Saint Lawrence

Formed January 1, 1802 (31^st county)

Saint Lawrence County (108,502), Canton (7,239), Massena (10,262)

The 1893 stone Romanesque courthouse was rebuilt in 1926 after a fire.  It is located on Court and Judson streets.  United States Highway 11 is two blocks south of the courthouse.  James P. Johnson designed the original courthouse.  A Clerk’s Office supports the courthouse and an Annex was added in 1994.  There was an 1830 courthouse earlier.  The county was organized on January 1, 1802 from Clinton, Herkimer, and Montgomery counties as the 31^st county.  Oswegatchie (1802), Ogdensburg (1804), and Canton (1828) have all served as county seat.  It is named for the Saint Lawrence River.  Canton is named for Canton, China. 

Saint Lawrence County government consists of a sheriff and 15 Legislators.  One County Court Judge, One Family Court Judges, and Two Surrogate Court Judges serve Saint Lawrence County.  Saint Lawrence County is on the northern border with Canada.  Albany, New York is southeast and Montreal, Canada is northeast of the county.  The county center is 1.6 miles Northeast of Canton.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Canada and Franklin, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, and Jefferson counties. 

The area of the county is 2821 square miles.  It is 1 out of 62 in the state.  It ranks 27 out of 62 in population in the state.  It has a density of 38.5 persons per square mile making it 57 out of 62 in the state.  Saint Lawrence County has 40.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 11 crosses the county from east, Franklin County, to south, Jefferson County.  The county is shaped like a punch bowl tilting west.  Canton is located near the center of the county.  Ogdensburg is on the northwest border of the county.  Canton is the county seat and Massena is the largest city.  Canton is 5.6% of the county population while Massena is 9.5% of the county population.  This county is in the Ogdensburg-Massena Micropolitan Statistical Area.