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The towns and cities of New York's Southern Tier were created by the US state of New York as municipalities in order to give residents more direct say over local government. [1] The Southern Tier consists of
New York experimented with different types of municipalities before settling upon the current format of towns and cities occupying all the land in a county, [2] and all previous forms were transformed into towns (or divided into multiple towns) in 1788 when all of the state of New York was divided into towns. [1] Some early forms of government in earlier years included land patents with some municipal rights, districts, [3] precincts, [4] and boroughs. [5] Though originally intended to be mere “…involuntary subdivisions of the state, constituted for the purpose of the more convenient exercise of governmental functions by the state for the benefit of all its citizens” as defined by the courts in 1916 (Short v. Town of Orange), towns gained home rule powers from the state in 1964, at which time towns became "a municipal corporation comprising the inhabitants within its boundaries, and formed with the purpose of exercising such powers and discharging such duties of local government and administration of public affairs as have been, or, maybe [sic] conferred or imposed upon it by law.” [6]
The following is a timeline showing the creation of the current towns from their predecessors stretching back to the earliest municipal entity over the area. The timelines only represent which town(s) a particular town was created from and does not represent annexations of territory to and from towns that already existed. All municipalities are towns unless otherwise noted as patent, township, borough, district, or city.
See also
- Timeline of town creation in Downstate New York
- Timeline of town creation in the Hudson Valley
- Timeline of town creation in New York's Capital District
- Timeline of town creation in Central New York
References
- General
- French, John H. (1860). Gazetteer of the State of New York. R. Pearsall Smith.
- Specific
- ^ a b Laws of the State of New York Passed at the Sessions of the Legislature Held in the Years 1785, 1786, 1787 and 1788, inclusive, Being the Eight, Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh, sessions. Vol. II. Weed, Parsons and Company/State of New York. 1886. p. 103 & 748. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
- ^ "Governmental Units". John B. Deitz. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
- ^ The Colonial Laws of the State of New York From 1664 to the Revolution, Including the Charters to the Duke of York, the Commissions and Instructions to the Colonial Governors, the Duke's Laws, the Laws of Dongan and Leisler Assemblies, the Charters of Albany and New York and the Acts of the Colonial Legislatures from 1691 to 1775 Inclusive. Vol. V. James B. Lyon (State of New York). 1894. p. 383 and 395. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
- ^ The Colonial Laws of the State of New York From 1664 to the Revolution, Including the Charters to the Duke of York, the Commissions and Instructions to the Colonial Governors, the Duke's Laws, the Laws of Dongan and Leisler Assemblies, the Charters of Albany and New York and the Acts of the Colonial Legislatures from 1691 to 1775 Inclusive. Vol. II. John B. Lyon. 1894. p. 956.
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^ Howell, George Rogers; Munsell, John H. (1886).
History of the County of Schenectady, N.Y., from 1662 to 1886. W.W. Munsell & Company.
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^
"Local Government Handbook" (PDF). New York State Department of State. 2008, 5th edition. p. 71. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
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