Madison County, New York

Madison County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Wampsville
Year Organized: 1806
Square Miles: 656

Court House:

P.O. Box 635
County Office Building
Wampsville, NY 13163-0635

Etymology - Origin of County Name

named after James Madison, fourth President of the United States

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Madison County, was taken from Chenango county in 1806, and named after James Madison, president of the United States. Greatest length N. and 5. 33, greatest breadth E. and W. 32 miles. Centrally distant from New York 250, from Albany 108 miles. The surface of the county is much diversified. The middle and southern towns are more or less uneven and hilly; but the northern is more level. In the northern part much wheat is produced: the southern is better adapted to grass. The county is generally well watered. The route of the Chenango canal follows up the Oriskany, and crosses thence into the Chenango valley. (Historical Collections of the State of New York, Past and Present, John Barber, Clark Albien & Co., 1851)

This section was at one time the seat of the Oneida Indians, of the famed Iroquois Confederacy. The Oneida Castle site was chosen with true Indian sagacity as their village. It rested at the foot of one of the largest valleys, occupied by the Chenango River. The area in general was characterized by rolling highland, with exceptionally steep slopes, subsiding into flat, swampy land. The Oneidas thus had abundant opportunities for crude agriculture in rich soil and for unexampled fishing. The Oneidas were invaluable friends to the English and helped to check French expansion on this continent. Eventually, the Oneidas moved west. President James Madison is memorialized by the county’s name. Full History at NYSAC

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 662 square miles (1,713 km²), of which, 656 square miles (1,699 km²) of it is land and 6 square miles (15 km²) of it (0.86%) is water.

Madison County is located in west central New York State, east of Syracuse, north of Binghamton, and slightly north of due west from Albany. Madison County contains the geographic center of the state at Pratts Hollow in the Town of Eaton.

Oneida Lake and Oneida Creek define part of the northern boundary. Chittenango Creek defines part of the western boundary.

Neighboring Counties:

Oneida County, New York - northeast
Otsego County, New York - southeast
Chenango County, New York - south
Cortland County, New York - southwest
Onondaga County, New York - west
Oswego County, New York - northwest

Cities and Towns:

- Brookfield	town
- Canastota	village	Incorporated Area
- Cazenovia	village	Incorporated Area
- Chittenango	village	Incorporated Area
- Eaton	town
- Fenner	town
- Georgetown	town
- Hamilton	village	Incorporated Area
- Lenox	town
- Lincklaen	town
- Lincoln	town
- Madison	village	Incorporated Area
- Morrisville	village	Incorporated Area
- Munnsville	village	Incorporated Area
- Nelson	town
- Oneida	city	Incorporated Area
- Oneida Castle	village	Incorporated Area
- Smithfield	town
- Stockbridge	town
- Sullivan	town
- Wampsville (County Seat)	village	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Penn Foster High School

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