Yates County is a county located in the U.S. State of New York. As of 2000, the population is 24,621. The county seat is Penn Yan. The name is in honor of Joseph C. Yates, who as Governor of New York signed the act establishing the county.
History
When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Montgomery 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 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, and Yates Counties, and part of Schuyler and Wayne Counties.
In 1796, Steuben County was split off from Ontario County.
In 1802, Ontario County was reduced in size by the splitting off of Genesee County. The actual area split off from Ontario County was much larger than the present county, also including the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming Counties and parts of Livingston and Monroe Counties.
In 1821, Ontario County was reduced in size by combining portions of Genesee and Ontario Counties to create Livingston and Monroe Counties.
In 1823, Yates County was formed from portions of Steuben and Ontario Counties.
Geography
Yates County is in the western part of New York State, west of [[Ithaca, New
York|Ithaca]] and southeast of Rochester. It has a total area of 973 km² (376 mi²). 876 km² (338 mi²) of it is land and 97 km² (38 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 9.99% water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 24,621 people, 9,029 households, and 6,284 families residing in the county. The population density is 28/km² (73/mi²). There are 12,064 housing units at an average density of 14/km² (36/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 97.90% White, 0.56% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. 0.93% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 9,029 households out of which 31.50% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.00% are married couples living together, 9.40% have a female householder with no husband present, and 30.40% are non-families. 24.60% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.60% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.59 and the average family size is 3.08.
In the county the population is spread out with 26.70% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 95.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 91.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $34,640, and the median income for a family is $40,681. Males have a median income of $29,671 versus $21,566 for females. The per capita income for the county is $16,781. 13.10% of the population and 8.90% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 20.90% are under the age of 18 and 7.10% are 65 or older.