Chenango County is a county located in the south-central section U.S. state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,220. Its county seat is Norwich. The county's name originates from an

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida Na ...

word meaning 'large bull-thistle'.

History

This was long the territory of the Oneida people, one of the first Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy or '' Haudenosaunee''. They occupied the area until after the Revolutionary War, when they were forced off the land, although they had been allies of the patriot colonists. They were granted a small reservation, which settlers continued to encroach on. When English colonists organized counties in 1683 in what is now New York, the present Chenango County was part of Albany County. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State of Vermont and, in theory, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. However, territories located to the west of present-day Pennsylvania were under effective French control as part of New France. Albany County was reduced in size on July 3, 1766, by the creation of

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, and further on March 16, 1770, by the creation of Gloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont. On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. One of the other pieces, Tryon County, contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of the present city of Schenectady, and the county included the western part of the Adirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

. The area then designated as Tryon County has since been organized as 37 counties of New York State. The county was named for William Tryon, the British colonial governor of New York. In the years prior to 1776, during the increasing tensions most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to Fort Niagara on the Western Frontier. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, the Americans renamed Tryon County as Montgomery County in honor of the US general,

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and he is most famous for l ...

. He had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec. The US residents replaced the name of the former British governor. Simeon DeWitt Twenty Townships c

In 1788, the Oneida Reservation was considerably reduced by what is known as Clinton's Purchase, when land was sold off west of the

Unadilla River The Unadilla River is a river in the Central New York Region of New York State. The river begins northeast of the hamlet of Millers Mills and flows generally south to the village of Sidney, where it converges with the Susquehanna River, which d ...

to create what are now 20 towns. (See map to the right.) Settlers from eastern New York and New England entered the area and began farming. In 1789, Montgomery County was reduced in size by the splitting-off of Ontario County. The area split off from Montgomery County was much larger than the present Ontario County, as it included the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie,

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, Monroe,

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, Orleans,

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, Wyoming,

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, and part of Schuyler and Wayne counties. It was the practice to establish a large geographic county and divide it as settlement increased. In 1791, Herkimer, Otsego and

Tioga Tioga may refer to: United States communities *Tioga, California, former name of Bennettville, California *Tioga, Colorado *Tioga, Florida * Tioga, Iowa *Tioga, Louisiana *Tioga, New York, a town in Tioga County *Tioga County, New York, a county at ...

counties were organized from land separated from Montgomery County. Chenango County was formed on March 15, 1798, from of Tioga and Herkimer counties. Its eastern border is formed by the

. The land had been purchased the previous year from the Oneida, who were forced into a smaller reservation to the north. On April 4, 1804, of Chenango County was partitioned to expand Oneida County; the communities of Waterville and Sangerfield were assigned to the new Oneida County. On March 21, 1806, of Chenango County was partitioned to produce Madison County. This established the current borders of Chenango County, which have been maintained to the early 21st century. This area was developed for agriculture in the nineteenth century and is still largely rural.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water. Chenango County is in the approximate center of the state, located west of Albany, north of Binghamton, and southeast of

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. The county is considered to be in the

Southern Tier The Southern Tier is a geographic subregion of the broader Upstate New York region of New York State, consisting of counties west of the Catskill Mountains in Delaware County and geographically situated along or very near the northern border ...

region of New York State. The Chenango River, a tributary of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

, flows southward through the county.

Adjacent counties

* Madison County - north * Otsego County - northeast * Delaware County - southeast *

Broome County Broome County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the county had a population of 198,683. Its county seat is Binghamton. The county was named for John Broome, the state's lieutenant governor when Bro ...

- south * Cortland County - west

Demographics

2020 Census

2000 Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 51,401 people, 19,926 households, and 13,549 families residing in the county. The population density was 58 people per square mile (22/km²). There were 23,890 housing units at an average density of 27 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.65% White, 0.82% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.28%

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, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. 1.07% of the population were Hispanic or

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. 20.2% were of English, 14.5%

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, 13.8% Irish, 12.3%

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and 8.9% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000br>
96.7% spoke English language, English and 1.3% Spanish as their first language. There were 19,926 households, out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.10% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.00% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.01. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.20% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $33,679, and the median income for a family was $39,711. Males had a median income of $30,363 versus $22,429 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,427. About 10.70% of families and 14.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.50% of those under age 18 and 8.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Chenango County has a Board of Supervisors that consists of 23 Town/City elected officials, serving as representatives at the County level. The term for each Supervisor is based on the term set by each particular Town. A Supervisor holds office for either two or four years. In 21st-century United States politics, Chenango County is considered a "red" county, where the majority of voters elect national Republican candidates. In 2004, Republican George Bush won by an 11% margin over Democrat John Kerry. For state and congressional offices, voters sometimes elect Democratic candidates. In 2006 both

Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008. Spitzer was b ...

and Hillary Clinton carried it, winning 57% and 54% of the vote for governor and US Senator, respectively. In 2008,

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

carried Chenango County over Barack Obama in the presidential election by a close margin of 49.59%-48.45% or a difference of 237 votes. In 2010, Democrat Andrew Cuomo for governor, and Democrats Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand for the US Senate each carried it.

Education

Morrisville State College State University of New York at Morrisville (formerly Morrisville State College) or SUNY Morrisville is a public college with two locations in New York, one in Morrisville and one in Norwich. It is part of the State University of New York syst ...

has a branch in Norwich.

Communities

Norwich, the county seat, is the only

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in Chenango County. In addition to the city of Norwich, the county has the following named settlements:

Towns

In New York, a " town" is a political subdivision (synonymous with township). The towns in northern Chenango County originated from the

Twenty Townships The Twenty Townships are an area in central New York that now is largely a part of Madison and Chenango counties. The area was also known as Clinton's Purchase, for the sale by the Oneida Nation to New York in 1788 was made under Governor George ...

ceded by the Oneida tribe to the State of New York. * Afton * Bainbridge *

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* Coventry *

* Greene *

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* Lincklaen * McDonough * New Berlin * North Norwich * Norwich * Otselic * Oxford * Pharsalia * Pitcher *

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

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* Sherburne * Smithville * Smyrna

Villages

* Afton * Bainbridge * Earlville * Greene * New Berlin * Oxford * Sherburne * Smyrna

Census-designated places

* Smithville Flats

Hamlets

* Holmesville * Mount Upton * Rockdale * South Plymouth

Notable people

* Allen Aaron Cook an architect, was born here in 1832 * Nancy Matthews Elliott was born here in 1810 and became the mother of Thomas Edison. *

Serranus Clinton Hastings Serranus Clinton Hastings (November 22, 1814 – February 18, 1893) was an American politician, rancher and lawyer in California. He studied law as a young man and moved to the Iowa District in 1837 to open a law office. Iowa became a territory a ...

, U.S. Congressman and founder of the

Hastings College of the Law The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a Public university, public Law school in the United States, law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the ...

at University of California