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Madison County, New York

Coordinates: 42°55′N 75°40′W / 42.91°N 75.67°W / 42.91; -75.67
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Madison County
County
Old Madison County Courthouse
Old Madison County Courthouse
Flag of Madison County
Flag
Official seal of Madison County
Seal
Map of New York highlighting Madison 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 75°40′W / 42.91°N 75.67°W / 42.91; -75.67
Country United States
State New York
Founded1806
Named forJames Madison
SeatWampsville
Largest cityOneida
Area
 • Total
661 sq mi (1,710 km2)
 • Land655 sq mi (1,700 km2)
 • Water6.4 sq mi (17 km2)  1.0%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
68,016 Decrease
 • Density100/sq mi (40/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district22nd
Websitewww.madisoncounty.ny.gov

Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 68,016.[1] Its county seat is Wampsville.[2] The county is named after James Madison,[3] the fourth president of the United States, and was first formed in 1806. The county is part of the Central New York region of the state.

Madison County is part of the Syracuse metropolitan area, and is home to both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum.

History

[edit]

Indigenous peoples had occupied areas around Oneida Lake for thousands of years. The historic Oneida Indian Nation is an Iroquoian-speaking people who emerged as a culture in this area about the fourteenth century and dominated the territory. They are one of the Five Nations who originally comprised the Iroquois Confederacy or Haudenosaunee.

English colonists established counties in eastern present-day New York State in 1683; at the time, the territory of the present Madison County was considered part of Albany County, with the city of Albany located on the Hudson River. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State around Albany as well as all of the present State of Vermont and, in theory, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. It was claimed by the English but largely occupied by the Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, Cayuga and Mohawk, who had the territory in the central Mohawk Valley, as well as Mahican near the Hudson River. On July 3, 1766, the English organized Cumberland County, and on March 16, 1770, they organized Gloucester County, both containing territory now included in the state of Vermont.

The "Twenty Townships" west of the Unadilla River, conveyed by the Oneida Indians in 1788. Known as "Clinton's Purchase"

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 includes 37 current counties of New York State. The county was named for William Tryon, the colonial governor of New York.

In the years prior to the outbreak of revolution in 1776, tensions rose in the frontier areas upstate and most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to Canada. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, New York changed the name of Tryon County 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.

As allies of the Patriots, the Oneida Indian Nation was allocated land by the United States in the postwar settlement for a reservation near Oneida Lake, in their traditional homeland. In the postwar treaty, the four Iroquois nations who had been allies of the British were forced to cede their lands; most of their peoples had already migrated to Canada to escape the worst of the fighting on the frontier after Sullivan's Raid. This expedition through Indian country had destroyed dwellings, crops and winter stores; many Iroquois who did not migrate died of starvation that winter.

But settlers were hungry for land, and in 1788 Governor Clinton's representatives persuaded the Oneida to cede some of their territory to the state for sale to European-American settlers. This was called the "Clinton Purchase", after Governor George Clinton. The land comprised the southern portion of the Oneida reservation. It has also been called the Twenty Townships, as these were the number organized after New York controlled the land.

As this sale was never ratified by the United States Senate, it was declared unconstitutional in a ruling by the United States Supreme Court in the late twentieth century.[4] New York State had no legal authority after the Revolution and the formation of the United States to negotiate separately with American Indian tribes.

In 1789, Montgomery County was reduced in size by the splitting off of Ontario County. This was later divided to form the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and part of Schuyler and Wayne counties.

In 1791, Herkimer and Tioga counties were two of three counties split off from Montgomery County (the other being Otsego County).

Chenango County was formed in 1798 from parts of Tioga and Herkimer counties. Finally, Madison County was created from Chenango County in 1806.

About 1802, the Oneida agreed to allocate about 22,000 acres of their land to the Stockbridge and Munsee (Lenape), who were seeking refuge from anti-Native American conflicts by American settlers after the Revolution. Both were Christianized: the Stockbridge had migrated from western Massachusetts and the Lenape from New York and New Jersey. The two peoples were pressured to leave New York for Wisconsin in the 1820s, to make more land available for European-American settlement.

In the late twentieth century, the three recognized Oneida tribes: of Wisconsin, New York, and the Thames reserve in Canada, filed suit in a land claim against New York for its treaty and forced purchase of their ancestral lands after the American Revolutionary War, seeking the return of thousands of acres. The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled the purchase was unconstitutional, as New York did not have the treaty ratified by the United States Senate, and had no authority under the U.S. Constitution to deal directly with the Oneida, a right reserved to the federal government. In 2010 the state offered the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin more than 300 acres in Sullivan County in the Catskill Mountains, with permission to construct a gambling casino, and two acres in Madison County, to settle their part of the suit. Several private and public interests oppose the deal, including other federally recognized tribes in New York.

Geography

[edit]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 661 square miles (1,710 km2), of which 655 square miles (1,700 km2) is land and 6.4 square miles (17 km2) (1.0%) is water.[5]

Madison County is located in central New York State, just 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. The Great Swamp, formerly located south of the lake, was a rich wetlands habitat important to many species of birds and wildlife. This was drained by local and state construction projects in the early decades of the twentieth century, chiefly by Italian immigrants. The fertile soil supported high production of onions and other commodity crops, and the Italian families grew wealthy from their work. The area was known as "Black Beach" for its mucklands.[6] Chittenango Creek defines much of the western boundary.

Adjacent counties and areas

[edit]

Chenango County is across the southern border. Onondaga and Cortland counties form the western border, with Onondaga serving as Madison County's longest and most prominent border. Otsego County forms a short boundary in the southeastern corner of Madison County. Oneida County shares a northeastern border with Madison County. Oneida Lake is the northern border with part of Oswego County on the opposite shore.

Demographics

[edit]
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
181025,144—
182032,20828.1%
183039,03821.2%
184040,0082.5%
185043,0727.7%
186043,5451.1%
187043,522−0.1%
188044,1121.4%
189042,892−2.8%
190040,545−5.5%
191039,289−3.1%
192039,5350.6%
193039,7900.6%
194039,598−0.5%
195046,21416.7%
196054,63518.2%
197062,86415.1%
198065,1503.6%
199069,1206.1%
200069,4410.5%
201073,4425.8%
202068,016−7.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]
1790–1960[8] 1900–1990[9]
1990–2000[10] 2010–2013[1]

As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 69,441 people, 25,368 households, and 17,580 families residing in the county. The population density was 106 inhabitants per square mile (41/km2). There were 28,646 housing units at an average density of 44 units per square mile (17/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 96.49% White, 1.32% African American, 0.52% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.06% of the population; 16.1% were of German, 15.6% English, 15.5% Irish, 12.1% Italian, and 8.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000. Of these 95.6% spoke English and 1.9% Spanish as their first language.

There were 25,368 households, out of which 33.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.10% were married couples living together, 9.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.70% were non-families. Of all households 24.50% were made up of individuals, and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.90% under the age of 18, 12.00% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,184, and the median income for a family was $47,889. Males had a median income of $33,069 versus $25,026 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,105. About 6.30% of families and 9.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.50% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.

Much of Madison County is rural. However, the communities along NY Route 5 are suburbs of Syracuse, as is Cazenovia.

2020 Census

[edit]
Madison County racial composition[12]
Race Num. Perc.
White (NH) 60,965 89.63%
Black or African American (NH) 1071 1.6%
Native American (NH) 435 0.64%
Asian (NH) 664 1.0%
Pacific Islander (NH) 11 0.01%
Other/mixed (NH) 3,197 4.7%
Hispanic or Latino 1,673 2.5%

Communities

[edit]

Larger settlements

[edit]
# Location Population Type Sector
1 Oneida 11,390 City Northeast
2 Chittenango 5,081 Village Northwest
3 Canastota 4,804 Village Northwest
4 Hamilton 4,239 Village Southeast
5 Cazenovia 2,835 Village Southwest
6 Morrisville 2,199 Village Southeast
7 ‡Bridgeport 1,490 CDP Northwest
8 ‡Earlville 872 Village Southeast
9 DeRuyter 558 Village Southwest
10 †Wampsville 543 Village Northeast
11 Munnsville 474 Village Northeast
12 Madison 305 Village Southeast

† - County seat

‡ - Not wholly in this county

Towns

[edit]

The towns in southern Madison County originated from the Twenty Townships ceded by the Oneida tribe to the State of New York.

Hamlets

[edit]

Politics

[edit]

For the majority of its history, Madison County has been a mostly Republican county, with the party's presidential candidates winning the county in every election but one from 1884 to 1992. The one exception to this was in 1964, as the county swung strongly to the Democratic column for the first time thanks to Barry Goldwater's conservatism alienating the Northeast, giving Lyndon B. Johnson a wide margin of victory as he won every county in the state and won by a landslide nationally. As New York has turned into a solid blue state, the county has become a swing county and national bellwether from 1996 onward. However, the margins of victory for the two parties in recent elections have been quite different. The three most recent Republican victories in the county have all been by over 10 percentage points, while the three most recent Democratic wins have all been by margins of under 600 votes.

United States presidential election results for Madison County, New York[13]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2024 19,025 55.92% 14,629 43.00% 365 1.07%
2020 18,409 54.09% 14,805 43.50% 821 2.41%
2016 15,936 53.01% 11,667 38.81% 2,461 8.19%
2012 13,622 48.49% 13,871 49.37% 601 2.14%
2008 14,434 48.43% 14,692 49.30% 676 2.27%
2004 16,537 54.60% 13,121 43.32% 629 2.08%
2000 14,879 52.45% 12,017 42.36% 1,470 5.18%
1996 11,324 41.96% 11,832 43.84% 3,832 14.20%
1992 11,293 38.90% 10,099 34.78% 7,642 26.32%
1988 14,902 57.86% 10,665 41.41% 187 0.73%
1984 17,568 67.67% 8,291 31.93% 104 0.40%
1980 13,369 55.85% 7,843 32.77% 2,725 11.38%
1976 15,674 63.74% 8,822 35.87% 95 0.39%
1972 18,392 74.47% 6,241 25.27% 64 0.26%
1968 13,819 62.79% 7,056 32.06% 1,135 5.16%
1964 8,858 38.21% 14,313 61.75% 9 0.04%
1960 16,245 65.78% 8,433 34.15% 19 0.08%
1956 18,555 79.10% 4,903 20.90% 0 0.00%
1952 17,715 76.73% 5,353 23.19% 19 0.08%
1948 13,413 68.23% 5,937 30.20% 308 1.57%
1944 13,369 68.51% 6,109 31.31% 36 0.18%
1940 15,262 70.46% 6,301 29.09% 99 0.46%
1936 14,353 69.71% 5,867 28.49% 370 1.80%
1932 11,931 61.91% 6,896 35.78% 445 2.31%
1928 14,333 72.20% 5,217 26.28% 301 1.52%
1924 11,589 71.01% 3,430 21.02% 1,302 7.98%
1920 11,094 72.28% 3,797 24.74% 457 2.98%
1916 5,881 57.56% 3,937 38.53% 399 3.91%
1912 3,490 35.15% 3,164 31.86% 3,276 32.99%
1908 6,727 61.28% 3,637 33.13% 614 5.59%
1904 6,947 63.48% 3,410 31.16% 586 5.36%
1900 7,174 63.37% 3,673 32.44% 474 4.19%
1896 7,588 65.56% 3,580 30.93% 406 3.51%
1892 6,533 57.20% 4,054 35.50% 834 7.30%
1888 7,199 58.25% 4,641 37.55% 519 4.20%
1884 6,608 54.64% 4,870 40.27% 615 5.09%

Education

[edit]

School districts

[edit]

School districts include:[14]

Colleges and universities

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "US Census Bureau QuickFacts". Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 196.
  4. ^ "County Of Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation, 470 U.S. 226 (1985)". Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  5. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  6. ^ Barbagallo, Tricia (June 1, 2005). "Black Beach: The Mucklands of Canastota, New York" (PDF). New York Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 13, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  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) – Madison County, New York".
  13. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  14. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Madison County, NY" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved October 8, 2024. - Text list

Further reading

[edit]
  • Sullivan, James; Williams, Melvin E.; Conklin, Edwin P.; Fitzpatrick, Benedict, eds. (1927), "Chapter VII. Madison County.", History of New York State, 1523–1927 (PDF), vol. 2, New York City, Chicago: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., p. 743-50, hdl:2027/mdp.39015019994048, Wikidata Q114149636
  • Koch, Daniel (2023). Land of the Oneidas: Central New York State and the Creation of America, From Prehistory to the Present. Albany: State University of New York Press.
[edit]
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42°55′N 75°40′W / 42.91°N 75.67°W / 42.91; -75.67

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