adison County Historical Society is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit educational institution chartered by the New York State Board of Regents on March 29, 1900. Our mission is to preserve, collect, promote, and exhibit the history of Madison County and its 15 towns and one city through the development of programs that enhance the county’s heritage.

Madison County Historical Society is located at 435 Main Street in Oneida, NY. Our headquarters, Cottage Lawn, an 1849 Gothic Revival Villa, was designed by prominent architect Alexander Jackson Davis. Cottage Lawn was also the home of Oneida’s founding family, the Higinbothams. In 1984, Cottage Lawn was placed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The society’s collection is an accumulation of objects and archival memorabilia documenting nearly 200 years of Madison County’s history. The historical society’s museum is open to the public for guided tours year-round and Saturdays by appointment from June through August. Our local history research library is open to the public during normal business hours and is used by hundreds of researchers each year.