Canajoharie () is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

of Canajoharie in Montgomery County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the village had a population of 2,037, out of 3,660 in the entire town. The name is said to be a

Mohawk language Mohawk () or (' anguageof the Flint Place') is an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian language currently spoken by around 3,500 people of the Mohawk people, Mohawk nation, located primarily in current or former Haudenosaunee territories, predomin ...

term meaning "the pot that washes itself", referring to the "Canajoharie Boiling Pot", a circular gorge in Canajoharie Creek, in the southern part of the village. The village of Canajoharie is at the north border of the town of Canajoharie; it is west of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and east of Utica. The village and town name also refer to '' Canajoharie'', a historic Mohawk town that was located west of here, referred to by the English colonists as the "Upper Castle". The

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

passes the north side of the village.

History

The current village is located east of the historic ''Canajoharie'', one of two major towns of the Mohawk nation in the late 17th and 18th centuries. The Mohawk Upper Castle Historic District in the former area contains the Upper Castle Church (1769) and archeological sites related to Mohawk and Iroquois history; it is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

. Palatine German settlers, Protestant refugees from religious wars in Europe, were allowed to establish a community in this area in the 1730s. They had earlier lived in work camps along the Hudson River in Dutchess County, to pay off their passage from England, which was paid by Queen Anne's government. Their community was called "Roofville" (according to anglicized spelling) after early inhabitant Johannes Rueff. The village was incorporated in 1829. During the middle of the 19th century, three fires almost destroyed the village. It was renamed "Canajoharie". Because of the losses from the fires, the village passed an ordinance prohibiting houses to be constructed of wood. Many of the older houses in the town are made of brick or locally quarried stone. After the Revolutionary War,

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

visited Canajoharie. He had been in the region to survey damage done to nearby Cherry Valley from a destructive raid by Joseph Brant, a noted Mohawk chief allied with the British, and his forces. Washington stayed the night at the Van Alstyne House (sometimes referred to as Fort Rensselaer), a common meeting place. The village was the headquarters for the manufacturing operations of the Beech-Nut baby food company from its founding in 1891 until the plant was closed in March 2011, with production moving to the town of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the same county, on the south side of the river. The village of Canajoharie was home to one of a handful of operating " dummy lights" in the United States, located downtown at the intersection of Church, Mohawk and Montgomery streets (also known as Wagner Square). It is a

traffic signal Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order t ...

on a pedestal located in the middle of an intersection; the light was first installed in 1926. After a couple of serious motor vehicle accidents which occurred in 2021, the dummy light was removed from Wagner Square and hasn't been back since due to possible legal risks.''The Leader-Herald'', "Dievendorf takes Canajoharie mayor's race, ticket sweeps", Tyler A. McNeil, March 22, 2023
Retrieved July 10, 2023.''The Recorder'', "Village of Canajoharie to permanently move historic dummy light out of Wagner Square", Shenandoah Briere, August 10, 2022
Retrieved July 10, 2023. Two other dummy lights are currently located in New York state, in Beacon and Croton-on-Hudson. In 2015 most of the village (and a small area to its south) was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

as the Canajoharie Historic District, due to its importance as a transportation hub over its existence and the well- preserved architecture from different eras. In addition, the Bragdon-Lipe House, the Van Alstyne Homestead, the West Hill School, and the United States Post Office are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Canajoharie is in western Montgomery County, on the south bank of the

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...

along the northern border of the town of Canajoharie. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which are land and , or 4.86%, are water. The New York State Thruway, New York State Route 5S (Erie Boulevard/East Main Street), and New York State Route 10 (Rock Street/Reed Street) pass through the village. Via the Thruway,

is to the east and Utica is to the west. Route 5S leads east from Canajoharie to Fultonville and northwest to Fort Plain. On the opposite bank of the Mohawk is the village of Palatine Bridge in the town of

Palatine A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times.

; both names refer to the colonial German settlers. State Route 10 passes through Palatine Bridge and leads north to Caroga Lake and south to Sharon Springs. Wintergreen Park is one mile south of the village downtown and offers views of the Canajoharie Gorge and Canajoharie Falls.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 2,229 people, 929 households, and 567 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 1,037 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.2%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.3% of the population. There were 929 households, out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 27.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.96. In the village, the population was spread out, with 27.5% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 26% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males. The median income for a household in the village was $32,169, and the median income for a family was $46,544. Males had a median income of $39,833 versus $36,394 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $20,486. About 13.0% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 31.8% of those under age 18 and 23.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Susan B. Anthony,

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

pioneer; taught school here * Joseph Brant, Mohawk chief * Molly Brant, Mohawk leader * Chad Michael Collins, actor * Alfred Conkling, lawyer, statesman, and jurist * Frederick Conkling, son of Alfred Conkling and brother of

Roscoe Conkling Roscoe Conkling (October 30, 1829April 18, 1888) was an American lawyer and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who represented New York (state), New York in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Se ...

; became a congressman for the state of New York * Josiah Failing, fourth mayor of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

* Bernhard Gillam, political

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

; died of typhoid in Canajoharie * Myron Grimshaw,

major league baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player;

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

for three seasons, 1905-1907 * Thomas James, a former

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

who became a minister in

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

; published a well-regarded memoir * Jacob Klock,

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the 2nd regiment of the Tryon County militia during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

* Sean MacFarland, lieutenant general in the US Army; Commanding General of 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas, later Commanding General of US Army's III Corps at Fort Hood, Texas * Charles McVean, congressman; while in Canajoharie, he was the editor of the town's newspaper * Ots-Toch, 17th-century Mohawk woman from Canajoharie who married the Dutch trader Cornelius Anthonisse Van Slyck; together they founded the Van Slyck family in New Netherland * Edwin M. Randall, chief justice for the state of

* Hendrick Theyanoguin, Mohawk leader * Benjamin Van Alstyne,

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

basketball team from 1927 to 1949 * Rebecca Winters, Mormon pioneer

References

Notes

*City of Beacon
Canajoharie, New York: Credits
Retrieved September 30, 2008. *Croton-on-Hudson Historical Society
Canajoharie, New York: Credits
Retrieved September 30, 2008. *Villages of Canajoharie & Palatine Bridge
Canajoharie, New York: Credits

External links

*
Brief area historyChamber of Commerce informationCanajoharie Village CourtThe Arkell Museum at Canajoharie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canajoharie (Village), New York Villages in New York (state) Populated places established in 1829 Villages in Montgomery County, New York Palatine German settlement in New York (state) 1829 establishments in New York (state) Populated places on the Mohawk River