# Canajoharie (village), New York

Canajoharie (/ˌkænədʒəˈhɛəri/) is a village in the town 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 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 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 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.
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 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 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 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. 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 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 along the northern border of the town of Canajoharie. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.40 square miles (3.6 km$^2$), of which 1.33 square miles (3.4 km$^2$) are land and 0.07 square miles (0.18 km$^2$), 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, Amsterdam is 22 miles (35 km) to the east and Utica is 40 miles (64 km) to the west. Route 5S leads east from Canajoharie 12 miles (19 km) to Fultonville and northwest 3 miles (5 km) to Fort Plain. On the opposite bank of the Mohawk is the village of Palatine Bridge in the town of Palatine; both names refer to the colonial German settlers. State Route 10 passes through Palatine Bridge and leads north 19 miles (31 km) to Caroga Lake and south 10 miles (16 km) 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 of 2010, there were 2,229 people, 929 households, and 567 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,741.5 inhabitants per square mile (672.4/km$^2$). There were 1,037 housing units at an average density of 777.0 per square mile (300.0/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the village was 95% White, 2.2% Black or African American, 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 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 for the village was $20,486. About 13.0% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, 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 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; became a congressman for the state of New York
* Josiah Failing, fourth mayor of Portland, Oregon
* Bernhard Gillam, political cartoonist; died of typhoid in Canajoharie
* Myron Grimshaw, major league baseball player; right fielder for the Boston Red Sox for three seasons, 1905-1907
* Thomas James, a former slave who became a minister in upstate New York; published a well-regarded memoir
* Jacob Klock, colonel of the 2nd regiment of the Tryon County militia during the American Revolutionary War
* 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 Florida
* Hendrick Theyanoguin, Mohawk leader
* Benjamin Van Alstyne, head coach of Michigan State University basketball team from 1927 to 1949
* Rebecca Winters, Mormon pioneer