Click Image to Enlarge
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.Saratoga County, New York
Saratoga County Education, Geography, and History
Saratoga County is a county located in the state of New York. As of the 2014 US Census estimate, the county's population was
224,921. The county seat is Ballston Spa. Saratoga County is included in the Capital District, encompassing the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New
York Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The name of Saratoga County was derived from the Native American word "sah-rah-ka", or "Sarach-togue", meaning "the hill beside the river",
referring to the Hudson River bordering the county on its eastern flank and the Mohawk River delineating its southern border. Saratoga County,
bisected by the toll-free, six-lane Adirondack Northway, serves as an outdoor recreational haven and as the gateway to the Adirondack
Mountains and State Park for the populations of the Albany and New York City metropolitan areas.
Etymology - Origin of Saratoga County Name
a corruption of the Indian word "sah-rah-ka," said to mean "the side hill"
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Saratoga 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.
Geography: Land and Water
Saratoga County borders on more New York counties than any other Saratoga County is in the northeastern part of New
York State, north of Albany, northwest of Troy, and east of Utica.
As reported by the 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
Bordering counties are as follows:
- 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
Education
Click Image to Enlarge
