Genesee County, New York

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Genesee County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,388.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Batavia.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> Its name is from the Seneca word Gen-nis'-hee-yo, meaning "the Beautiful Valley".<ref name="COLTON">THE AMERICAN REVIEW; A WHIG JOURNAL DEVOTED TO POLITICS, LITERATURE, ART AND SCIENCE. VOL. VI NEW-YORK: GEORGE H. COLTON, 118 NASSAU STREET, Published 1847, Wiley and Putnam, p. 628.[1]</ref> The county was created in 1802 and organized in 1803.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county is part of the Finger Lakes region of the state.

Genesee County comprises the Batavia, NY micropolitan statistical area, which is also in the Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY combined statistical area. It is in Western New York. It is the namesake of Genesee County, Michigan; that is, the Michigan county was named for Genesee County, New York.

History

Precontact era

The archaeological record at the Hiscock Site, in Byron, New York goes back 10,000 to 12,000 years to the Ice Age. Researchers have found a variety of humanmade tools, ceramics, metal, and leather, along with a mastodon jaw, tusks, and teeth and assorted animal bones, indicating long occupation of the site. This site is among North America's most important for archaeological artifacts from the Ice Age.<ref name="BMS1">Geology Template:Webarchive The Buffalo Museum of Science, Retrieved on December 5, 2007</ref><ref name="BMS2">"Excavation pit at the Byron Dig" Template:Webarchive, The Buffalo Museum of Science, Retrieved on December 5, 2007</ref>

Different Indigenous peoples lived in the area for thousands of years. Centuries before European arrival, the Iroquoian-speaking Seneca Nation developed in the central part of present-day New York; it became one of the first Five Nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy). Beginning in 1639 and lasting for the rest of the century, the Seneca led an invasion of Western New York, driving out the existing tribes of Wenro, Erie and Neutrals.

Colonial and revolutionary era

When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Genesee 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. 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). In 1784 Tryon County was renamed as Montgomery County. Around this time, the Province of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Bay Colony also claimed the territory as their own, but New York did not enforce its territorial claim. In 1789 Ontario County was split off from Montgomery as a result of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. Again, the county theoretically extended west to the Pacific Ocean.

New York State

It was not until the Holland Purchase of 1793 that Western New York was enforced as the territory of New York State. Land in the region was sold through the Holland Land Company's office in Batavia, starting in 1801. All the land in Western New York was in the newly created Genesee County, and all of that was in the single town of Batavia.

Genesee County was created by a partition of Template:Convert of land from Ontario County. The county was not fully organized so it remained under the supervision of Ontario County until it achieved full organization and separation during March 1803.<ref name="NYLAWS GENESSEE 1802">New York. Laws of New York.:1802, 25th Session, Chapter 64, Page 97.</ref>

On April 7, 1806, Genesee's area was reduced to Template:Convert due to a partition that created Allegany County.<ref name="NYLAWS GENESSEE 1806">New York. Laws of New York.:1806, 29th Session, Chapter 162, Section 1, Page 604.</ref> On March 8, 1808, Genesee's area was again reduced, this time to Template:Convert due to a partition that created Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, and Niagara Counties.<ref name="NYLAWS GENESSEE 1808">New York. Laws of New York.:1808, 31st Session, Chapter 15, Page 254.</ref> On February 23, 1821, Genesee's area was again reduced, this time to Template:Convert due a complex partition that produced Livingston<ref name="NYLAWS GENESSEE 1821a">New York. Laws of New York.:1820, 44th Session, Chapter 58, Section 1, Page 50.</ref> and Monroe Counties.<ref name="NYLAWS GENESSEE 1821b">New York. Laws of New York.:1820, 44th Session, Chapter 57, Section 1, Page 46.</ref> On April 15, 1825, another partition reduced Genesee's area to Template:Convert in the creation of Orleans County.<ref name="NYLAWS GENESSEE 1825a">New York. Laws of New York.:1824, 47th Session, Chapter 266, Section 1, Page 326.</ref><ref name="NYLAWS GENESSEE 1825b">New York. Laws of New York.:1825, 48th Session, Chapter 181, Sections 1 & 2, Page 273.</ref> On May 1, 1826, the Orleans partition was again surveyed, with Template:Convert of land along the western half of the Orleans/Genesee border returned to Genesee.<ref name="NYLAWS GENESSEE 1826">New York. Laws of New York.:1826, 49th Session, Chapter 269, Page 302.</ref> On March 19, 1841, Genesee's area was again reduced, this time to the Template:Convert it remains to this day due to the partitioning to create Wyoming County.<ref name="NYLAWS GENESSEE 1841">New York. Laws of New York.:1841, 64th Session, Chapter 196, Section 1, Page 169.</ref>

19th century politics: Origins of antimasonry

Genesee County was included in the 19th century "burned-over district" — the Western region of New York consumed by religious revivals and characterized by "the evangelical desire to convert the entire American population to Christianity and to create a 'moral, homogeneous commonwealth.'" <ref>William Preston Vaughn, The Antimasonic Party in the United States, 1826-1843 (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1983), 21.</ref> This religious moral crusade provided the social atmosphere that allowed antimasonic sentiment to gain momentum as a significant church-oriented movement and, later, a grass-roots political party that became the nation's first third party.Template:Citation needed

By the 1820s, Freemasonry was prevalent in Genesee County. From 1821 to 1827, half of all county officials were Freemasons.<ref>Ronald P. Formisano and Kathleen Smith Kutolowski, "Antimasonry and Masonry: The Genesis of Protest, 1826-1827," American Quarterly 29 (1977): 145.</ref> In September 1826, William Morgan, a resident of Batavia, New York, disappeared after having been briefly imprisoned for failure to repay a debt. Morgan had been rejected from the Masonic lodge in Batavia, and, as a result, threatened to publish a book which exposed the secret rituals of Freemasonry. His disappearance and presumed murder ignited a campaign against Freemasonry. The investigation into Morgan's disappearance confronted major obstacles from government officials and the judiciary- positions that were largely occupied by Freemasons.<ref name="Kutolowski">Template:Cite journal</ref> The Morgan affair combined with existing suspicions and distrust of the secrecy of Freemasonry initiated mass meetings throughout the county to decide how the issue of Freemasonry should be handled. The Antimasonry crusade's original goal was to oust Masons from political offices. Through the political guidance of party organizers, such as Thurlow Weed and William H. Seward, the crusade developed into a political party that enjoyed a political stronghold in Genesee County and the rest of the "burned-over district."

The Antimasonic Party found strong support within Genesee County from 1827 to 1833. The party averaged 69 percent of the vote and won every county office.<ref name="Kutolowski"/> After continuous domination of Masonic politicians, citizens saw Antimasonry as a solution and an opportunity to restore justice and republicanism. The Baptist and Presbyterian churches favored Antimasonry and encouraged their members to renounce ties with the fraternity. The party was originally associated with populist rhetoric, however, strong Antimasonic sentiment throughout the county correlated with positive economic developments and high population densities. Larger towns, such as Batavia, the county seat and Le Roy, harbored the strongest support for the party.<ref>Darcy G. Richardson, Others: Third-Party Politics From the Nation's Founding to the Rise and Fall of the Greenback-Labor Party (New York: iUniverse, Inc., 2004), 51.</ref> The timing of the creation of the Antimasonic Party coincided with a time in New York politics that encouraged the expansion of political participation. The party leaders made the Antimasonic Party, and later the Whig Party, a great success in Genesee County and other neighboring counties.

Modern day

In 2009, the City and Town of Batavia began exploring ways to merge or consolidate governmental systems.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.5%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> Genesee County is east of Buffalo and southwest of Rochester in the western portion of New York State.

Adjacent counties

Erie County - west
Livingston County - southeast
Monroe County - northeast
Niagara County - northwest
Orleans County - north
Wyoming County - south

Major highways

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Genesee County watersheds

Source:<ref name="planning">Genesee County All Hazard Multi-Jurisdictional Mitigation Plan, Chapter 4 Maps (1st Draft, May 2007) Template:Webarchive(See Watersheds-Genesee County, NY, Map 5), Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council</ref>

Black Creek
Canaseraga Creek to Oatka Creek, excluding Beards, Conesus and Cayuga Creek
Honeoye Creeks
Mud Creek
Murder Creek
Oak Orchard Creek
Oatka Creek
Ransom Creek to Mouth
Tonawanda Creek, Middle and Upper

National protected area

Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge (part)

State protected areas

County parks

Genesee County Park and Forest consists of Template:Convert of forest and rolling hills.
DeWitt Recreation Area is a Template:Convert park that includes a Template:Convert pond.

Source:<ref name="parks">Template:Cite web</ref>

Government and politics

Genesee County is governed by a 9–member legislature headed by a chairperson. Genesee County is part of the 8th Judicial District of the New York Supreme Court and the 4th Department of the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division.


Office	District	Area of the county	Officeholder	Party	First took office
Congressman	New York's 24th congressional district	All<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Claudia Tenney	Republican	2021
State Senator	61st State Senate District	All<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Sean Ryan	Democratic	2021
State Assemblyman	139th State Assembly District	All <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Stephen M. Hawley	Republican	2006

Presidential elections

Genesee County is solidly Republican at the Presidential level with Lyndon Johnson in 1964 being the only Democrat to ever carry the county. Since then the closest a Democrat has gotten to winning the county was Bill Clinton in 1996 when he lost to Bob Dole by 3 percent. In 2024 Donald Trump received 66.8 percent of the vote which was the best result for a Republican since 1956 when Dwight D. Eisenhower received 74.6 percent.

Law enforcement

The primary law enforcement agency is the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In most counties in N.Y., the undersheriff is the warden of the county jail.<ref>See N.Y. County Law, article 17, sections 652, found online at NYPublicLaw, type in CNT, then Article 17, and finally click on 652.</ref> In Genesee County, the sheriff has ultimate authority to operate the 80-bed county jail, built in 1985. In this county, rather than an undersheriff, it is managed by a "jail superintendent" with 27 other employees and managers. The current Genesee County Jail was built in 1985.<ref name=jail>"County Law, Article 17, Section 650, acknowledges the Sheriff as an Officer of the Court; Correction Law, Article 20, Section 500C, designates the Sheriff as custodian of the County Jail," from Genesee County government web site Jail page Template:Webarchive. Accessed June 26, 2008.</ref>

Demographics

Template:US Census population

2020 Census

Genesee County Racial Composition<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	50,960	87.3%
Black or African American (NH)	1,358	2.32%
Native American (NH)	361	0.62%
Asian (NH)	412	0.71%
Pacific Islander (NH)	16	0.02%
Other/Mixed (NH)	2,529	4.33%
Hispanic or Latino	2,752	4.71%

2000 census

As of the 2000 census,<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> there were 60,370 people, 22,770 households, and 15,825 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 24,190 housing units, with an average density of Template:Convert. The county's racial makeup was 94.69% White, 2.13% Black or African American, 0.78% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.71% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. 1.50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25.0% were of German, 15.2% Italian, 13.5% English, 13.1% Irish, 8.9% Polish and 5.6% American ancestry according to Census 2000.<ref>U.S. Census website . Factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved on August 2, 2013.</ref> 96.5% spoke English and 1.5% Spanish as their first language.

There were 22,770 households, of which 33.30% had children under the age of 18. 55.4% were married couples living together, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were non-families. 24.80% of households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.10.

26.10% of the county's population was under the age of 18, 7.50% were from age 18 to 24, 29.50% were from age 25 to 44, 22.60% were from age 45 to 64, and 14.30% were age 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.00 males.

The U.S. Census in 2000 showed the county had a 63.7% employment rate and 2.9% were unemployed. The median household income was $40,542, and the median family income was $47,771. Males had a median income of $34,430 versus $23,788 for females. The county's per capita income was $18,498. About 5.60% of families and 7.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.00% of those under age 18 and 6.80% of those age 65 or over.<ref name="EoCHGeCo">Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

The county has eight public school districts:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

It has one state-operated school: New York State School for the Blind

Several private schools at the primary and secondary levels are also maintained (Catholic schools are affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo):

St.Joseph's School, Batavia
Notre Dame High School, Batavia
St. Paul Lutheran School, Batavia

Genesee Community College has its main campus in the Town of Batavia.

Communities

Larger Settlements


#	Location	Population	Type	Sector
1	†Batavia	15,600	City	Northwest
2	Le Roy	4,391	Village	Southeast
3	‡Attica	2,547	Village	Southwest
4	Oakfield	1,813	Village	Northwest
5	Bergen	1,176	Village	Northeast
6	Corfu	709	Village	Southwest
7	Elba	676	Village	Northeast
8	Pavilion	646	CDP	Southeast
9	Alexander	509	Village	Southwest

† - County Seat

‡ - Not Wholly in this County

Towns

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