Lewis County, New York

The area now occupied by Lewis County was very sparsely occupied until the end of the 18th century. Although the land was already claimed by the Province of New York in its original grant, the land was clearly part of the territory of the Iroquois confederacy until after the American Revolutionary War, when New York seized the lands from tribes that had supported the British. The lands were unsurveyed and remained unattractive to settlement until after the complex process of Macomb's Purchase of 1791 eventually put much of the land in the hands of John Brown.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,290 square miles (3,300 km²), of which 1,275 square miles (3,300 km²) is land and 15 square miles (39 km²) (1.2%) is water.[4]

Lewis County is located in northwestern New York State, slightly east of due north from Syracuse. The eastern part of the county is in the Adirondack Park. A good portion of the Tug Hill Plateau is in the western part of the county. The county is home to the Black River Valley.

As of the census of 2000,[10] there were 26,944 people, 10,040 households, and 7,309 families residing in the county. The population density was 21 people per square mile (8/km²). There were 15,134 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.17% White, 0.39% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.64% of the population. 28.8% were of German, 13.8% French, 13.1% Irish, 9.2% English, 6.5% American and 5.3% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000. 97.3% spoke English and 1.0% Spanish as their first language.

There were 10,040 households, out of which 35.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.40% were married couples living together, 8.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.20% were non-families. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.80% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,361, and the median income for a family was $39,287. Males had a median income of $30,479 versus $21,115 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,971. About 10.10% of families and 13.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.40% of those under age 18 and 14.00% of those age 65 or over.

Child actor and veterinarian Peter Ostrum (born November 1957) settled in Lowville, Lewis County to practice veterinary medicine.

Judge Fred A. Young (August 27, 1904 – October 16, 1973) was a prominent Republican politician, lawyer, state legislator, and state judge, who was born in, and lived most of his life in, Lowville.

Florence Augusta Merriam Bailey (August 8, 1863 – September 22, 1948) was an American ornithologist and nature writer. She was born in Locust Grove, New York. The third child in her family, she was the younger sister of Clinton Hart Merriam. Florence Augusta Merriam Bailey was born in Locust Grove, New York. Bailey grew up at her family's estate, "Homewood", in the town of Leyden, whose fields and forests in the Black River Valley between the Tug Hill Plateau and Adirondack Mountains provided an ideal environment for the study of natural history.[11] She was encouraged in her interest in nature by her brother as well as her father. Her father was interested in scientific matters and was in correspondence with John Muir after meeting him at Yosemite in the summer of 1871. Born during the Civil War, Florence devoted her life to the study and protection of birds. From her work in ornithology she authored over ten books, including several field guides to birds, and close to one hundred articles. Though interested in birds as a child, she gained recognition as a naturalist while at Smith College. Disgusted by the use of feathers and whole birds in fashion, she started the Smith College Audubon Society.[12]

Franklin B. Hough (July 20, 1822 – June 11, 1885) was a scientist, historian and the first chief of the United States Division of Forestry, the predecessor of the United States Forest Service. He was among the first to call attention to the depletion of forests in the U.S. and is sometimes called the "father of American forestry". He was born in Martinsburg and retired in Lowville.

Clinton Hart Merriam (December 5, 1855 – March 19, 1942) was an American zoologist, ornithologist, entomologist, ethnographer, and naturalist. In 1886, he became the first chief of the Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy of the United States Department of Agriculture, predecessor to the National Wildlife Research Center and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. In 1883, he was a founding member of the American Ornithologists' Union. He was one of the original founders of the National Geographic Society in 1888. He developed the concept of "life zones" to classify biomes found in North America along an altitudinal sequence corresponding to the zonal latitudinal sequence from Equator to Pole. In mammalogy, he is known as an excessive splitter, proposing, for example, tens of different species of North American brown bears in several genera. Later in life, funded by the Harriman family, Merriam's focus shifted to studying and assisting the Native American tribes in the western United States. His contributions on the myths of central California and on ethnogeography were particularly noteworthy.

Edward McGlachlin (December 19. 1840 - April 22, 1931) was an American newspaper editor and politician. McGlachlin was born in Watson.[13]

• List of counties in New York
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Lewis County, New York
• Castorland Company

• Hough, Franklin B. 1822-1885 A history of Lewis County, in the State of New York, from the beginning of its settlement to the present time. Merrick, New York :Richwood Publishing Company.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lewis County, New York.

• Lewis County website
• Lewis County at Curlie
• Early history notes of Lewis County
• Early history summary of Lewis County