Cortland

Cortland is a city in Cortland County, New York, United States of America. Cortland is in New York's Southern Tier region. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 19,204. It is the county seat of Cortland County.The city of Cortland, near the west border of the county, is surrounded by the town of Cortlandville.HistoryThe city is within the former Central New York Military Tract. The city is named after Pierre Van Cortlandt, the first lieutenant governor of the state of New York.Cortland, settled in 1791, was made a village in 1853 (rechartered in 1864), and was incorporated as a city in 1900 as the 41st city in New York state. When the county was formed in 1808, Cortland vied with other villages and won the status of becoming the county seat. Known as the "Crown City" because of its location on a plain formed by the convergence of seven valleys, Cortland is situated at above sea level. Forty stars representing the 40 cities incorporated before Cortland circle the State of New York and Crown on the city's official seal. The seven points of the crown create seven valleys depicting Cortland's seven surrounding valleys. The 41st star in the center of the crown illustrates Cortland as the closest incorporated city to the geographic center of New York.