Herkimer County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...

out of part of Montgomery County. It is named after General Nicholas Herkimer, who died from battle wounds in 1777 after taking part in the Battle of Oriskany during the Revolutionary War. The county is part of the Mohawk Valley region of the state. Herkimer County is part of the Utica–Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

American Bicentennial - Battle of Oriskany - 13c 1977 issue U

In 1791, Herkimer County was created as one of three counties split off from Montgomery (the other two being Otsego and Tioga counties) as New York State was developed after the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. Its area was much larger than the present county, however, and was reduced subsequently as more counties were organized. Part of Herkimer County was included in the Macomb's Purchase of 1791, during the wide-scale sale of public lands after the state forced

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

tribes allied with the British during the war to cede their territory. Suddenly the state was selling of land in upstate, central and western New York. In 1794, Onondaga County was split off from Herkimer County. This county was larger than the current Onondaga County, and included the present Cayuga, Cortland, and part of Oswego counties. In 1798, portions of Herkimer and Tioga counties were taken to form Chenango County. Another part of Herkimer was split off to form Oneida County. It was then larger than the current Oneida County, including the present Jefferson, Lewis, and part of Oswego counties. In 1802, parts of Herkimer, Clinton and Montgomery counties were combined to form the new St. Lawrence County. The rural economy was first based on general agriculture and then wheat, but after the opening of the Erie Canal, Herkimer farmers found that they could not compete with grain farmers to the west. By the mid-19th century, they had begun to specialize in dairy farming and created a cheese industry that supplied the New York City market, among others. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Herkimer contributed five companies to the 34th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, leading to the unit's nickname "The Herkimer Regiment". The Herkimer County Jail, constructed in 1834, was used to hold the murderer Chester Gillette before his trial at the Herkimer County Courthouse. The jail is now disused, except for tours by the Herkimer County Historical Society. The Herkimer County shootings took place in 2013, killing five people.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.2%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* St. Lawrence County - north * Hamilton County - northeast * Fulton County - east * Montgomery County - southeast * Otsego County - south * Oneida County - west * Lewis County - northwest Herkimer County is in central New York State, northwest of Albany, and east of Syracuse. The northern part of the county is in the

Adirondack Park The Adirondack Park is a park in northeastern New York (state), New York protecting the Adirondack Mountains. The park was established in 1892 for "the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure", and for watershed protection. At , ...

. The

flows across the southern part of the county. Herkimer County is larger than the State of Rhode Island

Demographics

2020 Census

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 64,427 people, 25,734 households, and 17,113 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 32,026 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.83%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.51%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.22% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.18% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. 0.90% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 20.6% were of Italian, 16.3% German, 13.9% Irish, 9.3% English, 7.7% Polish, 6.2% American and 5.2% French ancestry according to Census 2000. 95.2% spoke English, 1.2% Spanish and 1.1% Italian as their first language. There were 25,734 households, out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.20% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.50% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.99. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.40% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 26.60% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 16.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $32,924, and the median income for a family was $40,570. Males had a median income of $29,908 versus $21,518 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $16,141. About 8.90% of families and 12.50% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 15.60% of those under age 18 and 10.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Herkimer County is one of the most Republican counties in New York. Since 1884, it has voted for a Democratic presidential candidate only three times, with vote splitting due to a third-party candidate playing a role in two of those races. In the Trump era, the county's Republican tilt has increased, with the 2020 and 2024 elections being the strongest performance for the party there since Nixon's 1972 landslide. Since 2022, the entire county is within

New York's 21st congressional district New York's 21st congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives that is represented by United States Republican Party, Republican Elise Stefanik. On November 11, 2024, President of the United St ...

, presently held by Republican

Elise Stefanik Elise Marie Stefanik ( ; born July 2, 1984) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for . As chair of the House Republican Conference from 2021 to 2025, she was the fourth-ranking House Republican. Stefanik's district covers ...

. The Herkimer County Legislature consists of 17 members, each elected from

single-member district A single-member district or constituency is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. In some countries, such as Australia and India ...

s. the county legislature is almost entirely Republican: the single Democratic legislator also ran on the Conservative Party line. In January 2025, the chairman of the Herkimer County Legislature took a plea deal settling charges from May 2024 of drug possession, an open-container law violation, and failing to safely store a firearm. On May 1, 2025, after being arrested for parole violation, he stepped down as chairman.

Economy

Unusually clear, doubly terminated

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

crystals called Herkimer diamonds can be found, and are named, for Herkimer County. Ilion was home to the original factory of the Remington Arms Company until it was closed in March of 2024.

Education

Transportation

Airport

The following public use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

is located in the county: * Frankfort-Highland Airport (6B4) – Frankfort

Rail

Passenger rail service by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

is available at Utica, nearby to the west of the county. Up to the latter 1950s,

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

trains such as the ''North Shore Limited'' (New York-Chicago) made stops at Little Falls. Until 1965, the New York Central operated passenger trains through Thendara in the upper part of the county.Gove, William. 'Logging Railroads in the Adirondacks,' Syracuse, NY: 2006, p. 71.

Roads

Interstate 90, as part of the New York State Thruway, runs east–west through the lower part of the county, as does New York State Route 5. State Route 28 runs north–south through the county.

Communities

Larger settlements

Towns

* Columbia *

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

* Fairfield * Frankfort * German Flatts * Herkimer * Litchfield * Little Falls * Manheim * Newport *

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

* Schuyler * Stark * Warren * Webb * Winfield

Hamlets

* Beaver River * Jordanville * Newville

References

External links

Herkimer County official website

Herkimer County Historical Society website
{{authority control Utica–Rome metropolitan area 1791 establishments in New York (state) Populated places established in 1791