This was long the territory of theOneida people, one of the first Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy orHaudenosaunee. 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 ofAlbany County. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State ofVermont and, in theory, extending westward to thePacific Ocean. However, territories located to the west of present-dayPennsylvania were under effective French control as part ofNew France. Albany County was reduced in size on July 3, 1766, by the creation ofCumberland County, and further on March 16, 1770, by the creation ofGloucester 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 ofSchenectady, and the county included the western part of theAdirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of theDelaware River. The area then designated as Tryon County has since been organized as 37 counties of New York State. The county was named forWilliam 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 toFort Niagara on the Western Frontier. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended theAmerican Revolutionary War, the Americans renamed Tryon County asMontgomery County in honor of the US generalRichard Montgomery. He had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city ofQuebec. The US residents replaced the name of the former British governor.
The "Twenty Townships" west of the Unadilla River, conveyed by the Oneida Indians in 1788 and known as "Clinton's Purchase"
In 1788, the Oneida Reservation was considerably reduced by what is known as Clinton's Purchase, when land was sold off west of theUnadilla River 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 1791,Herkimer,Otsego andTioga counties were organized from land separated from Montgomery County.
Chenango County was formed on March 15, 1798, from 1,610 square miles (4,170 km2) of Tioga and Herkimer counties. Its eastern border is formed by theUnadilla River. 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, 70 square miles (180 km2) of Chenango County was partitioned to expandOneida County; the communities ofWaterville andSangerfield were assigned to the new Oneida County.
On March 21, 1806, 650 square miles (1,680 km2) of Chenango County was partitioned to produceMadison 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.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 899 square miles (2,330 km2), of which 894 square miles (2,320 km2) is land and 5.1 square miles (13 km2) (0.6%) is water.[3]
Chenango County is in the approximate center of the state, located west ofAlbany, north ofBinghamton, and southeast ofSyracuse. The county is considered to be in theSouthern Tier region of New York State.
Chenango County, New York – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
There were 19,926 households, out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.10% weremarried couples 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. Theper capita income for the county was $16,427. About 10.70% of families and 14.40% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 19.50% of those under age 18 and 8.70% of those age 65 or over.
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 to be a Republican-leaning 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 bothEliot Spitzer andHillary Clinton carried it, winning 57% and 54% of the vote for governor and US Senator, respectively. In 2008,John McCain carried Chenango County overBarack Obama in the presidential election by a close margin of 49.59%-48.45% or a difference of 237 votes.[21] In 2010, DemocratAndrew Cuomo for governor, and DemocratsChuck Schumer andKirsten Gillibrand for the US Senate each carried it. In 2012, RepublicanMitt Romney narrowly won the county over Obama, but like most of the Upstate, swung sharply towards the Republicans in 2016 and 2020, withDonald Trump receiving over 60% of the vote in 2020 making him the first Republican to do so since 1984.
In New York, a "town" is a political subdivision (synonymous withtownship). The towns in northern Chenango County originated from theTwenty Townships ceded by theOneida tribe to the State of New York.
