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New York County
Madison County, New York
Cazenovia's Federal elegance and the Oneida Community's utopian legacy - from Cazenovia's remarkable Federal and Greek Revival architecture (one of the finest collections of early 19th-century architecture in central New York, built on the profits of the Cazenovia Company's land sales, Cazenovia Lake's scenic setting, and the prosperity of the Erie Canal era) to the Oneida Community (the 1848-1880 utopian religious community founded by John Humphrey Noyes that practiced complex marriage, communal ownership, and the stirpiculture eugenics program - the community's Oneida Ltd. silverware company survived as one of America's most recognizable tableware brands) and Colgate University's Hamilton campus.
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Office: Madison County Office of Emergency Management – 138 N. Court St., Building 4, Wampsville, NY 13163 | Hours: Mon–Fri 8 AM–4 PM
Services: Madison County EMS, a branch of this office, began as a Medic Car “fly car” program in 2022 and has since expanded full-time ambulance coverage to the Town of Sullivan (2023), Town of Hamilton (2023), and opened a new DeRuyter station serving the county’s southern towns in March 2025.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: NY-5 and NY-46 serve Wampsville, the small county seat (population roughly 570), located within the Town of Lenox
Notes: Wampsville was chosen as county seat specifically because neighboring Oneida and Canastota could not agree on the honor – the courthouse reportedly faces north so as not to favor either town.
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Individual towns issue building permits – contact your specific town hall
Notes: Madison County itself does not centrally issue building permits; each of the county’s towns handles this separately.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Madison County Veterans Service Agency – Wampsville, NY
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Cazenovia Public Library – Cazenovia, NY | Part of the MidYork Library System
Services: Offers meeting room reservations, tech tutoring, and a literacy program; serves the village of Cazenovia and surrounding Madison County communities.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Madison County’s village of Chittenango is genuinely the birthplace of L. Frank Baum, author of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” born there May 15, 1856; the village has fully embraced its native son’s legacy – its Main Street sidewalks are literally paved as twin yellow brick roads on both sides of Genesee Street, and the community’s annual Oz-Stravaganza festival, first held informally in 1978 as a small birthday gathering for local children organized by village librarian Clara Houck, has grown into the longest-running and largest Wizard of Oz-themed festival in the world, drawing 20,000 to 35,000 visitors from around the globe every June; the volunteer-run All Things Oz Museum in the village houses over 15,000 pieces of Oz memorabilia; Madison County is also home to Colgate University in the village of Hamilton, and Cazenovia, founded in 1794 by Dutch naval officer John Lincklaen under the Holland Land Company, sits at the south end of scenic Cazenovia Lake
Notes: Madison County’s Chittenango is genuinely the real-life birthplace of the Wizard of Oz and hosts the world’s largest and longest-running Oz-themed festival, making it one of the most whimsically distinctive counties found anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Madison County GIS – accessible via madisoncounty.ny.gov
Parcel Search: Madison County Real Property Tax Service – Wampsville, NY
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Madison County Office of Emergency Management
Services: Genuinely the sole open-admission dog and cat shelter serving Madison County, operating since 1981; contracted by Madison County to work with local dog control officers; serves more than 1,000 animals annually; low-income spay/neuter assistance available through ASPCA funding. Adopters must be at least 21.
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
Chittenango, in Madison County, is genuinely the real birthplace of L. Frank Baum, author of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” and hosts the world’s largest Oz-themed festival. 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 Madison County
Madison County is central New York’s utopian and architectural heritage county – a community whose 19th-century religious communalism, Federal-period architecture, and liberal arts university give it exceptional cultural depth.
Cazenovia (population ~2,700) is one of central New York’s most architecturally distinguished villages – the Federal and Greek Revival buildings surrounding Cazenovia Lake reflect the prosperity of early 19th-century land speculation and Erie Canal commerce.
The Oneida Community’s 1848-1880 experiment in communal living – including complex marriage and communal child-rearing – was one of the most intellectually serious and controversial utopian communities in American history. The Mansion House in Oneida preserves the community’s physical legacy, and Oneida Ltd. continues as a silverware company.
Colgate University in Hamilton (enrollment ~3,100) is one of the most selective liberal arts universities in the Northeast.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Madison County Real Property Tax Service at N2029 County Road 24, Wampsville, NY 13163, phone 315-366-2346. Appeal to Board of Assessment Review.
Courts & Legal
Madison County Surrogate’s Court at N2059 County Road 24, Wampsville, NY 13163, phone 315-366-2392, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
138 N Court St, Wampsville, NY 13163
(315) 366-2261
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Madison County Surrogate’s Court, Wampsville (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Madison 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
Madison County Surrogate’s Court Madison County Courthouse, 138 North Court Street (mail: P.O. Box 607), Wampsville, NY 13163 (315) 231-5321 Madison County is in Central New York, seated in Wampsville.
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
130 N Court St, Wampsville, NY 13163
(315) 366-2318
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
138 N Court St, Wampsville, NY 13163
(315) 366-2231
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
138 N Court St, Wampsville, NY 13163
(315) 366-2361
Social Services
138 N Court St, Wampsville, NY 13163
(315) 366-2211
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Madison County Public Health Department – Wampsville, NY
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County Facts
County Seat: Wampsville
Population: 70,000
Established: 1806
Tier: 3
Public Records
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