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New York Counties
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. |
Niagara County, New YorkNiagara County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
Etymology - Origin of County Namefrom an Indian word meaning "bisected bottom lands" Demographics:County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts County HistoryNiagara County was taken from Genesee in 1808. Greatest length E. and W. 30; breadth N. and S. 21 miles. The word Niagara is of Indian origin, and signifies across the neck or straight. The streams are few, and with the exception of Eighteen Mile, Johnson's and Tonawanta creeka, and Niagara river, are inconsiderable. In 1796, exclusive of the occupants of Forts Niagara and Schlosser, there was but one white family in the territory now forming this county. The proposed line for a ship canal, from the Niagara river above the falls to Lewiston, lies wholly within the county, commencing near Gill creek and the site of old Fort Schlosser. A railroad runs from Lockport aand another from Buffalo to the Niagara Falls. A branch has been made from Lewiston to intersect the Lockport and Niagara Falls railroad, a distance of about 2 miles. The Erie canal enters Tonawanta creek near its mouth. The creek is used for 12 miles as a canal by a tow-path on its bank. At Pendleton village, the canal leaves the creek and turns in a northeasterly direction across the mountain ridge, with a deep cut of about three miles through rock averaging 20 feet; and then descending 60 feet, by five double combined locks of 12 feet each, it passes out of the county south of the Ridge road. The county is divided into 12 towns. (Historical Collections of the State of New York, Past and Present, John Barber, Clark Albien & Co. 1851)
GeographyNiagara County is in the extreme western part of New York State, just north of Buffalo and adjacent to Lake
Ontario on its northern border and the Niagara River and Canada on its western border. The border results in a fair
number of Illegal Immigration cases, though these are more common to the east where the border is across land rather
than a lake or river. Neighboring Counties:
Cities and Towns:
County Resources:Enter County Resources and Information Here |
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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." |