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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. |
Orange County, New YorkOrange County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
Etymology - Origin of County NameName in honor of William, Prince of Orange, held in high esteem by the first settlers of the region Demographics:County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts County HistoryORANGE - a county in the S.E. part of New York, has an area of about 770 square miles. It is bounded on the E. by the Hudson river, and on the S. by the State of New Jersey, and is drained by Walkill and Shawangunk rivers, and other smaller streams, which afford valuable water-power. The surface in the S.E. parts is mountainous, and the Shawangunk range passes through the western portion. The other parts of the county are usually, but moderately uneven. The soil is generally fertile, and well adapted to grazing, and the "Orange county butter" is highly esteemed in the New York markets. Indian corn, oats, potatoes, and grass are the staples. In 1850 this county produced 491,074 bushels of corn; 390,834 of oats; 146,331 of potatoes; 96,593 tons of hay, and 3,769,034 pounds of butter. There were 49 flour mills, 36 saw mills, 8 cotton, and 8 woollen factories, 3 iron furnaces, 3 paper mills, 18 tanneries, and 4 oilcloth factories. It contained 67 churches, 9 newspaper offices, 9492 pupils attending public schools, and 912 attending academies or other schools. Iron ore, marble, limestone, and sandstone are abundant. The Hudson river is navigable for ships along the entire eastern border. The Delaware and Hudson canal, and the New York and Erie railroad traverse this county, which is also partly intersected by the Newburg Branch railroad. Seats of justice, Goshen and Newburg. Population, 57,145. page 862 (Baldwin, Thomas and J. Thomas, M.D. New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Grambo, & Co., 1854) Orange County’s first overnight visitor from Europe was the explorer Henry Hudson, who dropped anchor in Newburgh Bay in 1609. European settlement did not follow immediately, however. The Orange County created on November 1, 1683 included half of today’s Orange County, but also all of present day Rockland County, where there were a small number of settlers. Full History at NYSAC
GeographyOrange County is in southeastern New York State, directly north of the New Jersey-New York border, west of the
Hudson River, east of the Delaware River and northwest of New York City. It borders the New York counties of
Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester, as well as Passaic and Sussex counties in New Jersey
and Pike County in Pennsylvania. 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." |
