History
- Outline
- Maps of the County's Growth
- A Yates County Gallery
How Yates County Grew
Like all but a handful of New York's counties, Yates was formed by separating several towns from a parent county. In 1823 five towns were designated as the new county; this was 35 years after the first white settlers arrived. Before being separated from Ontario County, these towns underwent name and boundary changes, and in 1826 two additional towns were annexed from Steuben County. Changes kept occurring, right through the middle of the 19th century, when the towns and villages that make up the County assumed their present names, shape and size.
Efficient research requires an understanding of these changes, which are much more easily shown as a series of maps than as verbal descriptions. You may go directly to a map of interest by using the links in the left-hand panel of this page, or you may visit them in sequence by using the arrow button below.
