Allegany County, New York

File:Map of New York highlighting Allegany County.png

Allegany County is a county located in the U.S. State of New York. As of 2000, the population is 49,927. Its name derives from a Delaware Indian word, applied by settlers of Western New York State to a trail that followed the Allegany (Allegheny) River. Its county seat is Belmont. It should be noted that the spelling Allegany County is used in Maryland as well as in New York; Pennsylvania spells a similarly-named county Allegheny County, while Virginia and North Carolina spell theirs Alleghany County.

History

When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Allegany 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 honor of 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.

Ontario County was split off from Montgomery County in 1789. In turn, Genesee County was split off from Ontario County in 1802.

Allegany County was formed in 1806, split off from Genesee County.

From 1812 to 1814, Cattaraugus County was incorporated into Allegany. From 1814 to 1817, some of the county records of Cattaraugus County were kept in Belmont.

The southern part of the county lies within the oil field where petroleum was first discovered in the USA, at Titusville, Pennsylvania. Names such as Wellsville and Petrolia (as well as Olean in neighboring Cattaraugus County)indicate areas where oil was formerly extracted. Oil has played out, but natural gas is still an important Allegany County resource. Bolivar was named in honor of Simon Bolivar, the South American liberator.

The Genesee River bisects the county from south to north. In June 1972 the remnants of Hurricane Agnes stalled over the area, dropping more than 20 inches of rain. There was memorable flooding in Wellsville, Belmont, Belfast and other valley communities of the county.

Geography

Allegany County is in the southwestern part of New York State, along the Pennsylvania border. [It should be noted that Allegany County does not lie along the Allegany (Allegheny) River, as its name would suggest; the river actually runs through the adjacent Cattaraugus County].

The County is entirely within the Allegany Plateau, a dissected plateau along the western side of the Appalachian Mountains. The highest hills in the southern part of the county are in excess of 2,000 feet in elevation, and the terrain slopes generally to the northward. The high hills are composed of rocks of Mississippian and Pennsylvanian age, and the lower elevations to the northward are of Devonian age. The Genesee River, passing downward exposes many segments of the gelogic column wherever it cuts through rock layers.

The Genesee River is extremely popular with canoists (as it was a favored route for Native Americans) and the river abounds in smallmouth bass, [[trout] and panfish.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,679 km² (1,034 mi²). 2,668 km² (1,030 mi²) of it is land and 11 km² (4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.41% water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 49,927 people, 18,009 households, and 12,192 families residing in the county. The population density is 19/km² (48/mi²). There are 24,505 housing units at an average density of 9/km² (24/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 97.03% White, 0.72% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. 0.91% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 18,009 households out of which 31.50% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.20% are married couples living together, 9.00% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.30% are non-families. 26.00% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.30% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.53 and the average family size is 3.04.

In the county the population is spread out with 24.40% under the age of 18, 15.50% from 18 to 24, 23.90% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 98.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county is $32,106, and the median income for a family is $38,580. Males have a median income of $30,401 versus $21,466 for females. The per capita income for the county is $14,975. 15.50% of the population and 10.50% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 19.20% are under the age of 18 and 7.50% are 65 or older.

Cities and Towns

Indian reservations

Oil Springs Reservation