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| Published on: 2012-01-28 | |
| Why Tryon County became Montgomery County By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History, Daily Gazette, 01-28-12 Tryon County, created in 1772, was named for New York’s British colonial governor, William Tryon and included a large part of what is now New York State west of Albany County. Sir William Johnson, who died two years later, was instrumental in forming the county government, naming it after Governor Tryon and establishing Johnstown as the county seat. To say the least, Tryon became unpopular in the Revolution that followed. Tryon served the British as a military commander when the colony he had headed was placed under martial law. He led forces that attacked civilians in southern Connecticut. Historian Hugh Donlon in his book “Outlines of History” said Tryon was called “Bloody Billy” and reports circulated that he was part of a plot to kidnap and assassinate George Washington. He returned to England in 1780 and died in London in 1788. The name of Tryon County was changed to honor the late war hero Richard Montgomery in 1784. New York was the fourth of 17 states to name counties for Montgomery after the American Revolution. Some say Montgomery was born in 1736 near Raphoe, Ireland. Other sources say Montgomery was born in Dublin. He joined the British army at 18 and fought the French in North America and the West Indies. He was part of the Amherst Expedition that passed through the Mohawk Valley as part of the British conquest of French Canada in 1760. Montgomery left America to live in England from 1765 to 1772, when he moved to New York City. He married Jane Livingston, daughter of Judge Robert Livingston in Rhinebeck, a leading figure in the growing rebellion. When war broke out, Montgomery became a brigadier general on the rebel side. Montgomery’s forces took Montreal in November 1775. When General Philip Schuyler of Albany became ill, Montgomery took command of Schuyler’s troops. Forces commanded by Montgomery and Benedict Arnold, although relatively small, laid siege to Quebec City. They attacked the city in a snowstorm on December 31. The British repelled the attack and Montgomery was killed. He was buried on the spot. His widow pleaded with Canada’s government for 43 years before her husband’s body was brought back to America. According to Donlon, when Montgomery’s remains were passing his aged widow’s home at Annandale-on-Hudson, the steamer paused. Mrs. Montgomery is said to have saluted the vessel, then collapsed. Richard Montgomery was buried in St. Paul’s Churchyard in New York City in 1818. In 1836, the county seat of Montgomery County was moved to Fonda. There was an outcry from the people of Johnstown who suffered a loss of pride and revenue when the county government left that town. Donlon said the Johnstown area had political influence in Albany and the state ordered that Montgomery County be divided into two counties in 1838. The new county was named for Robert Fulton, an American inventor credited with creating the first commercially successful steamboat. Fulton county supervisors were allowed to buy the buildings of the former Montgomery county government in Johnstown. Tryon remembered The Tryon name lived on in more modern times. There was the Tryon juvenile detention facility in Perth, which may become an industrial park that could keep the Tryon name. And the last traditional movie theater built in Amsterdam was Brandt Corporation’s Tryon on East Main Street. The Tryon opened in 1949 on the site of the McGibbon block, which had been leveled by a spectacular fire in 1943. “Champion,” Amsterdam native Kirk Douglas’s breakthrough boxing movie, was the grand opening attraction. The line to see “Champion” extended onto Church Street, according to local history fan Sam Vomero. The theater was torn down during urban renewal. |  Listen to Bob talk about Mohawk Valley History each Tuesday morning on WVTL - the Valley's Talk Leader Search Bob's Focus On History Archive to find an old article. |