When counties were established in New York State
in 1683, the present Oswego County was part of Albany County. This
was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York
State as well as all of the present State of Vermont and, in
theory, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. This county was
reduced in size on July 3, 1766 by the creation of Cumberland
County, and further on March 16, 1770 by the creation of
Gloucester 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 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 now includes 37 counties of New York State. The
county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New
York.
In the years prior to 1776, most of the Loyalists in
Tryon County fled to Canada. In 1784, following the peace treaty
that ended the American Revolutionary War, the name of Tryon
County was changed to Montgomery County to honor the general,
Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and
died attempting to capture the city of Quebec, replacing the name
of the hated British governor.
In 1789, the size of
Montgomery County was reduced by the splitting off of Ontario
County from Montgomery. The actual area split off from Montgomery
County was much larger than the present county, also including the
present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee,
Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and
part of Schuyler and Wayne Counties.
Oswego County was
partly in Macomb's Purchase of 1791.
In 1791, Herkimer
County was one of three counties split off from Montgomery (the
other two being Otsego, and Tioga County). This was much larger
than the present county, however, and was reduced by a number of
subsequent splits.
In 1794, Onondaga County was created
from a part of Herkimer County. This county was larger than the
current Onondaga County, including the present Cayuga, Cortland,
and part of Oswego Counties.
In 1798, Oneida County was
created from a part of Herkimer County. This county was larger
than the current Oneida County, including the present Jefferson,
Lewis, and part of Oswego Counties.
In 1805, Oneida County
was reduced in size by the splitting off of Jefferson and Lewis
Counties.
In 1816, Oswego County was created as New York
State's 48th county from parts of Oneida and Onondaga
Counties.
In 1841, businessmen in Oswego attempted to
divide Oswego County into two counties. They failed to persuade
the State to do so, however. Occasionally, the topic still comes
up today by dividing the county into an east part and a west part,
with the east portion being renamed "Salmon County".
At
various times, beginning in 1847 and as late as 1975, attempts
were made to move the county seat to the Village of Mexico. None
of these attempts succeeded, however.
(from
www.wikipedia.org)
