St. Lawrence County, New York

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Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county

St. Lawrence County is the northernmost county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 108,505.<ref name="QF"> Template:Cite web </ref> The county seat is Canton.<ref name="GR6"> Template:Cite web </ref> The county is named for the Saint Lawrence River. This was as named by early French explorer Jacques Cartier for the Christian saint Lawrence of Rome, as he visited the river on the saint's feast day. The county is part of the North Country region of the state.

St. Lawrence County comprises the Ogdensburg-Massena, NY Micropolitan Statistical Area and is New York's largest county by area.

History

When counties were established by England in the Province of New York in 1683, the present St. Lawrence County was part of Albany County. This was an enormous territory, 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. The 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 (later renamed Washington County).

Tryon County contained the western portion (and, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically 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 included what are now 37 counties of New York State. The county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York. Charlotte County contained the eastern portion of Albany County.

In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, the name "Charlotte County" was changed to Washington County to honor George Washington, the American Revolutionary War general and later President of the United States. Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County to honor the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died trying to capture the city of Quebec. It replaced the name of the British governor, hated by the rebels.

In 1788, Clinton County was split off from Washington County. This was a much larger area than the present Clinton County, including part of what would later become St. Lawrence County, as well as several other counties or county parts of the present New York State.

In 1789, the size of Montgomery County was reduced by the splitting off of Ontario County 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, Yates, and part of Schuyler and Wayne Counties.

St. Lawrence County is part of Macomb's Purchase of 1791.

In 1791, Herkimer County was one of three counties split off from Montgomery (the other two being Otsego, and Tioga County). This was much larger than the present county, however, and was reduced by a number of subsequent splits. The first was the splitting off in 1794 of Onondaga County. This county was larger than the current Onondaga County, including the present Cayuga, Cortland, and part of Oswego Counties. This was followed by the splitting off in 1798 from Herkimer County of two portions: one, Oneida County, was larger than the current Oneida County, including the present Jefferson, Lewis, and part of Oswego Counties; another portion, together with a portion of Tioga County, was taken to form Chenango County.

In 1799, Clinton County was reduced in size by the splitting off of Essex County from Clinton County.

In 1802, parts of Clinton, Herkimer, and Montgomery counties were taken to form the new St. Lawrence County. At that time Ogdensburg was the county seat. In 1828 the county seat was moved to Canton. The selection of Canton as the county seat was a compromise by the state legislature to end competition between factions supporting Ogdensburg and Potsdam for the county seat.<ref>Linda Casserly, County Courthouse Has 'Fiery' History Template:Webarchive, St. Lawrence Plaindealer, May 23, 2000. Archived copy on website of New York 4th Judicial District, St. Lawrence County.</ref>

Earthquake

On September 5, 1944, a 5.8Template:Nbspmagnitude earthquake centered in Massena struck the county. The earthquake was felt from Canada to Maryland, and from Maine to Indiana. The earthquake was the strongest earthquake in New York State history.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (5.0%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

It is the largest county by area in the state of New York. It is larger than either of the states of Rhode Island (1544.9 square miles) or the state of Delaware (2488.72 square miles). St. Lawrence County is part of the North Country region.

Part of the county is in the Adirondack Park. It includes much of the Oswegatchie River, Cranberry Lake and Lake Ozonia.

The Port of Ogdensburg in St. Lawrence County is the only U.S. port on the St. Lawrence Seaway. This waterway allows ships and vessels to pass through the St. Lawrence River and on to the Great Lakes. Ogdensburg Harbor Light is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and in the National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Lawrence County, New York

Adjacent counties

Demographics

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2020 census

St. Lawrence County, New York – Racial and ethnic composition
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 1980<ref name=1980Census>Template:Cite web</ref> Pop 1990<ref name=1990Census>Template:Cite web</ref> Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref> Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> Pop 2020<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> % 1980 % 1990 % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 112,490 107,708 104,777 103,943 96,556 98.46% 96.19% 93.61% 92.85% 88.99%
Black or African American alone (NH) 219 1,364 2,531 2,259 2,788 0.19% 1.22% 2.26% 2.02% 2.57%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 443 811 927 1,051 1,143 0.39% 0.72% 0.83% 0.94% 1.05%
Asian alone (NH) 395 789 793 1,074 1,089 0.35% 0.70% 0.71% 0.96% 1.00%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) x <ref>included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census</ref> x <ref>included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census</ref> 32 26 19 x x 0.03% 0.02% 0.02%
Other race alone (NH) 145 27 70 111 298 0.13% 0.02% 0.06% 0.10% 0.27%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) x <ref>not an option in the 1980 Census</ref> x <ref>not an option in the 1990 Census</ref> 793 1,334 3,780 x x 0.71% 1.19% 3.48%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 562 1,275 2,008 2,146 2,832 0.49% 1.14% 1.79% 1.92% 2.61%
Total 114,254 111,974 111,931 111,944 108,505 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

2000 census

As of the census<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 113,931 people, 40,506 households, and 26,936 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 49,721 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 94.51% White, 2.38% African American, 0.87% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.69% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.79% of the population. 16.9% were of French, 16.1% Irish, 13.9% American, 11.6% English, 8.1% French Canadian, 7.9% German and 7.6% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 95.6% spoke only English, while 3.2% spoke French and 1.2% Spanish at home.

There were 40,506 households, out of which 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.50% were married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.50% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.40% under the age of 18, 13.80% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 13.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 103.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,356, and the median income for a family was $34,510. Males had a median income of $30,135 versus $24,253 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,728. About 12.30% of families and 19.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.30% of those under age 18 and 10.30% of those age 65 or over.

Education

School districts

There are 17 school districts with territory in St. Lawrence County. 17 of those centered in the county are under the jurisdiction of the St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES Supervisory District along with Harrisville Central School District in Lewis County, New York.

Other school districts with territory in the county include:<ref name=StLawrenceCoNYSDMap2020>Template:Cite map - Text list</ref> Template:Div col

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All public high schools in St. Lawrence County compete in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Section X Northern Athletic Conference.

Universities and colleges

Saint Lawrence County is home to St. Lawrence University, State University of New York at Potsdam, Clarkson University, the SUNY-ESF Ranger School, and the State University of New York at Canton.

Politics and government

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Prior to the 1992 presidential election, St. Lawrence County was a traditionally Republican county, supporting the Democrats only in their sweep of New York State counties in 1964. From 1992 through the 2012 election, St. Lawrence County swung Democratic, posting double-digit victories for Democratic candidates, most notably in 1996 when Bill Clinton won the county by 28-point margin over Bob Dole. The first Republican victory in the county since 1988 came in 2016 when Donald Trump carried the county by an eight-point margin. In 2020, it was one of only a few counties in Upstate New York where Trump improved his margin, this time carrying it by over 10 points. Trump improved on his margin again in 2024, this time performing better than any candidate from any political party since 1984.

The county is governed by a fifteen person board of legislators which oversees the county departments, drafts policies, and sets an annual budget. They serve four year terms, with the last election being in 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They appoint an administrator to carry out their policies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other elected officials include a clerk, a district attorney, four coroners, a sheriff, and a treasurer.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

St. Lawrence County Legislators as of October 2025
District Legislator Party First elected<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Communities represented
1 James E. Reagen R 2018 Ogdensburg (part)
2 David Forsythe R 2006, 2014<ref group=note name=Foot01/> Lisbon, Ogdensburg (part)
3 Joseph Lightfoot R 2010 Canton (part, including Rensselaer Falls Village and Morley Hamlet (part)), Morristown (including hamlet), Oswegatchie (including Heuvelton Village)
4 William J. Sheridan R 2018 Edwards (including hamlet), Fowler (including Hailesboro Hamlet), Hammond (including village), Macomb, Pitcairn, Rossie
5 Harry A. Smithers II R 2022 De Peyster, Gouverneur (including village)
6 Larry Denesha R 2014 Clare, Clifton (including Cranberry Lake Hamlet), De Kalb (including De Kalb Junction and Richville Village), Fine (including Star Lake and Wanakena hamlets), Hermon (including hamlet), Russell
7 Rick Perkins R<ref group=note name=Foot02/> 2014 Colton (including Colton and South Colton hamlets), Hopkinton, Parishville (including hamlet), Piercefield, Pierrepont (including Crary Mills (part) and Hannawa Falls hamlets)
8 Benjamin Hull R 2022 Canton (part, including Crary Mills (part), Morley (part) and Pyrites hamlets), Madrid (including hamlet), Potsdam (part, including Crary Mills Hamlet (part))
9 Anthony Levato R 2025<ref group=note name=Foot03/> Canton (part, including village)
10 Margaret I. Haggard D 2022 Potsdam Village (part)
11 Glenn J. Webster R 2022 Potsdam (part, including village (part)), Stockholm (including Winthrop Hamlet)
12 John Burke R 2014 Norfolk (including hamlet), Potsdam (part, including Norwood Village)
13 John Gennett R 2022 Brasher (including Brasher Falls and Helena hamlets), Lawrence, Massena (part, including Massena Village (part) and Massena Center and Rooseveltown hamlets)
14 Nicole Terminelli D 2018 Massena Village (part)
15 Rita Curran R 2018 Louisville, Massena Village (part), Waddington (including village)

Media

Radio

Transportation

Airports

The following public use airports are located in the county:<ref>St. Lawrence County Public and Private Airports, New York Template:Webarchive. Retrieved June 13, 2013.</ref>

Communities

Larger settlements

# Location Population Type Area
1 ‡Akwasasne About 12,000 CDP/Reservation Riverside
2 Massena 10,883 Village Riverside
3 Ogdensburg 10,436 City Riverside
4 Potsdam 9,428 Village East
5 †Canton 6,314 Village Center
6 Gouverneur 3,949 Village Riverside
7 Norwood 1,560 Village Riverside
8 Norfolk 1,327 CDP Riverside
9 Hannawa Falls 1,042 CDP East
10 Waddington 972 Village Riverside
11 Star Lake 809 CDP South
12 Madrid 757 CDP Riverside
13 Heuvelton 714 Village Riverside
14 Brasher Falls 669 CDP East
15 Parishville 647 CDP East
16 Hailesboro 624 CDP South
17 DeKalb Junction 519 CDP East
18 Winthrop 510 CDP East
19 Edwards 439 CDP South
20 Hermon 422 CDP Center
21 Morristown 395 CDP Riverside
22 Colton 345 CDP East
23 Rensselaer Falls 332 Village Riverside
24 Richville 323 Village South
25 Hammond 280 Village Riverside
26 Cranberry Lake 200 CDP Southeast

† - County Seat

‡ - Not Wholly in this County

Towns

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Hamlets

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See also

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Notes

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References

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Further reading

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