Hamilton County, New York

Introduction

Hamilton County, New York is a county of New York State. It is named after Alexander Hamilton, the only member of the New York State delegation who signed the United States Constitution in 1787, and later the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. Its county seat is Lake Pleasant.

Geography

Hamilton County is in the central part of the state, northwest of Albany. It lies within the Adirondack State Park and consists mostly of publicly-owned parkland.

Demography

The population of Hamilton County according to the 2000 U. S. census was 5,379. This made it the least populous county in New York state.

History

When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Hamilton 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. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766 by the creation of Cumberland County, 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 area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of New York State. The county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York.

In the years prior to 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to Canada. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, the name of Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County in honor of the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec, replacing the name of the hated British governor.

In 1789, Montgomery County was reduced in size by splitting off Ontario County; in 1791, Montgomery County was reduced further in size by splitting off Herkimer, Otsego, and Tioga Counties. In 1802, Montgomery County was reduced further in size by splitting off a part which was combined with portions of Clinton and Herkimer Counties to form St. Lawrence County.

In 1816, Hamilton County was created by splitting it off from Montgomery.