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New York Counties

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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.

Saratoga County, New York

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

County Seat: Ballston Spa
Year Organized: 1791
Square Miles: 812

Court House:

40 McMaster Street
County Municipal Center
Ballston Spa, NY 12020-1986

Etymology - Origin of County Name

a corruption of the Indian word "sah-rah-ka," said to mean "the side hill"

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Saratoga County was taken from Albany in 1791; greatest length N. and 5. 47, and greatest breadth E. and W. 30 miles. Centrally distant from Albany 36 miles. "Its name is supposed to be a corruption of the Indian word Sah-rah-ka, or the 'side hill.' The greater part of the lands in this tract were originally granted by the English crown to a company of 13 individuals, by the title of the patent of Kayaderosseras. Smaller portions were included in other patents.

Thus Van Schaick's, of an earlier date, included the town of Water- ford and adjacent country. The Saratoga patent embraced six miles square on the Hudson river north of Van Schaick's; and the apple patent, located on the Mohawk, extended 'three miles back into the woods,' towards Ballston Lake. The first recorded grant of lands in
the Kaynderosseras patent was made in August, 1702. A good portion of the land is now held under a rent charge of from 15 to 20 cents an acre, derived originally from the above patent. Settlements were made in 1715 under that patent, and some probably earlier, along the Hudson, upon the patents of Van Schaick and Saratoga; but there was then none north of Fish creek, now Schuylersville, and few between that and the Mohawk. Until the conquest of Canada by the English, settlements were slowly made. After this, although rapidly formed, they were confined some years to the banks of the Hudson and Mohawk."

The surface of the county presents a broad diversity, having the Kayaderosseras and Palmertown mountains in the northwest, and in the southeast, sandy plains, generally level, and along the Hudson and some of the smaller streams, extensive tracts of rich alluvion. There are several small lakes, the largest of which are Saratoga, Ballston, or the Long Lake, Round Lake, Owl Pond, & c. This county is rich in historical incidents.

The fruitful grounds of the Iroquois Indians was called Sarach-tongue, “hillside of a great river, place of the swift water” until February 7, 1791 when it became Saratoga County. Because of its favorable position in the angle of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers, Indian trails crossed it north and south, east and west. Full History at NYSAC

Geography

Saratoga County borders on more New York counties than any otherSaratoga County is in the northeastern part of New York State, north of Albany, northwest of Troy, and east of Utica.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 844 square miles (2,185 km²), of which, 812 square miles (2,103 km²) of it is land and 32 square miles (83 km²) of it (3.78%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Warren County, New York - north
Washington County, New York - northeast
Rensselaer County, New York - southeast
Albany County, New York - southwest
Montgomery County, New York - west
Fulton County, New York - west
Schenectady County, New York - west
Hamilton County, New York - northwest

Cities and Towns:

- Ballston	town
- Ballston Spa (County Seat)	village	Incorporated Area
- Charlton	town
- Clifton Park	town
- Corinth	village	Incorporated Area
- Day	town
- Galway	village	Incorporated Area
- Glens Falls	city	Incorporated Area
- Greenfield	town
- Hadley	town
- Halfmoon	town
- Malta	town
- Mechanicville	city	Incorporated Area
- Moreau	town
- Northumberland	town
- Providence	town
- Round Lake	village	Incorporated Area
- Saratoga	town
- Saratoga Springs	city	Incorporated Area
- Schuylerville	village	Incorporated Area
- South Glens Falls	village	Incorporated Area
- Stillwater	village	Incorporated Area
- Victory	village	Incorporated Area
- Waterford	village	Incorporated Area
- Wilton	town

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."