Montgomery County is a county in New York, United States, in the Mohawk Valley between the Adirondacks and the state capital region. It had a population of 49,532 at the 2020 census and covers 410 square miles (1,100 km2), of which 403 square miles (1,040 km2) are land, centred near 42°55′N 74°26′W.
Fonda is the county seat, and its postal code is 12068. The county has one city (Amsterdam), nine villages, ten towns and a number of unincorporated hamlets. It observes Eastern Time.
Towns & Villages in Montgomery County
Montgomery County’s incorporated places are one city and nine villages, set inside ten towns that also carry dozens of smaller hamlets and crossroads communities. In the table below, CDP means Census-Designated Place (an unincorporated community with its own Census Bureau boundary) and Unincorp. covers hamlets with no municipal government of their own.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | City | — | 18,219 | 12010 |
| Fonda | Village · seat | Mohawk | — | 12068 |
| Canajoharie | Village | Canajoharie | — | 13317 |
| Fort Plain | Village | Minden | — | 13339 |
| Fultonville | Village | Glen | — | 12072 |
| Hagaman | Village | Amsterdam | — | 12086 |
| Nelliston | Village | Palatine | — | 13410 |
| Palatine Bridge | Village | Palatine | — | 13428 |
| St. Johnsville | Village | St. Johnsville | — | 13452 |
| Ames | Village | Canajoharie | — | 13317 |
| Tribes Hill | CDP | Amsterdam | — | 12177 |
| Auriesville | Unincorp. | Glen | — | — |
| Berryville | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Brookman Corners | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Browns Hollow | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Buel | Unincorp. | Root | — | — |
| Burtonsville | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Charleston | Unincorp. | Charleston | — | — |
| Charleston Four Corners | Unincorp. | Charleston | — | — |
| Charlesworth Corners | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Church Corners | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Cook Corners | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Cranesville | Unincorp. | Amsterdam | — | — |
| Crescent Park | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Currytown | Unincorp. | Root | — | — |
| East Stone Arabia | Unincorp. | Palatine | — | — |
| Flat Creek | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Fordsbush | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Fort Hunter | Unincorp. | Florida | — | 12069 |
| Fort Johnson | Unincorp. | Amsterdam | — | 12070 |
| Freysbush | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Glen | Unincorp. | Glen | — | — |
| Hallsville | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Harrower | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Hessville | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Keesler Corners | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Lost Valley | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Lykers | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Manny Corners | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Mapletown | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Marshville | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| McKinley | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Miller Corners | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Minaville | Unincorp. | Florida | — | — |
| Mindenville | Unincorp. | Minden | — | — |
| Oak Ridge | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Randall | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Rockton | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Root Center | Unincorp. | Root | — | — |
| Rural Grove | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Salt Springville | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Sand Hill | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Scotch Bush | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Scotch Church | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| South Amsterdam | Unincorp. | Amsterdam | — | — |
| Sprakers | Unincorp. | Root | — | 13375 |
| Sprout Brook | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Stone Arabia | Unincorp. | Palatine | — | — |
| Tribes Hill (hamlet) | Unincorp. | Amsterdam | — | — |
| Valley Brook | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Van Deusenville | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Wallins Corners | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| West St. Johnsville | Unincorp. | St. Johnsville | — | — |
| Yosts | Unincorp. | Glen | — | — |
“Tribes Hill” appears twice in county records: once as the Census Bureau’s CDP boundary and once as the older hamlet centre a short distance away on Route 5S — both are listed above since local usage treats them as slightly different footprints of the same community.
Townships
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | — | Hagaman, Fort Johnson, Cranesville, South Amsterdam |
| Canajoharie | — | Canajoharie, Ames |
| Charleston | — | Charleston, Charleston Four Corners |
| Florida | — | Fort Hunter, Minaville |
| Glen | — | Fultonville, Auriesville, Glen, Yosts |
| Minden | — | Fort Plain, Mindenville |
| Mohawk | — | Fonda (seat) |
| Palatine | — | Palatine Bridge, Nelliston, Stone Arabia, East Stone Arabia |
| Root | — | Currytown, Sprakers, Buel, Root Center |
| St. Johnsville | — | St. Johnsville, West St. Johnsville |
The city of Amsterdam sits mostly within the Town of Amsterdam’s boundaries but is governed independently of it, as is standard for New York cities.
ZIP Codes
- 12010 — Amsterdam
- 12068 — Fonda
- 12069 — Fort Hunter
- 12070 — Fort Johnson
- 12072 — Fultonville
- 12086 — Hagaman
- 12177 — Tribes Hill
- 13317 — Canajoharie (also serves Ames)
- 13339 — Fort Plain
- 13375 — Sprakers
- 13410 — Nelliston
- 13428 — Palatine Bridge
- 13452 — St. Johnsville
The smaller hamlets in the table above take their mail through the ZIP of the nearest post office town rather than carrying one of their own.
Geography
Montgomery County sits astride the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley, with rolling upland terrain rising away from the river on both sides. The Mohawk forms the county’s spine, carrying the New York State Barge Canal (Erie Canal) system, and the Chuctanunda and Otsquago creeks are the other principal streams. Land makes up 403 square miles of the county’s 410-square-mile total, with 7.3 square miles of water.
Montgomery County borders Fulton County to the north, Saratoga County to the northeast, Schenectady County to the east, Schoharie County to the south, Otsego County to the southwest, and Herkimer County to the west.
Demographics
Montgomery County had 49,532 residents at the 2020 census. Amsterdam, the county’s only city, is by far its largest community at 18,219 people; Canajoharie and Fort Plain are the largest villages. Median household income in the county runs below the New York median of $82,095, reflecting the manufacturing-era decline the Mohawk Valley has worked to recover from since the 1980s. Population density works out to roughly 123 people per square mile of land.
Economy & Local Life
Montgomery County’s economy mixes light manufacturing, warehousing and distribution along the Thruway corridor, and agriculture on the uplands away from the river. Amsterdam anchors most of the county’s retail and services, while the Fonda-Fultonville and Canajoharie-Palatine Bridge school districts serve as community hubs for the smaller villages. The Fonda Speedway, a half-mile dirt track that has run stock-car racing since the 1950s, is one of the county’s best-known annual draws, and the Montgomery County Fair is held on the same fairgrounds each summer.
History
The county was organized in 1772 as Tryon County, one of the original counties carved out of Albany County, and was renamed Montgomery County in 1784 in honor of Richard Montgomery, a Continental Army general killed at the Battle of Quebec in 1775. The area was Mohawk territory before European settlement, and Auriesville, in the Town of Glen, is the traditional birthplace of Kateri Tekakwitha and the site of a Jesuit martyrs’ shrine dating to the 1600s. The Erie Canal, completed through the county in the 1820s, and later the New York Central Railroad and the Thruway, made the Mohawk Valley a manufacturing corridor; Amsterdam’s carpet and textile mills were a major employer through the mid-20th century before their decline.
Getting There
The New York State Thruway (I-90) runs the length of the county along the Mohawk River, with exits serving Fultonville/Fonda and Canajoharie/Palatine Bridge; NY Route 5 and NY Route 5S parallel it on either bank.
- Schenectady — 20 miles east
- Albany — 35 miles east
- Utica — 40 miles west
- Cooperstown — 25 miles south
The nearest commercial airport is Albany International Airport, about 35 miles east. Amtrak’s Empire Service and Lake Shore Limited stop at the Amsterdam station on Railroad Street.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Montgomery County, New York?
It sits in the Mohawk Valley of east-central New York, between Schenectady and Utica.
What is the population of Montgomery County?
49,532 people, per the 2020 census.
How big is Montgomery County?
410 square miles (1,100 km2), of which 403 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Montgomery County?
Fonda is the county seat.
How many towns and villages are in Montgomery County?
One city, nine villages, ten towns, and dozens of unincorporated hamlets.
What ZIP codes are in Montgomery County?
Amsterdam is 12010; other main ZIPs include 12068 (Fonda), 13317 (Canajoharie), 13339 (Fort Plain) and 13452 (St. Johnsville).
What is Montgomery County known for?
The Mohawk Valley section of the Erie Canal, the Auriesville shrine, and Fonda Speedway’s dirt-track stock-car racing.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in New York.