Warren County is a county in the
U.S. state of New York
.
It is part
of the Glens Falls, New
York
, Metropolitan Statistical
Area. As of the
2000 census, the population was
63,303.
It
is named in honor of General Joseph
Warren, killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill
in the American Revolutionary
War. The county seat is
Queensbury
.
History
Early history (1600—1683)
When counties are established (1683—1813)
When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the
present Warren County was part of
Albany County.
The county was
enormous, covering the northern part of New York State, all of the
present State of Vermont
, and, in
theory, extended westward to the Pacific Ocean
. It 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,
Charlotte County,
contained the eastern portion.
In 1778,
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 of America.
In 1788,
Washington County was reduced in size by the splitting-off of
Clinton
County
. This was a much larger area than the
present Clinton County, including several other counties or county
parts of the present New York State.
Washington County was
slightly enlarged by the transfer of the Town of
Cambridge
from Albany County to Washington County in
1791.
In 1813, Warren County was split off from Washington County,
receiving its name in honor of General
Joseph Warren, of the Revolutionary
army.
Warren County in present time (1813—present)
Lake George is the site of a
YMCA conference center, the Silver Bay YMCA, founded in 1900 and
one of only a few of its type in the United States ..
The Silver Bay
Inn
was built in 1904 and is on the National Register of
Historic Places.
Geography
According to the
U.S.
Census Bureau, the
county has a total area of 932 square miles (2,413 km²),
of which 869 square miles (2,251 km²) consists of land
and 62 square miles (162 km²) (6.69%) consists of water.
Warren
County is situated in the eastern portion of New York
state; the eastern border is Washington
County
. Being located in the
Adirondack Mountains, it is not
uncommon for mountain peaks to surpass . The highest peak in the
county is Gore Mountain at an elevation of .
Adjacent counties
Climate
The
climate of Warren County is humid continental, as is the rest of
New York
State
.
In the winter, bouts of cold, dry air arrive from Canada
, and interior sections of North America. In the summer, the Gulf Stream brings hot, moist, humid air to the county. Extratropical storms often affect the county; in the winter, Nor'easters bring heavy snow and rain, and sometimes high wind. In the summer and fall, back door cold fronts move in from the north and bring thunderstorms, sometimes severe.
| Monthly
Normal High and Low Temperatures For Lake George, New York on the
top and average monthly precipiation in inches on the lower
section. |
|
City |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Lake
George |
31/10 |
35/12 |
45/22 |
59/33 |
71/45 |
79/53 |
83/58 |
81/56 |
73/48 |
61/37 |
47/29 |
35/17 |
|
|
City |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Lake
George |
3.50" |
2.58" |
3.70" |
3.73" |
4.42" |
4.17" |
4.20" |
4.28" |
4.07" |
3.61" |
4.05" |
3.46" |
|
Source:Weather Channel |
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 63,303
people, 25,726 households, and 17,056 families residing in the
county. The
population density
was 73 people per square mile (28/km²). There were 34,852 housing
units at an average density of 40 per square mile (15/km²).
The racial makeup of the county was 97.48%
White, 0.62%
Black or
African American, 0.21%
Native American, 0.55%
Asian, 0.01%
Pacific Islander, 0.23% from
other races, and 0.91%
from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.05% of
the population.
17.9% were of Irish, 12.7% English, 11.4% Italian, 11.1% French, 10.6% German and 9.0% American
ancestry according to Census
2000. 96.3% spoke
English, 1.4%
Spanish and 1.0%
French as their first language.
There were 25,726 households out of which 30.70% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 51.90% were
married couples living together, 10.40% had a
female householder with no husband present, and 33.70% were
non-families. 27.30% of all households were made up of individuals
and 11.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family
size was 2.93.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.00% under the
age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 25.10% from
45 to 64, and 15.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median
age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For
every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $39,198, and
the median income for a family was $46,793. Males had a median
income of $32,922 versus $22,279 for females. The
per capita income for the county was
$20,727. About 7.20% of families and 9.70% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including
14.10% of those under age 18 and 5.90% of those age 65 or
over.
Law/Government and Politics
Warren County has 20 county supervisors; W. VanNess; F. Champagne;
L Tessier; E. Merlino; S. Goodspeed; D. Strainer; D. Girard; D.
Belden; M. Sokol; K. Geraghty; R. Bentley; K. Simms; H. Taylor; J.
Sheehan; F. Thomas; W. Kenny; M. O'Connor; D. Stec; J. Haskell; and
F. Monroe, which represent 11 of the county's towns. There are also
11 town supervisors.
The current Warren County
sheriff is Nathan
H. York. The sheriff's office is structured around three divisions;
Administrative Services, Law Enforcement and Correction. The Law
Enforcement Division includes both Investigative Services, Patrol
Servicesand the Communications Center. Patrol Services have
specialized units that operate under the control of the Division
Commander.
Warren County has been heavily supportive of
Republican candidates since
the Civil War. The Republicans currently hold 16 of 20 seats on the
county legislature, and George W. Bush won the county with 55% of
the vote in 2004. Both of Warren County's representatives in the
state legislature,
Elizabeth
O'C. Little in the Senate
and Teresa Sayward in the Assembly are Republicans. Currently
Republicans constitute 51% of registered voters in Warren County,
while Democrats account for 23%.
Democrats
have been steadily making inroads in recent years; Senator Charles Schumer won the county by 56% in his
re-election bid in 2004, and the Democrats recently gained a
majority on the Glens
Falls
City Council. John Hall, a Democrat, picked
up the county judgeship position in 2003. In 2006 Republican John
Sweeney was unseated in the district by
Kirsten Gillibrand as Member of
Congress.
In the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama narrowly carried
Warren County over John McCain, with Obama receiving 16,281 votes
countywide to McCain's total of 15,424 votes
[8749].
Infastructure
Economy
Throughout the county, annual retail sales totals up to
$1,010,937,000. General merchandise sales is $101,762,000. Apparel
store's annual sales are $98,221,000 while annual food sales is
$162,890,000. Health and drug store sales total up to
$44,841,000.
The
county contains the highest concentrated area of medical
manufacturers in New
York
state, with many medical inventions originating in
the county. Norman Jekyll and David Sheridan introduced the
medical device industry to the Glens Falls area. In the 1940s, they
produced products that were from materials supplied by war-torn
Europe. One of the primary manufacturers is AngioDynamics Inc.,
which is located in Queensbury, and is a producer of medical
devices used in minimally invasive, image-guided procedures to
treat peripheral vascular disease. Another major manufacturer of
medical devices is Boston Scientific Corp., which is located in
Glens Falls.
Education
In Warren County, there are 16 public elementary schools, with the
largest being the Queensbury Elementary School, serving 1,150
students and the smallest being the Abraham Wing School, serving
146 students. There are nine middle schools, with the largest being
Queensbury Middle School, serving 945 students and the smallest
being the Bolton Central School, serving 285 students. There are
also 11 high schools, with the largest being the Queensbury Senior
High School, serving 1,301 students, and the smallest being the
Bolton Central School, serving 285 students.
In addition, there is
one major secondary school; the St. Mary's - St. Alphonsus Regional
Catholic School, which is a private school located in Glens
Falls
.
The
primary college in Warren County is the Adirondack Community College
which provides an extensive program of degrees and certificate
programs and is located in Queensbury, New York between Saratoga
Springs
and Lake George. Although not in
Warren county, another major education for the area is SUNY
Plattsburgh, which is continuely adding bachelor and master-degree
programs at the ACC campus, and is located in Plattsburgh
.
Healthcare
The
primary healthcare center in Warren
County is the Glens Falls Hospital
, which is located in Glens Falls. Providing
410 beds, its most common procedure is miscellaneous diagnostic and
therapeutic procedures.
Transportation
Bus
Regular bus service from Queensbury to Glens Falls is provided by
the
Greater Glens
Falls Transit System. These also include trolleys that run on
the road. The trolleys go from Bolton Landing (four times a day)
and usually turn around just north of Hearthstone Point Campground
on Route 9N.
Roads
There are several state and county maintained roads in Warren
County, making up a total of of roadway. The only U.S. Route is
U.S. Route
9, which traverses the eastern portion of the county. The only
interstate is
Interstate 87, also
known as the
Adirondack Northway.
South of Lake George Village

View of Route 9N from the North End
Trailhead
Only
New York State Route 9N
traverses the Lake Luzerne region of Warren County. There are 2
state-maintained routes in Glens Falls, Route 9L, which terminates
in the city. The second is
New
York State Route 32, which leaves Warren for Washington County,
where it terminates at
New York
State Route 196. Also, on the east side of the city, there is
County Route 79 (Boulevard), a former alignment of NY 32. There is
New York State Route 149, a
long road that traverses Warren and nearby Washington Counties.
There is also
New York State
Route 254, a road in southern part of the town and enters
Washington County as well. The third and final state maintained
route is
New York State Route
9L, which traverses down the central portion of the town.
Several county routes traverse through Stony Creek. These include
County Route 3, County Route 12, County Route 22, and County Route
76.
Lake George Village
There are several major routes in the town and village of Lake
George. There is
New York State
Route 9N, which traverses north to south through the county.
There is also County Routes 6 (Fort George Boulevard) and 59
(Bloody Pond Road). The latter is a continuation of
New York State Route 9L and heads to
terminate in Queensbury. In this town includes
New York State Route 912Q, which
is the Exit 22 connector/park & ride on the Northway.
North of Lake George Village
Map of New York State Route 418
Although the region for Bolton and Bolton Landing is large, there
is only one state-maintained route, Route 9N, and there is County
Route 11 (Bolton-Riverbank Road), which is a connector to Exit 24
on the Northway. Only 2 county or higher maintained roads traverse
the hamlet of Diamond Point, Route 9N and County Route 35 (Diamond
Point Road), which connects 9N to the Northway (Exit 23) and U.S.
Route 9 in Warrensburg.
New York
State Route 8 enters the county at
Johnsburg, NY, entering into the Town of
Chester, where it merges with
U.S.
Route 9 for almost 4 miles, splitting
off at the Landon Hill/Route 8/Route 9 intersection.
New York State Route 8 terminates at
an intersection with
New York
State Route 9N in the center of Hague. There are several
state-maintained and county-maintained roads in the Warrensburg
area. These include the termini of both
New York State Route 28 and
New York State Route 418 at US 9.
There are also a few county routes including County Route 4 in
Athol and County Route 10 (Horicon Road) in Warrensburg. Route 10
continues eastward, terminating in Bolton Landing.
Trains
Amtrak serves Glens Falls
on its Adirondack daily route.
Arts and culture
Warren County is home to several music centers, including the
Luzerne Music Center, which is a summer camp focused on teaching
music, in the foothills of the
Adirondacks. In July, it holds an annual Chamber
Music Festival which is open for public viewing. The Upper Hudson
Musical Arts is also a popular attraction, bringing concerts by
professional chamber music ensembles and soloists to the
Adirondacks throughout the year. Concerts are held at the Tannery
Pond Community Center in North Creek. In addition, the Charles R.
Wood Theater home to Adirondack Theatre Festival is a year-round
professional theater production in Glens Falls.
Points of interest
Lake George

Lake George
Warren
County is the primary area of tourism related to Lake
George
. Lake George is a lake located in the
Adirondack Mountains. Popular
activities on the lake include river tubing, swimming, kayaking and
boating. There are several large points of interest in the Lake
George region. These include
Prospect Mountain just outside
of town, Steel Pier along Beach Road which serves several tour
boats. The village is a popular tourist spot and is home to many
stores and novelty shops. There is the Lake George Battleground on
the edge of the village along County Route 6.
To the north, there are several hotels and motels to serve tourists
visiting the lake. There are several campgrounds around the region
including Hearthstone Point on Route 9N and Lake George
Battleground south of the village. There are also several
campgrounds on islands on the lake. These include Long Island,
which serves 88 campsites. All island campgrounds and land-locked
grounds are maintained by the
New York
Department of Environmental Conservation.
Historic sites
State Armory in Glens Falls in 1907
One of the primere historic sites in Warren County is the Fredella,
Joseph J., House and Garage, which was constructed in 1900, and is
significant for its architectural detail. It is on the list of
National Register
of Historic Places. Another popular historic site is the Wreck
of the 1758 radeau LAND TORTOISE, a shipwreck site which occurred
in 1758 of European-American origin. Other historic sites include:
- Chapman Historical Museum

- Marcella Sembrich Opera Museum
- Edward Eggleston Estate
- First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls
- Fredella Street Historic District (Glens Falls)
- Three Squares Historic District (Glens Falls)
- The Hyde Collection
(Glens Falls)
- Warrensburg Mills Historic District
- Wiawaka Bateaux Site
- Wiawaka Holiday House
Municipalities

Hamlet of Chestertown in Chester,
typical for the area.
Under
New York
State
law, there are three types of incorporated
municipalities: cities, villages, and
towns. The
following incorporated cities, villages and towns are located in
Warren County:
See also
References
External links