[2] The name is in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins, who served as Governor of New York and Vice President of the United States.

The county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York.

In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, the name of Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County in honor of the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec, replacing the name of the hated British governor.

The county was named after then vice-president (to President James Monroe) and former New York Governor Daniel Tompkins.

[4] Tompkins County is in the west central part of New York State, south of Syracuse and northwest of Binghamton.

It is usually geographically grouped with the Finger Lakes region, but some locals consider themselves to be part of Central New York or the Southern Tier.

From 1856 to 1980, the only Democratic candidates to carry it in a presidential election were Woodrow Wilson in 1912 and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

[17] However, Democrats have won Tompkins County in every presidential election since 1984, starting with Walter Mondale's 2.92% victory margin over then-president Ronald Reagan.

The dominant presence of Cornell University in Ithaca is a crucial factor in Democrats' success in the county.

[21] It swung even further to Joe Biden in 2020, who took 73.5% to 24.3% for Trump, the highest voteshare it has given any candidate since 1956 when incumbent president Dwight D. Eisenhower won the county with 78.3% of the vote.

The Tompkins County Legislature consists of fifteen members, each from a single-member district.

In November 2014, the Tompkins County legislature unanimously adopted a resolution recognizing freedom from domestic violence as a fundamental human right.