Biggest cities in New York 150 years ago
After the completion of the 1860 census and the election of President Abraham Lincoln, America imploded. Eleven southern states seceded from the Union in 1861, instigating four bloody years of the Civil War and fundamentally altering the social history of the U.S. The estimates of deaths caused by the Civil War begin around 600,000, but some claim as many as 750,000 individuals died throughout the conflict.
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With so many families looking for a new start after combat finally ended and approximately 4 million Black Americans emancipated from slavery, it was time for many Americans to look for a new home to put down roots. The obvious choice for many was to move west, where there was more land to buy, settle, and cultivate. Many traveled by covered wagon, spending months on the dusty trail. Others who could afford better accommodations took a 25-day ride by stagecoach. All of them picked new cities and towns to make their homes, spreading the U.S. population more evenly across different states and territories.
On May 10, 1869, the first transcontinental railroad route across the United States was completed, ushering in a new era of transportation. The project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, though with the loss of many lives, including those of the many Irish and Chinese immigrants hired to work 12-hour days in the hot western sun. Riding by steam engine, passengers could cross the entire country in four days, enabling waves of Americans and immigrants to quickly occupy land that would otherwise take months to settle.
The years of Civil War reconstruction, coupled with wagon, stagecoach, and railroad passengers finding new lives across the U.S., made the urban development reflected in the 1870 census incredibly interesting. Stacker compiled a list of the biggest cities in New York from 150 years ago using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. By transcribing Table XXV of the Ninth Census of the U.S. it’s easy to explore what the urban landscape looked like less than a decade after the end of the Civil War as America healed and grew.
The largest city in New York ranked #1 among all cities nationwide in 1870. Of the 100 largest cities in the U.S., 17 were in New York. Keep reading to find out more about the historic metropolitan landscape in your home state or check out the data on your own on our site, GitHub, or data.world.
#25. Fishkill, Dutchess County
– Total population: 11,752 (#141 nationwide)
— Male population: 5,837
— Female population: 5,915
— Child population, ages 5-18: 3,241
#24. Johnstown, Fulton County
– Total population: 12,273 (#135 nationwide)
— Male population: 5,896
— Female population: 6,377
— Child population, ages 5-18: 3,320
#23. Lockport, Niagara County
– Total population: 12,426 (#132 nationwide)
— Male population: 5,880
— Female population: 6,546
— Child population, ages 5-18: 3,514
#22. Binghamton, Broome County
– Total population: 12,692 (#126 nationwide)
— Male population: 6,117
— Female population: 6,575
— Child population, ages 5-18: 3,188
#21. Yonkers, Westchester County
– Total population: 12,733 (#125 nationwide)
— Male population: 6,100
— Female population: 6,633
— Child population, ages 5-18: 3,714
#20. Hempstead, Queens County
– Total population: 13,999 (#110 nationwide)
— Male population: 6,828
— Female population: 7,171
— Child population, ages 5-18: 4,237
#19. Flushing, Queens County
– Total population: 14,650 (#107 nationwide)
— Male population: 7,354
— Female population: 7,296
— Child population, ages 5-18: 4,184
#18. Cohoes, Albany County
– Total population: 15,357 (#101 nationwide)
— Male population: 6,908
— Female population: 8,499
— Child population, ages 5-18: 5,349
#17. Elmira, Chemung County
– Total population: 15,863 (#97 nationwide)
— Male population: 7,741
— Female population: 8,122
— Child population, ages 5-18: 4,418
#16. Newburgh, Orange County
– Total population: 17,014 (#90 nationwide)
— Male population: 8,088
— Female population: 8,926
— Child population, ages 5-18: 4,581
#15. Auburn, Cayuga County
– Total population: 17,225 (#89 nationwide)
— Male population: 8,893
— Female population: 8,332
— Child population, ages 5-18: 4,212
#14. Yonkers, Westchester County
– Total population: 18,357 (#84 nationwide)
— Male population: 8,779
— Female population: 9,578
— Child population, ages 5-18: 5,260
#13. Morrisania, Westchester County
– Total population: 19,609 (#76 nationwide)
— Male population: 9,631
— Female population: 9,978
— Child population, ages 5-18: 6,077
#12. Newtown, Queens County
– Total population: 20,274 (#69 nationwide)
— Male population: 10,072
— Female population: 10,202
— Child population, ages 5-18: 5,981
#11. Oswego, Oswego County
– Total population: 20,910 (#65 nationwide)
— Male population: 10,222
— Female population: 10,688
— Child population, ages 5-18: 6,724
#10. Kingston, Ulster County
– Total population: 21,943 (#61 nationwide)
— Male population: 10,997
— Female population: 10,946
— Child population, ages 5-18: 6,700
#9. Watervliet, Albany County
– Total population: 22,609 (#60 nationwide)
— Male population: 11,335
— Female population: 11,274
— Child population, ages 5-18: 6,767
#8. Utica, Oneida County
– Total population: 28,804 (#46 nationwide)
— Male population: 13,578
— Female population: 15,226
— Child population, ages 5-18: 7,759
#7. Syracuse, Onondaga County
– Total population: 43,051 (#29 nationwide)
— Male population: 21,192
— Female population: 21,859
— Child population, ages 5-18: 12,079
#6. Troy, Rensselaer County
– Total population: 46,465 (#28 nationwide)
— Male population: 22,366
— Female population: 24,099
— Child population, ages 5-18: 13,148
#5. Rochester, Monroe County
– Total population: 62,386 (#22 nationwide)
— Male population: 30,230
— Female population: 32,156
— Child population, ages 5-18: 18,727
#4. Albany, Albany County
– Total population: 69,422 (#20 nationwide)
— Male population: 33,604
— Female population: 35,818
— Child population, ages 5-18: 19,367
#3. Buffalo, Erie County
– Total population: 117,714 (#11 nationwide)
— Male population: 58,712
— Female population: 59,002
— Child population, ages 5-18: 36,690
#2. Brooklyn, Kings County
– Total population: 396,099 (#3 nationwide)
— Male population: 190,028
— Female population: 206,071
— Child population, ages 5-18: 111,457
#1. New York, New York County
– Total population: 942,292 (#1 nationwide)
— Male population: 457,117
— Female population: 485,175
— Child population, ages 5-18: 250,353
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