Around 1710, Palatine Germans began trying to settle here. Most were working in an English camp along the Hudson to pay back their passage by ship from London. In 1716, the Mohawk sold a portion of the land to Philip Groat (it is now in the eastern part of the town of Amsterdam). This part of New York was Mohawk territory for centuries before European colonization. In 1739, William Johnson, a British Army officer from Ireland and colonial administrator who had previously lived closer to Amsterdam, purchased land including the site of the village. He established a mill in 1744. The original name of the settlement was "Mount Johnson".
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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