fairfield County, Connecticut - north, water boundary only, across Long Island Sound

Cities and Towns:

- Atlantic Beach	village	Incorporated Area
- Baldwin	town
- Baxter Estates	village	Incorporated Area
- Bayville	village	Incorporated Area
- Brookville	village	Incorporated Area
- Cedarhurst	village	Incorporated Area
- Centre Island	village	Incorporated Area
- Cove Neck	village	Incorporated Area
- East Hills	village	Incorporated Area
- East Rockaway	village	Incorporated Area
- East Williston	village	Incorporated Area
- Farmingdale	village	Incorporated Area
- Floral Park	village	Incorporated Area
- Flower Hill	village	Incorporated Area
- Freeport	village	Incorporated Area
- Garden City	village	Incorporated Area
- Glen Cove	city	Incorporated Area
- Great Neck	village	Incorporated Area
- Great Neck Estates	village	Incorporated Area
- Great Neck Plaza	village	Incorporated Area
- Hempstead	village	Incorporated Area
- Hewlett Bay Park	village	Incorporated Area
- Hewlett Harbor	village	Incorporated Area
- Hewlett Neck	village	Incorporated Area
- Island Park	village	Incorporated Area
- Kensington	village	Incorporated Area
- Kings Point	village	Incorporated Area
- Lake Success	village	Incorporated Area
- Lattingtown	village	Incorporated Area
- Laurel Hollow	village	Incorporated Area
- Lawrence	village	Incorporated Area
- Long Beach	city	Incorporated Area
- Lynbrook	village	Incorporated Area
- Malverne	village	Incorporated Area
- Manorhaven	village	Incorporated Area
- Massapequa Park	village	Incorporated Area
- Matinecock	village	Incorporated Area
- Mill Neck	village	Incorporated Area
- Mineola (County Seat)	village	Incorporated Area
- Munsey Park	village	Incorporated Area
- Muttontown	village	Incorporated Area
- New Hyde Park	village	Incorporated Area
- North Hempstead	town
- North Hills	village	Incorporated Area
- Old Brookville	village	Incorporated Area
- Old Westbury	village	Incorporated Area
- Oyster Bay	town
- Oyster Bay Cove	village	Incorporated Area
- Plandome	village	Incorporated Area
- Plandome Heights	village	Incorporated Area
- Plandome Manor	village	Incorporated Area
- Port Washington North	village	Incorporated Area
- Rockville Centre	village	Incorporated Area
- Roslyn	village	Incorporated Area
- Roslyn Estates	village	Incorporated Area
- Roslyn Harbor	village	Incorporated Area
- Russell Gardens	village	Incorporated Area
- Saddle Rock	village	Incorporated Area
- Sands Point	village	Incorporated Area
- Sea Cliff	village	Incorporated Area
- South Floral Park	village	Incorporated Area
- Stewart Manor	village	Incorporated Area
- Thomaston	village	Incorporated Area
- Upper Brookville	village	Incorporated Area
- Valley Stream	village	Incorporated Area
- Westbury	village	Incorporated Area
- Williston Park	village	Incorporated Area
- Woodbury	town
- Woodsburgh	village	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our 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."

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