Washington County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,302. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Fort Edward. The county was named for U.S. President

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

. The county is part of the Capital District region of the state.

History

When counties were established in the colony of New York in 1683, the present Washington 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. The other two were called Tryon County (later renamed Montgomery County) and Charlotte County. On April 2, 1784, Charlotte County was renamed Washington County in honor of

, the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

general and later

President of the United States of America The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. In 1788, Clinton County was split off from Washington County. This was a much larger area than the present Clinton County, including several other counties or county parts of the present New York State. In 1791, the Town of Cambridge was transferred from Albany County to Washington County. In 1813, Warren County was split off from Washington County. In 1994, with the completion of the new municipal center, the county seat was moved from Hudson Falls to Fort Edward. In 2006, Cambridge Town Supervisor Jo Ann Trinkle made history by being elected as the first chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors.

Historic sites

Washington County has four historic covered bridges, each listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

: * Buskirk Bridge * Eagleville Bridge * Rexleigh Bridge * Shushan Bridge Including those, it has a total of 35 sites listed on the National Register. The Lemuel Haynes House is designated as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

, the highest level of significance.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.7%) is water. Washington County is a long narrow county located in the northeastern section of the State. It is known for its rich valley farm land and is part of the Great Appalachian Valley (also known simply as the 'Great Valley') which is a long narrow valley strip often between tall mountain ranges. The county transitions from the Taconic Mountains to the

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains ( ) are a massif of mountains in Northeastern New York which form a circular dome approximately wide and covering about . The region contains more than 100 peaks, including Mount Marcy, which is the highest point in Ne ...

, and from the

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

Valley to Hudson River Valley. Much of the county is part of the slate valley of the Upper Taconic Mountains (Taghkanic, meaning 'in the trees'). The eastern boundary of Washington County is the New York– Vermont border, part of which is

. This is also the border with

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

proper. The northern end of the county is within the 6.1 million acre Adirondack Park. Western boundaries include primarily the Hudson River and Lake George. Washington County belongs to the following valleys and watersheds: Champlain Valley / Lake George Watershed—02010001 Hudson River Valley / Hudson-Hoosic Watershed—02020003 Waters in the northern part drain into

via Lake George (Horican) or the Mettawee River, and then flow into the Saint Lawrence River (Kaniatarowanenneh). These waters mingle in the Saint Lawrence with waters of all the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

as they flow northeast into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and ultimately join the Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile, the remainder of waters drain south via the Hudson River (Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk or Muhheakantuck), and ultimately flow south into the Atlantic Ocean below New York City. See the approximation of the watershed divide mapped in context of mountains and valleys. NortheastAppalachiansMap

Nearly half of its borders are by long bodies of water. Winding across the bottom of the county is the legendary Batten Kill (Dionondehowa), famous for its worldclass flyfishing, and its marvelous falls (near the Washington County fairgrounds). Black Mountain, in the Adirondacks, is the tallest peak in Washington County at approximately , and has beautiful views of Lake George, Lake Champlain, the surrounding countryside, and the

Adirondacks The Adirondack Mountains ( ) are a massif of mountains in Northeastern New York (state), New York which form a circular dome approximately wide and covering about . The region contains more than 100 peaks, including Mount Marcy, which is the hi ...

, Taconic Mountains and Green Mountains. Willard Mountain is a ski center in the southern part of the county.

Adjacent counties

* Essex County – north * Addison County, Vermont – northeast * Rutland County, Vermont – east * Bennington County, Vermont – southeast * Rensselaer County – south * Saratoga County – southwest * Warren County – west

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 61,042 people, 22,458 households, and 15,787 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 26,794 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.97%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.92%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.20% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.84% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. 2.02% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 17.5% were of Irish, 14.1% French, 12.1% English, 11.1% American, 9.0% Italian and 7.7% German ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.9% spoke English and 1.4% Spanish as their first language. There were 22,458 households, out of which 33.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.20% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.01. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.60% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 105.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $37,668, and the median income for a family was $43,500. Males had a median income of $31,537 versus $22,160 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $17,958. About 6.80% of families and 9.40% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.30% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census

Government

The county government consists of a board of supervisors with weighted votes. Each town supervisor holds a seat on the county government, and their votes are based on the population of their town, with Kingsbury and Fort Edward supervisors having the largest number of votes, and Putnam having the fewest votes. The 2017 weighted vote totals are available on th
county website

Politics

Prior to 1996, Washington County was a Republican stronghold, with the only time between 1884 and 1992 that a Republican presidential candidate failed to win the county being 1964 when

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

lost every county in New York in his statewide and national landslide loss. Since 1996, it has become a bellwether county, but Republican candidate margins of victory have been greater than those by Democratic candidates and broke its bellwether streak in 2020 when

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

won the county. In his 2020 performance, Trump received the highest percentage of the vote for a Republican since 1988 when

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

received 62 percent, proceeding to expand his success further four years later. No Democrat aside from Lyndon B. Johnson in the aforementioned 1964 election has managed to win majority of the county's votes.

Transportation

Airports

The following public use airports are located in the county: * Argyle Airport (1C3) – Argyle * Chapin Field (1B8) –

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

* Granville Airport (B01) – Granville

Rail

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's '' Adirondack'' and '' Ethan Allen Express'' services each travel through Washington County once a day in each direction on their routes between

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

and Montreal, Québec or Burlington, Vermont, respectively. Both routes stop in Fort Edward and the ''Adirondack'' additionally serves

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

. The ''Adirondack'' was temporarily suspended from March 2020 through early April 2023 due to the closure of the Canadian/American border in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and related logistical challenges.

Communities

Towns

* Argyle *

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

* Easton * Fort Ann * Fort Edward (county seat) * Granville *

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

* Hampton *

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

* Jackson * Kingsbury * Putnam * Salem * White Creek *

Villages

* Argyle *

* Fort Ann * Fort Edward * Granville *

* Hudson Falls *

Census-designated places

* North Granville * Salem

Hamlets

* Cossayuna * East Greenwich * East Lake George * Goose Island * Huletts Landing * Kattskill Bay * Shushan

Notable people

* Frank Buckley Walker, a talent agent who discovered the likes of

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1892 – September 26, 1937) was an African-American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Empress of the Blues" and formerly Queen of the Blues, she was t ...

and

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

. * Townsend Harris, the first United States Consul-General to Japan. * Chester A. Arthur – Lived in Greenwich/Union Village for five years in his youth before becoming 21st President of the United States in 1881. * Grandma Moses, American painter * Josh Carter, musician in American music duo Phantogram * Susan B. Anthony (February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was a prominent American

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th-century

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

movement to gain

women's suffrage in the United States Women's suffrage, or the right of women to vote, was established in the United States over the course of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, first in various U.S. states, states and localities, then nationally in 1920 with the ratification ...

. She moved with her family to Battenville, New York when she was six. * Solomon Northup was a free-born

fiddler who had a farm in Hebron before moving to Saratoga Springs. Kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, he was freed in 1853, and that year published his memoir '' Twelve Years a Slave'' (1853). In 1984, the memoir was adapted as a PBS television movie entitled ''Solomon Northup's Odyssey'', directed by Gordon Parks; in 2013 it was adapted as a feature movie '' 12 Years a Slave (film).'' * Sigurd Raschèr (pronounced 'Rah-sher') (May 15, 1907, in Elberfeld, Germany – February 25, 2001, in Shushan, New York) was an American saxophonist of German birth. He became one of the most important figures in the development of the 20th century repertoire for the concert saxophone. * James Howard Kunstler (b. October 19, 1948). Author of '' The Geography of Nowhere,'' '' The Long Emergency,'' and the '' World Made By Hand'' novel series. * Frank J. Kimball, Wisconsin State Assemblyman, was born in Washington County. * Curtis Mann, Wisconsin State Senator, was born in Washington County. * E. D. Rogers, Wisconsin State Assembly, was born in Washington County."legislative Manual of Wisconsin 1875,' Biographical Sketch of E. D. Rogers, pg. 473 * John L. Beveridge, 16th Governor of Illinois (January 23, 1873 – January 8, 1877), 18th Lt. Governor of Illinois (January 13, 1873 – January 23, 1873), Member from Illinois of the U.S. House of Representatives, (42nd Congress), Republican Party, born in town of

in Washington County on July 6, 1824 * James M. Hinds (December 5, 1833 – October 22, 1868) was born and raised in the town of

in Washington County. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from July to October 1868 representing the 2nd Congressional District of Arkansas as a Republican. He became the first congressional representative to be assassinated while in office after being targeted by the Ku Klux Klan for advocating for civil rights for former slaves. He is buried in Salem's Evergreen Cemetery.

Notes

References

External links

Washington County, New York Official Website

History

Richard Clayton Photography Vintage Washington County, New York and area photos

''Twelve Years a Slave''
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

(scanned books original editions color illustrated)

Watershed/Conservancy

Lake George Watershed – 02010001
Northern Hebron's north-draining waters
Hudson-Hoosic Watershed – 02020003
Hebron's south-draining waters
Mountains of Northern Appalachians
Thick red line shows approx watershed divide
Watershed divide
Map of Champlain/Hudson valley divide w/Taconics
Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks

Adirondack Council

Residents' Committee to Protect the Adirondacks

Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK)

Poultney Mettowee Watershed Partnership

Lake George Land Conservancy

Hudson River Watershed Alliance

Battenkill Conservancy

Battenkill Watershed Council

State agencies

Adirondack Park Visitor Interpretive Centers

Museums

Hyde Collection Art Museum, Historic House & Gardens

European Art
Slate Valley Museum

Rathbuns Maple Sugar House Museum and Restaurant

Hicks Orchard

Pember Library and Museum
{{coord, 43.32, -73.43, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-NY_source:UScensus1990 Capital District (New York) Glens Falls metropolitan area 1772 establishments in the Province of New York Populated places established in 1772

History

Historic sites

Geography

Adjacent counties

Demographics

2020 Census

Government

Politics

Transportation

Airports

Rail

Communities

Towns

Villages

Census-designated places

Hamlets

Notable people

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

History

Watershed/Conservancy

State agencies

Museums