Montgomery County
County
Greene Mansion in Amsterdam
Greene Mansion in Amsterdam
Flag of Montgomery County
Flag
Official seal of Montgomery County
Seal
Map of New York highlighting Montgomery County
Location within the U.S. state of New York
Map of the United States highlighting New York
New York's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 42°55′N 74°26′W / 42.91°N 74.44°W / 42.91; -74.44
Country United States
State New York
FoundedMarch 12, 1772
Named forRichard Montgomery
SeatFonda
Largest cityAmsterdam
Area
 • Total410 sq mi (1,100 km2)
 • Land403 sq mi (1,040 km2)
 • Water7.3 sq mi (19 km2)  1.8%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total49,532[1]
 • Density122.9/sq mi (47.5/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district21st
Websitewww.co.montgomery.ny.us

Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,532.[2] The county seat is Fonda.[3] The county was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 at the Battle of Quebec.

Historically occupied by the Mohawk people, one of the original Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, the county was created in 1772 during the period of British colonial rule as Tryon County. In 1784, after the Americans gained independence in the War, it was renamed Montgomery County for one of the heroes.[4]

Montgomery County comprises the Amsterdam, NY Micropolitan Statistical Area. The county borders the north and south banks of the Mohawk River.

History

Major general Richard Montgomery, namesake of Montgomery County

This area was occupied by the Mohawk for hundreds of years prior to European colonization. Many warriors allied with the British during the war. When the British lost, they ceded all the Iroquois territory of the Six Nations (the Tuscarora had joined the confederacy in the 18th century) to the United States, without consulting the tribes or bringing them into negotiation.

In 1784, following end of the American Revolutionary War, the European-American settlers renamed Tryon County as Montgomery County. This change was to honor the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died in 1775 attempting to capture the city of Quebec during the Revolutionary War. It replaced the name that formerly honored the last provincial governor of New York.

In 1789, Ontario County was split off from Montgomery. The area of the new county was much larger than the present Ontario County, as it included the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and part of Schuyler and Wayne counties.

In 1791, Herkimer, Otsego, and Tioga counties were split off from Montgomery. In 1802, portions of Clinton, Herkimer, and Montgomery counties were combined to form St. Lawrence County. In 1816, Hamilton County was split off from Montgomery, but it did not have enough taxable inhabitants to be separately organized[5] until 1847. In 1838, Fulton County was split off, with former county seat Johnstown no longer in Montgomery County's boundaries. Fonda would be the new county seat, with Johnstown maintaining that rank for the new Fulton County.

In 2012, Montgomery County voters approved a charter for government, making it the 21st county in New York state to do so. In 2013, Matthew L. Ossenfort was elected at-large as the first County Executive in the county's history. Ossenfort took office in 2014, the same year the charter went into effect. Under the terms of the charter, the Board of Supervisors was replaced by a nine-member County Legislature, with members elected from single-member districts. Thomas L. Quackenbush, one of the members, was elected as the first chairman of the new legislative body, which will be a circulating position.

Congressional districts

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 410 square miles (1,100 km2), of which 403 square miles (1,040 km2) is land and 7.3 square miles (19 km2) (1.8%) is water.[6]

Montgomery County is located in the central part of the state, west of the city of Schenectady and northwest of Albany.

Adjacent counties

The Erie Canal runs through Montgomery County parallel to the Mohawk River, connecting to the Wood River to the west, which leads to Lake Ontario. Overall, the canal connected Great Lakes shipping with the Hudson River and the port of New York on the Atlantic Ocean. Several towns and villages developed along the canal, as it carried much trade and passenger traffic during its peak years. After the railroad was built through the state, along the same river plain, it superseded the canal, which was filled in some areas.

At the time of the canal's construction, Montgomery County was the only place where there was a break in the Appalachian Mountains. Called 'The Noses' because of canal construction, it became known as "the gateway to the West". In the mid-twentieth century, the NYS Thruway was constructed parallel to the former east–west routes of the canal and railroad. Today the Erie Canal and its lock system is used primarily for recreational boat use among locals and tourists.

Montgomery County is located in the heart of the state's Mohawk Valley region. Foothills of the Catskill Mountains dot the southern part of the county, while foothills of the Adirondack Mountains dot the north.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
179028,848—
180022,051−23.6%
181041,21486.9%
182037,569−8.8%
183043,71516.4%
184035,818−18.1%
185031,992−10.7%
186030,866−3.5%
187034,45711.6%
188038,31511.2%
189045,69919.3%
190047,4883.9%
191057,56721.2%
192057,9280.6%
193060,0763.7%
194059,142−1.6%
195059,5940.8%
196057,240−4.0%
197055,883−2.4%
198053,439−4.4%
199051,981−2.7%
200049,708−4.4%
201050,2191.0%
202049,532−1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]
1790-1960[8] 1900-1990[9]
1990-2000[10] 2010-2020[2]
Montgomery County population distribution by age and sex (2000 census)

As of the census[11] of 2010, there were 50,208 people, 20,073 households, and 13,131 families residing in the county. The population density was 123 people per square mile (47 people/km2). There were 22,522 housing units at an average density of 56 per square mile (22/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 92.87% (83.8% Non-Hispanic; 9.07 White Hispanic) White, 1.15% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 3.92% from other races, and 1.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.91% of the population. 19.0% identified as being of Italian, 15.9% German, 13.5% Polish, 9.8% Puerto Rican 9.1% Irish, 7.9% American and 6.4% English ancestry, according to Census 2010. 86.8% spoke English, 9.3% Spanish,1.8% Italian, and 1.1% Polish as their first language.

There were 20,038 households, out of which 29.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.00% were married couples living together, 11.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.60% were non-families. 29.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.50% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 26.30% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 19.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 91.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,128, and the median income for a family was $40,688. Males had a median income of $31,818 versus $23,359 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,005. About 9.00% of families and 13.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.80% of those under age 18 and 9.89% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census

Montgomery County Racial Composition[12]
Race Num. Perc.
White (NH) 38,237 77.2%
Black or African American (NH) 987 2.0%
Native American (NH) 83 0.2%
Asian (NH) 479 1.0%
Pacific Islander (NH) 9 0.01%
Other/Mixed (NH) 2,425 5.0%
Hispanic or Latino 7,312 15.0%

Politics and government

Up until 2022, western Montgomery County lay in New York's 19th Congressional District, while the Eastern half lay in New York's 20th Congressional District; the former was represented in Congress by Pat Ryan and the latter was represented in Congress by Paul Tonko, a lifelong resident of Amsterdam, NY. Starting with the 2022 midterm elections, all of Montgomery County is in New York's 21st Congressional District.

In 2012, voters approved a county charter under New York's municipal home rule law which established an independent county executive to head its executive branch and replacing the board of supervisors with a nine-seat county legislature.[13] Elections were held the next year and the county began operating under this charter on January 1, 2014.

County executives
NamePartyTerm
Matthew L. Ossenfort Republican January 1, 2014 – present
United States presidential election results for Montgomery County, New York[14]
Year Republican / Whig Democratic Third party
No. %No. %No. %
2020 12,745 60.22% 7,977 37.69% 442 2.09%
2016 11,301 59.31% 6,595 34.61% 1,158 6.08%
2012 9,334 51.33% 8,493 46.70% 359 1.97%
2008 10,711 53.09% 9,080 45.01% 384 1.90%
2004 11,338 53.43% 9,449 44.53% 434 2.05%
2000 9,765 46.93% 10,249 49.25% 795 3.82%
1996 7,172 33.88% 10,485 49.54% 3,509 16.58%
1992 8,802 37.55% 9,509 40.56% 5,132 21.89%
1988 11,128 49.05% 11,371 50.13% 186 0.82%
1984 14,398 61.22% 9,044 38.45% 78 0.33%
1980 11,917 49.48% 9,645 40.04% 2,524 10.48%
1976 13,281 53.70% 11,271 45.57% 182 0.74%
1972 16,640 63.58% 9,460 36.15% 71 0.27%
1968 12,566 49.75% 11,449 45.33% 1,242 4.92%
1964 8,471 30.40% 19,370 69.52% 20 0.07%
1960 14,837 48.13% 15,976 51.82% 14 0.05%
1956 20,678 67.41% 9,996 32.59% 0 0.00%
1952 19,554 60.13% 12,934 39.77% 31 0.10%
1948 14,212 48.90% 14,085 48.46% 767 2.64%
1944 14,726 50.45% 14,400 49.33% 63 0.22%
1940 15,546 50.71% 15,079 49.18% 34 0.11%
1936 14,127 48.48% 14,698 50.44% 314 1.08%
1932 14,104 54.09% 11,700 44.87% 272 1.04%
1928 15,257 60.28% 9,845 38.90% 207 0.82%
1924 12,869 63.20% 5,939 29.17% 1,554 7.63%
1920 12,835 66.07% 5,911 30.43% 679 3.50%
1916 6,704 54.57% 5,347 43.52% 234 1.90%
1912 5,040 42.00% 4,508 37.57% 2,451 20.43%
1908 7,571 57.02% 5,254 39.57% 453 3.41%
1904 7,444 57.29% 5,209 40.09% 340 2.62%
1900 7,302 57.35% 5,138 40.36% 292 2.29%
1896 7,082 58.39% 4,759 39.24% 288 2.37%
1892 5,727 48.38% 5,445 46.00% 665 5.62%
1888 6,365 52.18% 5,677 46.54% 156 1.28%
1884 5,505 49.59% 5,413 48.77% 182 1.64%
1880 5,230 51.21% 4,947 48.44% 35 0.34%
1876 4,457 48.19% 4,766 51.53% 26 0.28%
1872 4,113 52.28% 3,742 47.56% 13 0.17%
1868 3,981 51.10% 3,810 48.90% 0 0.00%
1864 3,519 47.38% 3,908 52.62% 0 0.00%
1860 3,528 52.03% 3,253 47.97% 0 0.00%
1856 3,076 49.03% 1,485 23.67% 1,713 27.30%
1852 2,995 46.73% 3,373 52.63% 41 0.64%
1848 2,924 50.15% 1,285 22.04% 1,621 27.80%
1844 2,849 45.86% 3,278 52.77% 85 1.37%
1840 2,828 46.13% 3,293 53.72% 9 0.15%

Communities

City

Towns

Villages

Census-designated place

Hamlets

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ↑ "US Census 2020 Population Dataset Tables for New York". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Montgomery County, New York". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. ↑ "New York: Individual County Chronologies". New York Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2008. Archived from the original on April 10, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  5. ↑ "A Gazetteer of New York State," Horatio Gates Spafford, second edition, 1824, p. 218
  6. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  7. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  11. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  12. ↑ "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Montgomery County, New York".
  13. ↑ "Montgomery County Charter Commission". Fonda, New York: Montgomery County Charter Commission.
  14. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved October 23, 2018.

Further reading

42°55′N 74°26′W / 42.91°N 74.44°W / 42.91; -74.44

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