TheTwenty Townships are an area in centralNew York that now is largely a part ofMadison andChenango counties. The area was also known asClinton's Purchase, for the sale by theOneida Nation to New York in 1788 was made under GovernorGeorge Clinton.
In the late twentieth century, theUnited States Supreme Court ruled the sale had been unconstitutional, as the state had no authority to deal directly with the Native Americans, and never had its treaty ratified by the US Senate.
This area had been part of theOneida people's homeland since their emergence as a culture in the fourteenth century. After theAmerican Revolutionary War, the United States government allocated a reservation in this area for theOneida Nation, who had been allies of the Patriots. But land pressure continued as European-American settlers poured into central and western New York seeking land to purchase and develop for farming. The state wanted more land available for sale.
On September 22, 1788 at Fort Schuyler, a treaty between GovernorGeorge Clinton and theOneida Indians ceded this land from the tribe to the state of New York.
The southern part of the Twenty Townships became a part ofChenango and the northern part was included inMadison County when it was created from Chenango County in 1806.
The northern townships that became a part ofMadison County, New York were:
In 1829, the southern townships that became a part ofChenango County, New York were:
Township 20 became the Town ofSangerfield and the western part ofBridgewater in Oneida County.
In the late twentieth century, the Oneida Nation pursued a land claim against New York State to recover its lands or compensation. TheUnited States Supreme Court ruled that, as this treaty and sale were never ratified by theUnited States Senate, it was unconstitutional. After the Revolution and the formation of the United States under a written constitution, New York State had no legal authority to negotiate separately with American Indian tribes.