Tompkins County, New York

Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,564.[1] The county seat is Ithaca.[2] The name is in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins, who served as Governor of New York and Vice President of the United States.

Not to be confused with Tompkins, New York.
Tompkins County
County
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of New York
New York's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 42°27′N 76°28′W
Country United States
State New York
FoundedApril 17, 1817
Named forDaniel D. Tompkins
SeatIthaca
Largest CityIthaca
Area
 • Total492 sq mi (1,270 km2)
 • Land475 sq mi (1,230 km2)
 • Water17 sq mi (40 km2)  3.4%
Population
 (2010)
 • Total101,564[1]
 • Density210/sq mi (80/km2)
Demonym(s)Tompkins Countyan
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes
13053, 13062, 13068, 13073, 13102, 13736, 14817, 13864, 14850, 14851, 14852, 14853, 14854, 14867, 14881, 14882, 14883, 14886
Area code607
Congressional district23rd
Websitetompkinscountyny.gov

Tompkins County comprises the Ithaca, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is home to Cornell University, Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community College.

History

When counties were established in the British Province of New York in 1683, the present Tompkins 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.

McGraw Tower, Cornell University on East Hill above downtown Ithaca

In 1789, Montgomery County was reduced in size by the splitting off of Ontario County. 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.

Herkimer County was one of three counties split off from Montgomery County (the others being Otsego and Tioga counties) in 1791. Onondaga County was formed in 1794 by the splitting of Herkimer County.

Cayuga County was formed in 1799 by the splitting of Onondaga County. This county was, however, much larger than the present Cayuga County. It then included the present Seneca and Tompkins counties.

In 1804, Seneca County was formed by the splitting of Cayuga County.

On April 7, 1817, Tompkins County was created by combining portions of Seneca and the remainder of Cayuga County. The county was named after then Vice-President (to President James Monroe) and former New York Governor Daniel Tompkins. Tompkins almost certainly never visited the county named for him.

In 1854, the county lost the town of Hector and the west line of lots in Newfield to the newly formed Schuyler County, New York.

Geography
Robert H. Treman State Park in Tompkins County

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 492 square miles (1,270 km2), of which 475 square miles (1,230 km2) is land and 17 square miles (44 km2) (3.4%) is water.[3]

Tompkins County is in the west central part of New York State, south of Syracuse and northwest of Binghamton. It is usually geographically grouped with the Finger Lakes region, but some locals consider themselves to be part of Central New York or the Southern Tier.

Adjacent counties

Major highways
Upper Gorge, Buttermilk Falls State Park in Tompkins County

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
182020,681—
183036,54576.7%
184037,9483.8%
185038,7462.1%
186031,409−18.9%
187033,1785.6%
188034,4453.8%
189032,923−4.4%
190033,8302.8%
191033,647−0.5%
192035,2854.9%
193041,49017.6%
194042,3402.0%
195059,12239.6%
196066,16411.9%
197077,06416.5%
198087,08513.0%
199094,0978.1%
200096,5012.6%
2010101,5645.2%
2018 (est.)102,793[4]1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]
1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7]
1990-2000[8] 2010-2013[1]

As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 96,501 people, 36,420 households, and 19,120 families residing in the county. The population density was 203 people per square mile (78/km2). There were 38,625 housing units at an average density of 81 per square mile (31/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 85.50% White, 3.64% African American, 0.28% Native American, 7.19% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.09% from other races, and 2.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.08% of the population. 12.4% were of German, 11.7% English, 11.1% Irish, 9.2% Italian and 6.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000.[10] 2.85% of the population reported speaking Spanish at home, while 1.86% speak Chinese, 1.07% Korean, and 1.00% French.[11]

There were 36,420 households, out of which 25.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.20% were married couples living together, 8.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.50% were non-families. 32.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 19.00% under the age of 18, 26.00% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 19.30% from 45 to 64, and 9.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 97.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,272, and the median income for a family was $53,041. Males had a median income of $35,420 versus $27,686 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,659. About 6.80% of families and 17.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.00% of those under age 18 and 5.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities
Towns, cities, villages, and census divisions of Tompkins County
Tompkins County Court House in Ithaca New York

City

Towns

Villages

Census-designated places

Hamlets

Government and politics
Presidential election results
Presidential election results[12]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2020 24.2% 11,096 73.3% 33,619 2.5% 1,137
2016 24.3% 10,371 67.7% 28,890 8.0% 3,417
2012 27.9% 11,107 68.5% 27,244 3.6% 1,430
2008 28.0% 11,927 70.1% 29,826 1.9% 799
2004 33.0% 13,994 64.2% 27,229 2.8% 1,198
2000 33.3% 13,351 54.4% 21,807 12.2% 4,902
1996 31.1% 11,532 56.0% 20,772 13.0% 4,820
1992 27.7% 11,520 55.7% 23,197 16.7% 6,943
1988 40.7% 14,932 58.5% 21,455 0.9% 312
1984 48.3% 18,255 51.2% 19,357 0.4% 165
1980 42.0% 12,448 40.4% 11,970 17.7% 5,250
1976 53.9% 15,463 44.7% 12,808 1.4% 400
1972 58.7% 17,605 41.1% 12,344 0.2% 62
1968 53.3% 13,446 41.0% 10,343 5.8% 1,459
1964 36.0% 9,070 63.9% 16,103 0.1% 29
1960 66.3% 17,061 33.7% 8,659 0.1% 13
1956 78.3% 19,749 21.7% 5,475 0.0% 0
1952 74.7% 18,673 25.1% 6,285 0.2% 54
1948 67.1% 13,719 28.0% 5,721 4.9% 1,004
1944 63.9% 12,805 35.8% 7,174 0.4% 74
1940 66.0% 14,325 32.8% 7,118 1.2% 250
1936 64.3% 13,332 33.8% 7,007 2.0% 407
1932 64.4% 12,185 32.7% 6,180 2.9% 551
1928 72.8% 14,471 25.7% 5,114 1.4% 281
1924 73.0% 11,766 23.0% 3,701 4.1% 656
1920 70.1% 9,508 25.7% 3,487 4.3% 578
1916 54.8% 4,736 40.0% 3,455 5.2% 447
1912 27.6% 2,237 40.4% 3,272 32.0% 2,594
1908 55.1% 5,090 40.5% 3,734 4.4% 408
1904 56.3% 5,414 39.3% 3,780 4.4% 421
1900 55.8% 5,409 39.7% 3,852 4.5% 435
1896 58.1% 5,342 38.1% 3,506 3.8% 352
1892 53.5% 4,717 38.6% 3,404 7.9% 692
1888 54.2% 5,073 41.8% 3,909 4.1% 381
1884 48.8% 4,420 44.1% 3,992 7.1% 640

Tompkins County was once a reliably Republican county. From 1916 to 1980, the only Democrat to carry it in a presidential election was Lyndon Johnson in 1964.[13] However, Democrats have won Tompkins County in every presidential election since 1984, helped by the dominant presence of Cornell University in Ithaca.[14] In 2008, Tompkins County was the only county in New York State in which Senator Barack Obama beat Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary.[15] In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Obama won the county by a 41% margin over John McCain, with Obama winning by 25.5% statewide. It was his highest percentage by county in upstate New York.[16] In 2016 the county strongly supported Clinton over Trump (67.7% to 25.6%), but was surrounded by Trump-supporting counties.[17] The Tompkins County Legislature consists of fifteen members, each from a single-member district.

In November 2014, the Tompkins County legislature unanimously adopted a resolution recognizing freedom from domestic violence as a fundamental human right.[18] In doing so, Tompkins County became the first rural county in the United States to pass such a resolution.[19]

Voter registration as of April 1, 2016[20]
Party Active voters Inactive voters Total voters Percentage
Democratic 25,749 3,768 29,517 49.54%
Republican 11,623 1,290 12,913 21.67%
Unaffiliated 10,730 2,461 13,191 22.14%
Other[nb 1] 3,385 575 3,960 6.65%
Total 51,487 8,094 59,581 100%

Education
Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green St., Ithaca NY
The eight-square schoolhouse or Dryden District School No. 5 is a one room schoolhouse just south of New York Route 13 in Dryden Township.

There are three institutions of higher education in Tompkins County:

The county is served by several school districts (the largest being Ithaca City School District), and several public libraries including the Tompkins County Public Library, the Southworth Library and the Ulysses Philomathic Library.

See also

Notes
  1. Included are voters affiliated with the Conservative Party, Green Party, Working Families Party, Independence Party, Women's Equality Party, Reform Party, and other small parties.

References
  1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  4. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  5. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  6. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  7. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  8. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  9. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  10. "U.S. Census website". Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  11. "Language Map Data Center".
  12. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  13. Menendez, Albert J. (2005). The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868–2004. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. pp. 261–265.
  14. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  15. Obama, McCain win in Tompkins County Ithaca Journal February 6, 2008
  16. U.S. Election Atlas
  17. "New York Election Results 2016". Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  18. "Freedom from Domestic Violence Recognized as a Human Right". tompkinscountyny.gov. Tompkins County. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  19. Popp, Evan (April 26, 2015). "Ithaca community takes back the night". The Ithacan. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  20. "NYSVoter Enrollment by County, Party Affiliation and Status" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. April 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  • Jane M. Dieckmann, A Short History of Tompkins County (Ithaca, 1986)
  • W. Glenn Norris, The Origin of Place Names in Tompkins County (Ithaca, 1951)
  • The Towns of Tompkins County, Jane M. Dieckmann ed., (Ithaca, 1998)

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