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Ithaca was planned by Simeon DeWitt, the State Surveyor General, and it was named by him in 1804 because of its location within the Town of Ulysses -- the ancient Greek whose home was on the island of Ithaki. In 1817 Ithaca became the seat of a new county named for Daniel Tompkins, once governor of the state, Vice President of the United States, and architect of the Emancipation law that went into effect in 1827 ending slavery in New York.
Education has been an important hallmark of the county. In 1865, Ezra Cornell, along with Andrew Dickson White, used the state's Morrill Land Grant to create Cornell University, one of the most important educational institutions in the entire country. Tompkins County is also home to Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community College known as TC3.
Tompkins County has always been the vibrant heart of the Finger Lakes region. Its population is varied and involved with community life, and the shops and restaurants reflect the diverse and distinctive community. Come discover the wine, the food, the gorges, and the culture.
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