Montgomery County, New York: History
This area was occupied by the Mohawk for hundreds of years prior to European colonization. Many warriors allied with the British during the war. When the British lost, they ceded all the Iroquois territory of the Six Nations (the Tuscarora had joined the confederacy in the 18th century) to the United States, without consulting the tribes or bringing them into negotiation.
In 1784, following end of the American Revolutionary War, the European-American settlers renamed Tryon County as Montgomery County. This change was to honor the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died in 1775 attempting to capture the city of Quebec during the Revolutionary War. It replaced the name that formerly honored the last provincial governor of New York.
In 1789, Ontario County was split off from Montgomery. The area of the new county was much larger than the present Ontario County, as it included the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and part of Schuyler and Wayne counties.
In 1791, Herkimer, Otsego, and Tioga counties were split off from Montgomery. In 1802, portions of Clinton, Herkimer, and Montgomery counties were combined to form St. Lawrence County. In 1816, Hamilton County was split off from Montgomery, but it did not have enough taxable inhabitants to be separately organized until 1847. In May 1836, the county seat was moved from Johnstown to Fonda, and in April 1838, Fulton County was split off, with Johnstown regaining that rank for the new Fulton County.
In 2012, Montgomery County voters approved a charter for government, making it the 21st county in New York state to do so. In 2013, Matthew L. Ossenfort was elected at-large as the first County Executive in the county's history. Ossenfort took office in 2014, the same year the charter went into effect. Under the terms of the charter, the Board of Supervisors was replaced by a nine-member County Legislature, with members elected from single-member districts. Thomas L. Quackenbush, one of the members, was elected as the first chairman of the new legislative body, which will be a circulating position.
1789–1797 - None
1797–1803 - NY9
1803–1809 - NY13
1809–1813 - NY9
1813–1823 - NY14
1823–1833 - NY16
1833–1843 - NY15
1843–1853 - NY17
1853–1873 - NY18
1873–1875 - NY19
1875–1893 - NY20
1893–1913 - ?
1913–1945 - NY30
1945–1953 - NY31
1953–1963 - NY32
1963–1971 - NY35
1971–1973 - NY28 & NY29
1973–1983 - NY28 & NY31
1983–1993 - NY23 & ?
1993–2003 - NY21 & NY23
2003–2013- NY21
2013–2023 - NY19 & NY20
2023–present - NY20 & NY21