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New York Counties
There are sixty-two 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.Ontario County, New York
Ontario County Education, Geography, and History
Ontario County is a county located in the state of New York. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 107,931. The county seat is
Canandaigua.
Ontario County is part of the Rochester, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Etymology - Origin of Ontario County Name
corruption of the Iroquois word meaning "beautiful lake"
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Ontario County History
When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Ontario County was part of Albany County. This
was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State of Vermont
and, in theory, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766 by the creation
of Cumberland County, and further on March 16, 1770 by the creation of Gloucester County, both containing territory now
in Vermont.
On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany
County. One of the other pieces, Tryon County, contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was
specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately
five miles west of the present city of Schenectady, and the county included the western part of the Adirondack Mountains
and the area west of the West Branch of the Delaware River. The area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37
counties of New York State. The county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York.
Above the fireplace of the Ontario County Historical Society building in Canandaigua are carved the words NEH-KO, GAH-GIS-DAN-YEN-DUK, a Seneca Indian phrase meaning "Other Council Fires Were Here Before Ours."A great hill at the south eastern end of Canandaigua Lake, originally in Ontario County, now in Yates County, marks the place where the Seneca became one of the original five nations of the Iroquois Confederation and were the "Keepers of the Western Door."
Geography: Land and Water
Ontario County is in western New York State, east of Buffalo, southeast of Rochester, and northwest of Ithaca.
The county is within the Finger Lakes Region of the state. As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a
total area of 662 square miles (1,716 km2), of which, 644 square miles (1,669 km2) of it is land and 18 square miles
(47 km2) of it (2.72%) is water.
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- Wayne County - north
- Seneca County - east
- Yates County - south
- Steuben County - southwest
- Livingston County - west
- Monroe County - northwest
Education
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