Westchester County is a suburban county located in the U.S. State of New York. It was named to commemorate Chester, in England. The county seat is White Plains. Although many of its residents are quite wealthy and although Westchester is home to many extremely affluent suburbs of New York City, it also has a more diverse population, both racially and demographically, than its stereotypical image suggests. <br> Westchester County was an original county of New York State, one of twelve created in 1683. At the time, it also included the present Bronx County, which constituted the Town of Westchester and portions of three other towns: Yonkers, Eastchester, and Pelham. In 1846, a new town, West Farms, was created by secession from Westchester; in turn, in 1855, the Town of Morrisania seceded from West Farms. In 1873, the Town of Kingsbridge seceded from Yonkers. <br> In 1874, the western portion of the present Bronx County, consisting of the then towns of Kingsbridge, West Farms, and Morrisania, was transferred to New York County, and in 1895 the remainder of the present Bronx County, consisting of the Town of Westchester and portions of the towns of Eastchester and Pelham, was transferred to New York County. By that time, the portion of the town of Eastchester immediately north of the transferred portion had seceded from the town of Eastchester (1892) to become the City of Mount Vernon so that the Town of Eastchester had no border with New York City. In 1914, those parts of the then New York County which had been annexed from Westchester County were constituted the new Bronx County. <br> According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,295 km2 (500 mi2). 1,121 km2 (433 mi2) of it is land and 174 km2 (67 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 13.45% water. Westchester County is in the southeastern part of New York State. It is border to the south by the borough of The Bronx in New York City, to the west by the Hudson River, to the east by Connecticut and the Long Island Sound and to the north by Putnam County. The county's terrain is largely composed of rolling hills. The three main river flowing within the county are the Bronx, the Croton and the Saw Mill. <br> Westchester County Municipal BoundariesThere are six cities in Westchester County. <br> Mount Vernon <br> New Rochelle <br> Peekskill <br> Rye (Rye is also the name of a town.) <br> White Plains <br> Yonkers <br>