Town and Village History

“Jefferson County, New York, once formed part of the original county of Albany, the line of evolution from the latter being: Albany County, formed November 1, 1683; Tryon, formed from Albany, March 12, 1772; Montgomery, changed from Tryon. April 2, 1784; Herkimer, was formed from Montgomery, January 16, 1792; Oneida, formed from Herkimer, March 15, 1798; Jefferson, formed from Oneida, March 28, 1805. Jefferson County is situated in the northern part of the State of New York, in an angle formed by the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario, the superficial area, according to the statistics, being 733,585 acres, equivalent to 1,146 square miles. It is bounded on the northwest by the St. Lawrence River, on the northeast by St. Lawrence County, on the west by Lake Ontario, on the south by Oswego County, and on the east by Lewis County. There are about twenty small lakes in the county, of which ten are in Theresa and Alexandria, two in Henderson, four in Ellisburgh, two in Antwerp, and one each in Orleans and Pamelia, Champion and Rutland.”