Tompkins County

Tompkins County, New York
County
County of Tompkins
Images, from top down, left to right: Ithaca Falls, Johnson Museum of Art, Allan H. Treman State Marine Park, Stewart Park, Ithaca Commons, and Cornell University
Seal
Location in the U.S. state of New York
New York's location in the U.S.
Founded	April 17, 1817
Named for	Daniel D. Tompkins
Seat	Ithaca
Largest City	Ithaca
Area
• Total	492 sq mi (1,274 km2)
• Land	475 sq mi (1,230 km2)
• Water	17 sq mi (44 km2), 3.4%
Population
• (2010)	101,564
• Density	210/sq mi (81/km²)
Demonym(s)	Tompkins Countyan
ZIP code(s)	13053, 13062, 13068, 13073, 13102, 13736, 14817, 13864, 14850, 14851, 14852, 14853, 14854, 14867, 14881, 14882, 14883, 14886
Area code(s)	607
Congressional district	23rd
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	tompkinscountyny.gov

Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,564. The county seat is Ithaca. The name is in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins, who served as Governor of New York and Vice President of the United States.

Tompkins County comprises the Ithaca, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is home to Cornell University, Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community College.

When counties were established in the British Province of New York in 1683, the present Tompkins 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.

On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. One of the other pieces, Tryon County, contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of the present city of Schenectady, and the county included the western part of the Adirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of the Delaware River. The area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of New York State. The county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York.