Elizabethtown is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 1,315 at the 2000 census. The county seat of Essex County is a hamlet also called Elizabethtown. The name is derived from Elizabeth Gilliland, the wife of an early settler. The Town of Elizabethtown is in the east-central part of the county and is north of Albany. The town calls itself the "Pleasant Valley."