Delaware County, New York

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Not to be confused with Delaware.

Delaware County, New York
Delaware County Courthouse
Flag of Delaware County, New York Flag Seal of Delaware County, New York Seal
Location in the state of New York (state)
New York's location in the U.S.
Founded	1797
Named for	Delaware River
Seat	Delhi
Largest city	Sidney
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,467 sq mi (3,800 km²) 1,442 sq mi (3,735 km²) 25 sq mi (65 km²), 1.7
Population  - (2020)  - Density	44,308 30.7/sq mi (12/km²)
Congressional district	19th
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.co.delaware.ny.us

Delaware County is a county located in the US state of New York. As of 2020 census the population was 44,308. The county seat is Delhi. The county is named after the Delaware River, which was named in honor of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, appointed governor of Virginia in 1609.

History

When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present area of Delaware County was divided between Albany and Ulster Counties.

Albany County 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, British 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 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 Tryon.

In 1789, Montgomery County was reduced in size by the splitting off of Ontario County. 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.

In 1791, Otsego was one of three counties that were split off from Montgomery (the other two being Herkimer and Tioga Counties).

Ulster County was an original county of New York State, considerably larger than the present Ulster County, and at the time that Delaware County was created it still contained most of its original area.

Delaware County was formed in 1797 by combining portions of Otsego and Ulster counties.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,467 square miles (3,800 km²), of which 1,442 square miles (3,730 km²) is land and 25 square miles (65 km²) (1.7%) is water. It is the fifth-largest county in New York by land area.

Delaware County is located in the southern part of the state, separated from the state of Pennsylvania by the Delaware River. It is east of Binghamton and southwest of Albany. The county contains part of the Catskill Mountains. The county is within a region called the Southern Tier of New York State.

The highest point is an approximately 3,520-foot (1,073 m) summit of Bearpen Mountain along the Greene County line. The lowest point is along the Delaware River. The county is drained by the headwaters of the Delaware. It has a hilly surface, and the soil in the valleys is exceedingly fertile. The Delaware and Susquehanna rivers are here navigable by boats.

Adjacent counties

• Otsego County – north
• Schoharie County – northeast
• Greene County – east
• Ulster County – southeast
• Sullivan County – south
• Wayne County, Pennsylvania – southwest
• Broome County – west
• Chenango County – northwest

National protected area

• Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1800	10,228		—
1810	20,303		98.5%
1820	26,587		31.0%
1830	33,024		24.2%
1840	35,396		7.2%
1850	39,834		12.5%
1860	42,465		6.6%
1870	42,972		1.2%
1880	42,721		−0.6%
1890	45,496		6.5%
1900	46,413		2.0%
1910	45,575		−1.8%
1920	42,774		−6.1%
1930	41,163		−3.8%
1940	40,989		−0.4%
1950	44,420		8.4%
1960	43,540		−2.0%
1970	44,718		2.7%
1980	46,824		4.7%
1990	47,225		0.9%
2000	48,055		1.8%
2010	47,980		−0.2%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

As of the census of 2000, there were 48,055 people, 19,270 households, and 12,737 families residing in the county. The population density was 13/km² (33/sq mi), making it the least densely populated in the state outside of the Adirondacks. There were 28,952 housing units at an average density of 20 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.44% White, 1.18% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. 2.05% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23.9% were of English ancestry, 16.9% were of German ancestry and 14.1% were of Irish ancestry according to the 2012 Community Survey. 94.5% spoke English, 2.0% Spanish and 1.1% German as their first language.

There were 19,270 households, out of which 28.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.80% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.90% were non-families. 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.10% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 24.00% from 25 to 44, 26.20% from 45 to 64, and 18.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,461, and the median income for a family was $39,695. Males had a median income of $27,732 versus $22,262 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,357. About 9.30% of families and 12.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.60% of those under age 18 and 8.60% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The State University of New York at Delhi is located in Delaware County. DCMO BOCES (Delaware-Chenango-Madison-Otsego; Board of Cooperative Educational Services) - Robert W. Harrold Campus is located in Sidney Center.

Transportation

Delaware County has some transportation operated by Coach USA.

Major highways

• Future Interstate 86/New York State Route 17 (Quickway)
• Interstate 88 (Senator Warren M. Anderson Expressway / Susquehanna Expressway)
• New York State Route 8
• New York State Route 10
• New York State Route 23
• New York State Route 28
• New York State Route 30
• New York State Route 97
• New York State Route 206

Communities

Larger settlements

#	Location	Population	Type	Sector
1	Sidney	3,900	Village	Northwest
2	Walton	3,088	Village	Southwest
3	†Delhi	3,087	Village	Northeast
4	‡Deposit	1,663	Village	Southwest
5	Stamford	1,119	Village	Northeast
6	Hancock	1,031	Village	Southwest
7	Downsville	617	CDP	Southwest
8	Margaretville	596	Village	Southeast
9	Hobart	441	Village	Northeast
10	Franklin	374	Village	Northwest
11	Fleischmanns	351	Village	Southeast
12	Davenport Center	349	CDP	Northeast
13	††Andes	252	CDP	Southeast
14	Bloomville	213	CDP	Southwest

† - County Seat

†† - Former Village

‡ - Not Wholly in this County

Towns

• Andes
• Bovina
• Colchester
• Davenport
• Delhi
• Deposit
• Franklin
• Hamden
• Hancock
• Harpersfield
• Kortright
• Masonville
• Meredith
• Middletown
• Roxbury
• Sidney
• Stamford
• Tompkins
• Walton

Census-designated places

• Agloe
• Arkville
• Bedell
• Delancey
• Fraser
• Grand Gorge
• Hawleys
• Halcottsville
• Islamberg
• Roxbury
• South Kortright

Politics

United States presidential election results for Delaware County, New York

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	13,387	58.14%	9,143	39.71%	495	2.15%
2016	11,942	60.34%	6,627	33.48%	1,223	6.18%
2012	9,938	53.32%	8,304	44.55%	396	2.12%
2008	10,524	51.62%	9,462	46.41%	403	1.98%
2004	11,958	56.49%	8,724	41.22%	485	2.29%
2000	10,662	52.84%	8,450	41.88%	1,064	5.27%
1996	7,684	39.62%	8,724	44.98%	2,986	15.40%
1992	8,829	43.01%	7,152	34.84%	4,549	22.16%
1988	11,391	59.92%	7,463	39.26%	156	0.82%
1984	14,002	70.61%	5,745	28.97%	83	0.42%
1980	10,609	55.36%	6,333	33.05%	2,222	11.59%
1976	12,443	62.76%	7,254	36.59%	130	0.66%
1972	15,136	74.10%	5,243	25.67%	47	0.23%
1968	12,366	65.44%	5,360	28.36%	1,172	6.20%
1964	8,359	41.66%	11,686	58.24%	19	0.09%
1960	16,336	74.21%	5,662	25.72%	15	0.07%
1956	17,364	81.91%	3,835	18.09%	0	0.00%
1952	17,737	81.10%	4,116	18.82%	18	0.08%
1948	14,226	73.05%	4,965	25.50%	283	1.45%
1944	14,916	74.32%	5,128	25.55%	25	0.12%
1940	15,684	72.28%	5,968	27.50%	48	0.22%
1936	15,164	70.98%	6,142	28.75%	58	0.27%
1932	13,050	65.32%	6,723	33.65%	207	1.04%
1928	16,225	78.59%	4,362	21.13%	58	0.28%
1924	13,020	72.66%	4,158	23.20%	741	4.14%
1920	11,719	70.17%	4,528	27.11%	454	2.72%
1916	6,266	53.74%	4,986	42.76%	408	3.50%
1912	4,731	40.32%	4,511	38.45%	2,491	21.23%
1908	7,142	58.28%	4,641	37.87%	472	3.85%
1904	7,628	61.54%	4,347	35.07%	421	3.40%
1900	7,626	60.16%	4,639	36.60%	411	3.24%
1896	7,790	61.75%	4,450	35.28%	375	2.97%
1892	6,421	53.07%	4,706	38.90%	972	8.03%
1888	6,602	52.33%	5,332	42.26%	683	5.41%
1884	5,934	51.88%	4,956	43.33%	549	4.80%

See also

• List of counties in New York
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Delaware County, New York

Further reading

• Gould, Jay (1856). History of Delaware County and the Border Wars of New York. Roxbury: Kenny & Gould. http://www.dcnyhistory.org/goulds.html. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Delaware County, New York

• Delaware County official site
• Delaware County at the Open Directory Project
• Delaware County, NY Genealogy and History Site
• Boy Scout Camp Serving County – Henderson Scout Reservation
• The Delaware County Fair, held every August in Walton, NY