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Livingston County, New York facts for kids

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Livingston County
Livingston County Courthouse
Livingston County Courthouse
Flag of Livingston County
Flag
Official seal of Livingston County
Seal
Map of New York highlighting Livingston County
Location within the U.S. state of New York
Map of the United States highlighting New York
New York's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  New York
Founded 1821
Named for Robert R. Livingston
Seat Geneseo
Largest village Geneseo
Area
 • Total 640 sq mi (1,700 km2)
 • Land 632 sq mi (1,640 km2)
 • Water 8.5 sq mi (22 km2)  1.3%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 61,834
 • Density 97.9/sq mi (37.8/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district 27th

Livingston County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,834. Its county seat is Geneseo. The county is named after Robert R. Livingston, who helped draft the Declaration of Independence and negotiated the Louisiana Purchase.

Livingston County is part of the Rochester Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Livingston 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.

In the years prior to 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to Canada. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, the name of Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County in order to honor the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec, replacing the name of the hated British governor.

In 1789, Ontario County was split off from Montgomery. The actual area split off from Montgomery County was much larger than the present county, also including the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and part of Schuyler and Wayne Counties.

Genesee County was created by a splitting of Ontario County in 1802. This was much larger than the present Genesee County, however. It contained the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Wyoming, and portions of Livingston and Monroe Counties.

Livingston County was formed from Genesee and Ontario Counties in 1821.

Livingston County is home to the State University of New York, College at Geneseo (now SUNY Geneseo)

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 640 square miles (1,700 km2), of which 632 square miles (1,640 km2) is land and 8.5 square miles (22 km2) (1.3%) is water.

Livingston County is located in the Finger Lakes region, south of Rochester and east of Buffalo.

Letchworth State Park in partly in the western part of the county. The Genesee River flows northward through the county.

The Rochester and Southern Railroad (RSR) traverses the county from Greigsville south through Mount Morris to Dansville.

Adjacent counties

Major highways

  • I-390.svg Interstate 390
  • US 20.svg U.S. Route 20
  • US 20A.svg U.S. Route 20A
  • NY-5.svg New York State Route 5
  • NY-15.svg New York State Route 15
  • NY-15A.svg New York State Route 15A
  • NY-36.svg New York State Route 36
  • NY-39.svg New York State Route 39
  • NY-63.svg New York State Route 63

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1830 27,729
1840 35,140 26.7%
1850 40,875 16.3%
1860 39,546 −3.3%
1870 39,309 −0.6%
1880 39,562 0.6%
1890 37,801 −4.5%
1900 37,059 −2.0%
1910 38,037 2.6%
1920 36,830 −3.2%
1930 37,560 2.0%
1940 38,510 2.5%
1950 40,257 4.5%
1960 44,053 9.4%
1970 54,041 22.7%
1980 57,006 5.5%
1990 62,372 9.4%
2000 64,328 3.1%
2010 65,214 1.4%
2020 61,834 −5.2%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790–1960 1900–1990
1990–2000 2010–2020

2010 Census

As of the 2010 Census, there were 65,393 people, 24,409 households, and 15,943 families residing in the county. The population density was 103.5 people per square mile (40/km2). There were 27,123 housing units at an average density of 43 per square mile (16.6/km2).

The county's racial makeup was 93.8% White, 2.4% African American, 0.29% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.76% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.76% of the population. In 2017, 26.3% were of German, 21.2% Irish, 14.2% Italian, 13.5% English and 5.6% American ancestry according to the 2017 American Community Survey. 93.5% spoke English and 2.6% Spanish as their first language.

Communities

Towns

Villages

Census-designated places

Hamlet

Notable people

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Livingston (Nueva York) para niños

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