Tag Archives: New York State

A Parade of Counties

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A few weeks ago we looked at county and local governments in this blog, and that got me to thinking about our local counties themselves.

Counties are created, altered, and abolished by the state legislatures, contrary to the bizarre theory that counties are somehow the only legitimate unit of government.

On paper our area after 1691 was part of Albany County. In 1772 part of Albany became Tryon County… named to honor a British aristocrat, then changed to Montgomery for a hero of the Revolution. The Iroquois would have found all this hilarious, given that they still ruled almost a century after New York colony drew those Albany County lines on the map.

What was Montgomery County back then comprised all or parts of some thirty counties today, and all those arrangements actually started to mean something about 1789, when Ontario County was erected from Montgomery. Ontario ran from the state line to Lake Ontario, and roughly from the Genesee River to Seneca Lake, which pretty much matched the “Pulteney Purchase” by British investors. Steuben County was separated out in 1796. As new counties were created Ontario became progressively smaller until it reached its current boundaries in 1828 – which explains why a county with that name comes nowhere near the lake.

Allegany County was created (from Genesee) in 1806, later gaining land from Steuben but losing to Livingston, Wyoming, and even back to Genesee. Parts of Genesee and Ontario formed Livingston County in 1821, and boundary adjustments went on as late as 1922.

Yates County came out of Ontario in 1823 and added part of Steuben three years later. As years went on it gave up land to Tompkins and Seneca Counties, but added space (all under water) from Schuyler and Seneca in 1946.

A very large Tioga County came to be in 1791, and Chemung was created from Tioga in 1836.

And to complete our local (Corning-area) county map, and looking only in New York state, in 1854 Chemung, Steuben, and Tompkins all gave up land to make Schuyler County, the baby of the family. This is when Steuben finally lost its shoreline on Seneca Lake, having already given up some of Keuka for Yates County.

That lays out the boundaries. Where did all these county names come from?

ALBANY was named after the city, which took its name from one of the Duke of York’s subsidiary titles. TRYON was a colonial governor, and General Richard MONTGOMERY was killed in the Revolution, leading an attack on Quebec.

ONTARIO is of course the lowest and smallest of the Great Lakes, its name reportedly meaning Lake of Shining Waters in the Huron or Wyandotte tongue. ALLEGANY honors the memory of an early people driven out by the invading Iroquois. The name CHEMUNG reportedly derives from a Delaware word meaning “big horn,” referring to a mammoth tusk found nearby.

Baron STEUBEN was the man, more than any other, who trained and disciplined the Revolutionary troops into a true fighting army. Robert LIVINGSTON was also (reluctantly) a hero of the Revolution. He later swore in George Washington as President, and helped arrange the Louisiana Purchase. Philip SCHUYLER was a Revolutionary general, though not one whose career has impressed historians, and Governor Joseph YATES signed the law creating Yates County. From time to time in the future we’ll look at some swell stuff in each county, one by one.

Counties and States, Constitution and Secession

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Last week in this space we looked at our Town, Village and City governments. Counties are a higher level of government – Steuben County, for instance, has two Cities and 32 Towns. Beginning in 1683 it was theoretically part of Albany County, except that white Europeans didn’t have any power out here at all. That was still true in 1772 when it became part of a new Tryon County, now called Montgomery. Whites were actually starting to rule with boots on the ground when it became part of the new Ontario County in 1790, and then Steuben County (larger than it is today) in 1796.
Counties entered the national news last year when Cliven Bundy, who if I understand aright refuses for decades to pay what amounts to rent for the land on which he (over)grazes cattle, announced that he would not pay the United States (that’s you and me), because he chooses not to acknowledge its legal existence. (Despite flying our flag all over the place.) He HAS, however, offered to pay money to Clark County, Nevada, as he considers County governments legal.
This is as hilarious as it is pathetic, but he didn’t invent the idea, which has been floating around the fringe for years, among groups which consider a sheriff the only legitimate official. (Why they’ve picked a law-enforcement officer is beyond me.)
But Clark County was CREATED BY the State of Nevada, which in turn was CREATED BY the government of the United States. The notion that Counties have some ontological nature that exceeds all others is bizarre. States create them, and states can alter or abolish them. And often have. Just as they can do (and have done) with Towns, Cities, and Villages.
As we said, the United States created the State of Nevada. But having done so (at least so far as I can tell) the U.S. could not simply extinguish Nevada by legislation. States, it seems to me, have a different sort of legal status.
Which leads us to the question of secession, recently bruited by several municipalities to our east in protest of New York’s fracking ban. Secession is not new, and has often been trotted out in various states by rural areas unhappy with the workings of democracy – that majority rule thing can be very annoying when you get outvoted.
The U.S. Constitution addresses admission of new states; addresses creating new states by carving them out of existing states; and addresses creating new states by joining existing states together. It does not address transferring territory from one state to another (frack-happy Pennsylvania, in this case).
So if you’re a states-righter you could argue that it can’t be done Constitutionally (since it’s not addressed), or you could argue that Congress could handle such an issue by statute (since it’s not forbidden).
Were I writing such a statute, I’d make it require consent of the voters of the affected municipalities; consent of the voters of the sending state; consent of the voters of the receiving state; consent of Congress; and, as with any federal legislation, approval by the President (or veto override by two-thirds majority of each house in Congress), all to take place within two years. If any of these failed, then the measure would be dead. That would be democracy in action – or at least it would keep us all busy!

Counties and Towns, Cities and Villages — What’s the Diff?

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Here in New York we have four basic units of local government – village, city, town, and county. (I’m leaving out things like school districts, water districts, boroughs within cities, etc.)
All of these are legal entities – they have governments, taxes, elections, specific boundaries. For instance, there is a Town of Urbana, and a Village of Hammondsport, each with its definite bounds.
But there is also, within Urbana and outside Hammondsport, a place known for over 200 years as Pleasant Valley. It has no legal existence or status, but it’s a place that’s known and loved. We often call this a hamlet, to describe a small unofficial place designation.
I myself once played a role in rescuing the name of Pleasant Valley. I got a call from A.A.A. saying that they were thinking of taking it off their New York map, since it was an unofficial name, and they wanted my advice and opinion.
I waxed enthusiastic about Pleasant Valley, extolling its history, its significance, and its beauties. They decided it should stay on the map, and there indeed it stayed.
Villages and Towns bear a close relationship with each other. A Village is a SUBSET of a Town. If you’re a resident of the Village of Hammondsport, you are ALSO a resident of the Town of Urbana. You vote for Town officials and pay Town taxes – you ALSO vote for Village officials and pay Village taxes.
Villages are often created so that a compact area with a good-sized population can provide itself with special services such as water, sewage, and police. Remember tha Village populatiions may go UP in the daytime, as non-residents come in for shopping, work, tourism, restaurants, libraries, school, government offices, and the like.
Painted Post is a Village within the Town of Erwin. Riverside and South Corning are Villages within the Town of Corning. Bath and Savona are Villages within the Town of Bath.
Kanona, on the other hand, is an unofficial hamlet. It lies within the Town of Bath, and it’s very similar to Savona in size and density. But Savona has an official and legal existence… and government… while Kanona does not.
All of this can lead to confusion, especially with the vagaries of shifting boundaries since the 1700s. The Town of Dansville, for instance, is in Steuben County, but the Village of Dansville is in Livingston County. The Village of Dansville is part of the Town of North Dansville (in Livingston), but the unofficial hamlet of South Dansville is within the Town of Dansville (in Steuben).
I always feel sorry for the bright and cheerful genealogist who calls for information on an ancestor who died/was born/got married/is buried “in Dansville,” knowing I’m about to ruin their day.
City government confuses people. We have two Cities in Steuben County – Corning and Hornell. Many people assume that they are like Villages – that the City of Corning is part of the Town of Corning, and the City of Hornell is part of the Town of Hornellsville.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Cities, unlike Villages, are independent. Cities are coordinate with the Towns rather than part of them.
It’s easy to see where the confusion comes from. First, at least in our case locally, there’s the similarity of the names. Then there’s the fact that if you go back far enough, what’s now a City WAS part of a Town – in fact, it likely went through a Village phase while growing. Finally, Cities and Villages each have mayors, while Towns have supervisors.
So, the Village of South Corning is part of the Town of Corning – but the City of Corning is NOT. The Village of North Hornell is part of the Town of Hornellsville – but the City of Hornell is NOT.
So, in Steuben, for instance… 32 towns and two cities, or 34 overall municipalities. There are also a number of Villages, each remaining part of one of those Towns, and often confusingly named like its parent.
In fact, here in New York it would be entirely possible to have a County, a City, a Town, a Village, and a hamlet all with the same name. Next week, we’ll talk about Counties!