Orleans County is a county in the western part of the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,343. The county seat is Albion. The county received its name at the insistence of Nehemiah Ingersoll though historians are unsure how the name was selected. The two competing theories are that it was named to honor the French Royal House of Orleans or that it was to honor Andrew Jackson's victory in New Orleans. During this period, thousands of migrants settled in the western part of the state from New England and eastern New York resulting in the creation of more counties.

In 1802, Genesee County was created by splitting Ontario County. a dispute arose about naming it after President Andrew Jackson or President John Adams.

The high proportion of water is due to the extension of Orleans County north into Lake Ontario to the Canada–US border (a line of latitude running through the middle of the lake). The distance from the Orleans shore north to the international border is greater than the distance from the shore south to the Genesee County line, meaning the area of Orleans under water is greater than that above water.

Orleans County is in western New York State, northeast of Buffalo and west of Rochester, on the southern shore of Lake Ontario.

The Erie Canal passes (east–west) through the middle of the county. When its construction was completed in 1824, it attracted new settlers to the largely rural county. Trade and passenger traffic stimulated the development of local businesses.

Adjacent counties

  • Monroe County - east
  • Genesee County - south
  • Niagara County - west

National protected area

  • Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge (part)

State protected areas

  • Lakeside Beach State Park
  • Oak Orchard State Marine Park
  • Oak Orchard Wildlife Management Area
  • Tonawanda Wildlife Management Area

Government and politics

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Starting in 1824, the county government was run by a board of supervisors, consisting of elected supervisors from each township in Orleans County. This geographic representation meant that the residents of more urbanized areas were underrepresented on the board.

In 1980, the state and county established a seven-member elected legislature to replace the board of supervisors. Representatives are elected from single-member districts roughly equal in population. It is headed by a chairman.

Orleans County is heavily Republican. It has voted Republican in every presidential election since the party's founding in 1856, except for one, 1964. It also voted Whig in every presidential election from 1828 until 1852.

County government

Orleans County legislature

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Office

!District

!Area of the county

!Officeholder

!Party

!Residence

|-

|County Legislator - Vice Chairman

|District 1

|Barre, Clarendon, Shelby

|William H. Eick

|Republican

|Medina

|-

|County Legislator - Chairwoman

|District 2

|Ridgeway, Yates, Shelby

|Lynne M. Johnson

|Republican

|Lyndonville

|-

|County Legislator - Minority Leader

|District 3

|Albion, Gaines

|Fred Miller

|Democratic

|Albion

|-

|County Legislator

|District 4

|Carlton, Kendall, Murray

|John M. Fitzak

|Republican

|Kendall

|-

|County Legislator

|At Large

|West

|Merle L. "Skip" Draper

|Republican

|Ridgeway

|-

|County Legislator

|At Large

|Central

|Don Allport

|Republican

|Albion

|-

|County Legislator

|At Large

|East

|Edward F. Morgan

|Republican

|Holley

|}

Orleans County elected officials

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Office

!Officeholder

!Party

|-

|County Judge

|Sanford A. Church

|Republican

|-

|District Attorney

|Susan Howard

|Republican

|-

|County Clerk

|Nadine P. Hanlon

|Republican

|-

|County Treasurer

|Kimberly C. L. DeFrank

|Republican

|-

|Coroner

|Scott M. Schmidt

|Republican

|-

|Coroner

|Rocco L. Sidari

|Republican

|-

|Coroner

|Julie Woodworth

|Republican

|}

State and federal government

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Office !! District !! Officeholder !! Party !! First took office !! Residence

|-

| Congressman || New York's 24th congressional district || Claudia Tenney || Republican || 2021 || Canandaigua, Ontario County

|-

| State Senator || 62nd State Senate District || Rob Ortt || Republican || 2015 || North Tonawanda, Niagara County

|-

| State Assemblyman || 139th State Assembly District || Stephen M. Hawley || Republican || 2006 || Batavia, Genesee County

|}

Orleans County is part of:

  • The 8th Judicial District of the New York Supreme Court
  • The 4th Division of the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division

Demographics

2020 census

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Orleans County, New York – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>

!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>

!Pop 1980

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|-

|White alone (NH)

|35,836

|37,890

|38,552

|37,658

|style='background: #ffffe6; |34,037

|93.09%

|90.55%

|87.28%

|87.82%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |84.37%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|1,962

|2,574

|3,047

|2,368

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,840

|5.10%

|6.15%

|6.90%

|5.52%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.56%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|159

|187

|180

|199

|style='background: #ffffe6; |177

|0.41%

|0.45%

|0.41%

|0.46%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.44%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|79

|135

|137

|173

|style='background: #ffffe6; |154

|0.21%

|0.32%

|0.31%

|0.40%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.38%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|x

|x

|10

|7

|style='background: #ffffe6; |12

|x

|x

|0.02%

|0.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|55

|31

|57

|32

|style='background: #ffffe6; |141

|0.14%

|0.07%

|0.13%

|0.07%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.35%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|x

|x

|469

|689

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,895

|x

|x

|1.06%

|1.61%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.70%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|405

|1,029

|1,719

|1,757

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,087

|1.05%

|2.46%

|3.89%

|4.10%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.17%

|-

|Total

|38,496

|41,846

|44,171

|42,883

|style='background: #ffffe6; |40,343

|100.00%

|100.00%

|100.00%

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

|}

2000 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 42,883 people, 16,119 households, and 10,872 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 17,347 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 89.8% White, 5.9% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 1.3% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. 4.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. According to Census 2000, 20.3% were of German, 18.3% English, 10.8% Italian, 10.3% Irish, 9.4% American and 7.3% Polish ancestry and 96.0% spoke English and 3.0% Spanish as their first language.

Census 2010 showed there were 16,119 households, out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.5 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 19.8% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 29.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,731. Males had a median income of $32,450 versus $22,605 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,457. About 15.2% of the population were below the poverty line.

Education

Public schools

The county has five school districts, although the actual district boundaries can extend into neighboring counties, and the same is true for neighboring counties' districts. The five districts, from west to east, are:

  • Lyndonville Central School District (northern half of western third, roughly covering Lyndonville village and the towns of Yates and Ridgeway)
  • Medina Central School District (southern half of western third, roughly covering Medina village and the towns of Ridgeway and Shelby)
  • Albion Central School District (middle third, roughly covering Albion village and the towns of Carlton, Gaines, Albion, and Barre)
  • Kendall Central School District (northern half of eastern third, roughly covering the towns of Kendall and Murray)
  • Holley Central School District (southern half of eastern third, roughly covering Holley village and the towns of Murray and Clarendon)

Each of these school districts participates in Orleans/Niagara BOCES or Monroe #2-Orleans BOCES.

Private school

There is currently one non-denominational K-12 school in the county.

  • Orleans County Christian School

College

One college maintains satellite campuses in Orleans County.

  • Community Free Library, located in Holley
  • Hoag Library, located in Albion
  • Lee-Whedon Memorial Library, located in Medina
  • Yates Community Library, located in Lyndonville

Museums

Orleans County has 6 museums that are open to the public.

  • Clarendon Historical Society Museum & Farwell's Settlement
  • The Cobblestone Museum
  • Holley Depot Museum
  • Medina Railroad Museum
  • Murray-Holley Historical Society
  • Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum

Parks

There are two State Parks and many municipal parks spread throughout the county.

  • Lakeside Beach State Park
  • Oak Orchard Marine State Park

Transportation

Orleans County has eight private airstrips and one public-use airport:

  • Pine Hill Airport (New York) (9G6)

RTS Orleans provides bus service to Orleans County. The county's Department of Public Works is headquartered in Albion and is charged with maintaining roads, including:

  • Overseeing construction and repair of county roads, bridges, and ditches
  • Removing snow and ice

Each town and village within Orleans County maintains its own highway department.

Major roadways

  • 20px New York State Route 18
  • 20px New York State Route 31
  • 20px New York State Route 31A
  • 20px New York State Route 31E
  • 20px New York State Route 63
  • 20px New York State Route 98
  • 22px New York State Route 104
  • 22px New York State Route 237
  • 22px New York State Route 269
  • 22px New York State Route 272
  • 22px New York State Route 279
  • 22px New York State Route 387
  • 26px Lake Ontario State Parkway
  • List of county routes in Orleans County, New York

The former New York State Route 941M was located in Orleans County.

Communities

Larger Settlements

All larger settlements are Villages

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+

!#

!Location

!Population

|-

|1

|Medina

|6,065

|-

|2

|†Albion

|6,056

|-

|3

|Holley

|1,811

|-

|4

|Lyndonville

|838

|}

thumb|300px|right|The town and village borders

Towns

  • Albion
  • Barre
  • Carlton
  • Clarendon
  • Gaines
  • Kendall
  • Murray
  • Ridgeway
  • Shelby
  • Yates

Villages

  • Albion (county seat)
  • Holley
  • Lyndonville
  • Medina

Hamlets

  • Ashwood
  • Barre Center
  • Baldwin Corner
  • Brockville
  • Carlton Station
  • Childs
  • County Line
  • Eagle Harbor
  • East Shelby
  • Fancher
  • Gaines
  • Hindsburg
  • Hulberton
  • Jeddo
  • Jones Beach
  • Kendall Mills
  • Kent
  • Kenyonville
  • Knowlesville
  • Kuckville
  • Lomond Shore
  • Millers
  • Millville
  • Oak Orchard
  • Point Breeze
  • Sawyer
  • Shadigee
  • Shelby Center
  • Sunset Beach
  • Yates Center
  • Waterport
  • West Barre
  • West Gaines
  • West Shelby

See also

  • Orleans County Sheriff's Office
  • List of fire departments in Orleans County, New York
  • List of counties in New York
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Orleans County, New York
  • The Orleans County Libertarian Party

References

Further reading

  • Official Webpage
  • Genesee Community College in Orleans County
  • Brief historical summary of Orleans County, NY