George Clinton, namesake of Clinton County. First Governor of New York, Vice President underThomas Jefferson andJames Madison, and representative of New York in the Continental Congress
When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Clinton County was part ofAlbany County. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present state ofVermont and, in theory, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766, by the creation ofCumberland County, and further on March 16, 1770, by the creation ofGloucester 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,Charlotte County, contained the eastern portion.
Clinton County lies at thenortheast corner of New York state. Its northern border abuts theCanadian province ofQuebec. Its eastern border abuts the state of Vermont (across Lake Champlain). The encompassing region is referred to as theAdirondack Coast.[4]
TheSaranac River flows easterly through the central part of the county, discharging into Lake Champlain atPlattsburgh, and theGreat Chazy River flows northeastward through the upper part of the county, discharging into Lake Champlain atCoopersville. TheAusable River forms a large part of the southern county line.[5] The county's highest point isLyon Mountain, in the town of Dannemora, at 3,830 ft (1,170 m) ASL.[6] According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,117.53 square miles (2,894.4 km2), of which 1,037.85 square miles (2,688.0 km2) is land and 79.67 square miles (206.3 km2) (7.1%) is water.[7]
Republicans continue to win most local races. The county's Congressional district did not elect a Democrat to Congress until 2009 whenBill Owens defeatedDoug Hoffman in thespecial election to replaceJohn McHugh, who resigned to serve as theObama Administration'sSecretary of the Army. The special election received nationwide attention due to Hoffman, a third-party candidate andTea Party favorite, polling higher than the Republican nominee,Dede Scozzafava, which ultimately led to her dropping out of the race and supporting Owens. It had not elected a Democrat to theState Senate orState Assembly in over a half-century untilBilly Jones was elected to the State Assembly in 2016. Clinton County is represented byElise Stefanik in the House of Representatives.
The Clinton County Legislature is the lawmaking body of the county. It consists of 10 members, each elected fromsingle member districts.[11] As of 2021, the County Legislature consisted of five Republicans, four Democrats, and a vacancy.[12]
Clinton County, New York – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the2000 United States census,[26] there were 79,894 people, 29,423 households, and 19,272 families in the county. Thepopulation density was 77.0 people per square mile (29.7 people/km2). There were 33,091 housing units at an average density of 31.9 units per square mile (12.3/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 93.33%White, 3.58%Black orAfrican American, 0.36%Native American, 0.67%Asian, 0.02%Pacific Islander, 1.10% fromother races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 2.46% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race. 23.7% were of French, 15.0%French Canadian, 12.5% American, 11.8% Irish, 7.6% English and 5.5% German ancestry according toCensus 2000. 94.1% spoke English, 2.8% French and 1.7% Spanish as their first language.
There were 29,423 households, out of which 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.00% weremarried couples living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.50% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.98.
The county population contained 23.00% under the age of 18, 12.40% from 18 to 24, 30.60% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 11.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 104.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.60 males.
The median household income was $37,028, and the median income for a family was $45,732. Males had a median income of $33,788 versus $25,520 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $17,946. About 9.40% of families and 13.90% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 15.30% of those under age 18 and 11.40% of those age 65 or over.
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