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New York County
Herkimer County, New York
Herkimer Diamonds and Remington Arms - from the Herkimer Diamond Mines (unique doubly-terminated quartz crystals found only in Herkimer County's 500-million-year-old dolostone, open to fee digging) to Ilion's Remington Arms factory (the oldest continuously operating firearms manufacturer in the United States, in production since 1816), and a Mohawk Valley county with extraordinary industrial and geological heritage.
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Office: Herkimer County Office of Emergency Services – encompasses Emergency Management, Emergency Communications E911, and the County Fire Coordinator’s Office | New 911 addresses: (315) 867-1254, Mon–Fri 8 AM–4 PM
Services: Volunteer Deputy Fire Coordinators represent the county at incidents; ice/cold water rescue training and other first-responder programs.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: NY-5 and NY-28 serve Herkimer, the county seat, along the Mohawk River and historic Erie Canal corridor
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Herkimer Code Enforcement – 114 North Prospect Street, Herkimer, NY 13350, (315) 866-8106
Notes: Individual towns (Middleville, Ilion, Mohawk) issue their own separate building permits.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Herkimer County Veterans Service Agency – Herkimer, NY
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Frank J. Basloe Library – 245 N. Main Street, Herkimer, NY 13350 | (315) 866-1733 | Hours: Mon/Wed 9 AM–8 PM, Tue/Fri 9 AM–5 PM, Sat 10 AM–2 PM (closed Sun)
Services: Serving the Herkimer community since 1895, part of the Mid-York Library System; offers a genealogy and local history collection, a teen corner, museum and park passes, and a dedicated Washburn Community Room.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Herkimer County is genuinely named for General Nicholas Herkimer, a Revolutionary War militia commander who was mortally wounded at the Battle of Oriskany on August 6, 1777, one of the bloodiest engagements of the entire war; wounded in the leg and with his horse shot from under him, Herkimer reportedly had himself propped against a tree, calmly lit his pipe, and continued directing his roughly 800 militiamen, twice rallying them against panicked retreats – his home, a Georgian-style mansion along the Erie Canal, is preserved today as a New York State Historic Site, and Herkimer himself is buried on the grounds; the county is also genuinely famous for “Herkimer diamonds” – unusually clear, naturally double-terminated quartz crystals with 18 natural facets, found in dolomite outcroppings and popular with rockhounds at dedicated mining sites; Ilion, in Herkimer County, was genuinely the home of Remington Arms, America’s oldest gunmaker, founded there in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington II along the newly emerging Erie Canal corridor – IMPORTANT: the historic Ilion manufacturing plant closed permanently on March 4, 2024, following the company’s bankruptcy, so while the site’s 200-plus-year manufacturing legacy is real and well documented, active production there has ended
Notes: Herkimer County’s genuine ties to Revolutionary War hero Nicholas Herkimer, the naturally faceted “Herkimer diamond” quartz crystals unique to the region, and its historic (now closed) role as home to America’s oldest gunmaker make it one of the more distinctive counties found anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Herkimer County GIS – accessible via herkimercountyny.gov
Parcel Search: Herkimer County Real Property Tax Service – Herkimer, NY
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Herkimer County Office of Emergency Services
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Herkimer County Humane Society – 514 State Route 5S, Mohawk, NY 13407 | (315) 866-3255
Services: A nonprofit, low-kill shelter with a genuinely high adoption rate; all animals spayed/neutered before adoption; adopters must be at least 18.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) – dec.ny.gov
Notes: Contact your specific municipality directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Herkimer County is genuinely named for Revolutionary War hero Nicholas Herkimer and is famous for naturally faceted “Herkimer diamond” quartz crystals; note that Ilion’s historic Remington Arms plant, America’s oldest gunmaker, permanently closed in March 2024. All contact information above was sourced from official county, town, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Herkimer County
Herkimer County contains two American firsts. The Herkimer Diamond Mines – open to the public for fee digging – produce doubly-terminated quartz crystals of exceptional clarity found nowhere else on Earth in the same formation, embedded in 500-million-year-old Cambrian dolostone accessible at the surface. The Remington Arms Company in Ilion has been manufacturing firearms since 1816 – the oldest continuously operating firearms manufacturer in the United States, with a history spanning from flintlock rifles through Civil War carbines to modern sporting and military arms. The Adirondack foothills occupy the county’s northern half, with Old Forge attracting significant tourism.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Herkimer County Real Property Tax Service at 109 Mary Street, Suite 1204, Herkimer, NY 13350, phone 315-867-1128. Grievance Day: third Tuesday of May. Surrogate’s Court in Herkimer handles probate.
Courts & Legal
SURROGATE’S COURT
Address: 301 N Washington St, Herkimer, NY 13350
Phone: (315) 867-1215
Services: Wills, estates, guardianships
Website: nycourts.gov/courts/5jd/herkimer
SUPREME COURT / COUNTY COURT
Address: 301 N Washington St, Herkimer, NY 13350
Phone: (315) 867-1215
Website: nycourts.gov/courts/5jd/herkimer
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
109 Mary St, Herkimer, NY 13350
(315) 867-1129
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Herkimer County Surrogate’s Court, Herkimer (probate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1873 Herkimer County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark, notable as the site of the 1906 Chester Gillette trial.
Local societies
No dedicated Herkimer County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Herkimer County Surrogate’s Court County Office Building, 109 Mary Street, Suite 1111, Herkimer, NY 13350 (315) 867-1129
Herkimer County is in New York’s Mohawk Valley, seated in Herkimer. The 1873 Herkimer County Courthouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was the site of the notorious 1906 trial of Chester Gillette (the basis for “An American Tragedy”).
Step 1: figure out which path applies
New York probate and estate administration is governed by the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA) and handled by the Surrogate’s Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled. New York has 62 counties, each with its own Surrogate’s Court.
Voluntary Administration / Small Estate Affidavit (SCPA Article 13) – available when the decedent’s PERSONAL property (not real property) has a gross value of $50,000 or less, excluding certain property automatically set aside for a surviving spouse or children under 21 (EPTL 5-3.1). Owning real property does NOT disqualify an estate from this process – only the personal property counts toward the $50,000 cap. The filing fee is just $1.00.
Probate – required when there’s a valid will and the estate exceeds the small-estate threshold or involves real property.
Administration – required when the decedent died intestate (no will); the Surrogate’s Court appoints an administrator following the statutory priority order under SCPA 1001.
Step 2: filing for probate or administration
File the will (if any) with the Surrogate’s Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled, along with a probate or administration petition.
The court issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without a will) to the appointed fiduciary.
The fiduciary notifies creditors and beneficiaries and inventories the estate’s assets.
Debts, expenses, and any required New York State Estate Tax are paid.
The fiduciary distributes the remaining assets according to the will or New York’s intestacy law and files a final accounting to close the estate.
What it costs
Voluntary Administration filing fee: $1.00.
Full probate/administration filing fees vary and generally scale with estate value.
UNIQUE TO NEW YORK: New York imposes its own separate state ESTATE TAX. For 2026, the New York basic exclusion amount is $7,350,000 – estates at or below that owe no state estate tax. New York has an unusual “cliff”: if the estate’s value exceeds the exclusion by more than 5% (over $7,717,500 in 2026), the ENTIRE estate becomes taxable from the first dollar. No portability between spouses. Rates range from about 3.06% to 16%.
New York has no separate state inheritance tax.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
214 N Prospect St, Herkimer, NY 13350
(315) 867-1122
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
109 Mary St, Herkimer, NY 13350
(315) 867-1102
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health Nursing Service
301 N Washington St, Herkimer, NY 13350
(315) 867-1176
Social Services
301 N Washington St, Herkimer, NY 13350
(315) 867-1291
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Herkimer County Public Health Department – Herkimer, NY
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Herkimer
Population: 61,000
Area: 1,412 mi²
Established: 1791
Tier: 3
Public Records
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