EXHIBIT 23.1

                         CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS

The Board of Directors
NBT Bancorp Inc.:

We consent to incorporation by reference in the registration  statements on Form
S-3 (File  Nos.  33-12247  and  333-40192)  and Form S-8 (File  Nos.,  33-77410,
333-67615 and  333-32842,  filed by NBT Bancorp Inc. under the Securities Act of
1933 of our audit  report  dated July 28,  2000,  relating  to the  supplemental
consolidated  balance sheets of NBT Bancorp Inc. and subsidiaries as of December
31,  1999 and 1998,  and the related  supplemental  consolidated  statements  of
income,  stockholders'  equity, cash flows and comprehensive  income for each of
the years in the three-year  period ended December 31, 1999 which report appears
in the current report on Form 8-K of NBT Bancorp Inc. dated August 1, 2000.

Syracuse, New York
July 31, 2000


/s/ KPMG LLP