Lewis County, New York
| Lewis County, New York | ||
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 Location in the U.S. state of New York |
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 New York's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1805 | |
| Named for | Morgan Lewis | |
| Seat | Lowville | |
| Largest town | Lowville | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 1,290 sq mi (3,341 km2) | |
| • Land | 1,275 sq mi (3,302 km2) | |
| • Water | 15 sq mi (39 km2), 1.2% | |
| Population | ||
| • (2010) | 27,087 | |
| • Density | 21/sq mi (8/km²) | |
| Congressional district | 21st | |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 | |
| Website | www |
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Lewis County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 27,087, making it the fourth-least populous county in New York. Its county seat is Lowville. The county is named after Morgan Lewis, the Governor of New York when the county was established.
The area now occupied by Lewis County was very sparsely occupied until the end of the 1700s. Although the land was already claimed by the colony of New York in its original grant, the land was clearly part of Iroquois territory until after the Revolutionary War, when the New York seized the lands from tribes that had supported the British. The lands were unsurveyed and remained unattractive to settlement until after the complex process of Macomb's Purchase of 1791 eventually put much of the land in the hands of John Brown.
In January 1997, much of the county was socked in a world record-breaking snowburst, with nearly 6.5 feet (2.0 m) of snow in just a 24-hour period.
The area now falling in the jurisdiction of Lewis County, New York has changed jurisdiction many times, beginning as part of the originally enormous Albany County in 1683, then, after one of the many times that Albany County was divided, becoming part of Tryon County in 1772, which was renamed to Montgomery County in 1784; next, present-day Lewis County was part of Herkimer County in 1791, then part of Oneida County in 1798, and finally assumed its current name and borders in 1805.
When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Lewis 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.
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