St. Johnsville is a

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 ...

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Montg ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The population was 2,598 at the 2020 census. The town contains a village, also called St. Johnsville. The town and village are approximately halfway between Utica and

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 ...

. 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, ...

, as part 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 ...

, is at the town's southern border.

History

The town was first settled around 1725. The territory was part of the Palatine District. In 1769,

Sir William Johnson Major-General Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet ( – 11 July 1774), was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Ireland known for his military and governance work in British colonial America. As a young man, Johnson moved to t ...

built a church in the town for the benefit of his Indian allies. Accounts vary as to the source of the name "St. Johnsville", but most of them state that the town and its village are named after an early surveyor and commissioner, Alexander St. John. Still others credit the naming of St. Johnsville to a former name for the area, St. John's Church. A brief skirmish was fought in the town in 1780 near Fort Klock, a fortified house. The town of St. Johnsville was formed in 1838 from the town of

Oppenheim Oppenheim ( or ) is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location The town lies on the Upper Rhine in Rhenish Hesse between Mainz and Worms. It is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde (special ad ...

, which then became part of the newly created Fulton County. In 1857, the community of St. Johnsville set itself off from the town by incorporating as a village. According to the ''Enterprise and News'', November 17, 1937, by 1934, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Reaney had given 120 acres of land to the Village of Saint Johnsville. This land was named Klock Park after Dr. Charles M. Klock, a highly regarded local physician. Today the H.C Smith Benefit Club utilizes the building to host many community events. The First Methodist Episcopal Church of St. Johnsville,

Fort Klock Fort Klock, a fortified stone homestead in the Mohawk River Valley of Upstate New York, was built c.1750 by Johannes Klock, and is a good example of a mid-18th century fortified home and trading post, seeing use during the French and Indian War an ...

, Enlarged Double Lock No. 33 Old Erie Canal,

Nellis Tavern Nellis Tavern is a historic inn and tavern located at St. Johnsville in Montgomery County, New York. It was built about 1747-1750 as a farmhouse and expanded about 1790 to its present form. It is a two-story, five-by-two-bay frame residence co ...

, and

Margaret Reaney Memorial Library Margaret Reaney Memorial Library is a historic library building located at St. Johnsville, Montgomery County, New York. It is a one-story, Classical Revival style brick building over a raised basement. It consists of a cruciform plan main block ...

are 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 ...

Geography

St. Johnsville is in the northwestern corner of Montgomery County, bordered to the north by Fulton County; to the west, across

East Canada Creek East Canada Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed October 3, 2011 river in upstate New York, United States. It is a tributary of the Mohawk River and flows southwa ...

, by

Herkimer County Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is name ...

; to the east by 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.

; and to the south, across the

, by the town of

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

. St. Johnsville is the smallest town in the county by area. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the town has a total area of , of which are land and , or 2.98%, are water. The town is drained by south-flowing tributaries of the Mohawk River, including, from west to east, East Canada Creek,

Crum Creek Crum Creek (from the Dutch, meaning "crooked creek") is a creek in Delaware County and Chester County, Pennsylvania, flowing approximately , generally in a southward direction and draining into the Delaware River in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. ...

, Timmerman Creek, Zimmerman Creek, and Mother Creek.

New York State Route 5 New York State Route 5 (NY 5) is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Sy ...

is an east-west highway in the southern part of the town. It leads southeast to Palatine Bridge and northwest to Little Falls. Via NY-5,

is to the east and Utica is to the west. The western terminus of State Route 67 is at NY-5, east of St. Johnsville village. NY-67 leads east to Johnstown. The southern terminus of NY-331 is near the northwestern part of the town.

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 2000, there were 2,565 people, 1,043 households, and 658 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,170 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.67%

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 ...

, 0.08%

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 ...

, 0.39% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.12% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.36% of the population. There were 1,043 households, out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% 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, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.91. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 22.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,719, and the median income for a family was $39,830. Males had a median income of $25,000 versus $21,010 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 town was $15,116. About 9.5% 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 20.4% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in the Town of St. Johnsville

– A stream defining the western town line. *

– A historic fortified house, built by Johannes Klock in 1750, located east of St. Johnsville village on the south side of NY-5. The property also contains other re-constructed or re-located historic structures. * Klock Park – A park northwest of St. Johnsville village, named after Dr. Charles M. Klock. * St. Johnsville – A village on the north shore of the Mohawk River on NY-5. * West St. Johnsville (or Upper St. Johnsville) – A

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

west of St. Johnsville village on NY-5.

References

External links

*
St. Johnsville Chamber of Commerce

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Johnsville, New York Towns in Montgomery County, New York Towns in New York (state) Populated places on the Mohawk River