SCHOHARIE COUNTY 



This is an interior county lying in the east central part of the 

 state just south of the Mohawk valley and centrally distant thirty- 

 five miles from Albany. It has an area of 410,880 acres; from 

 north to south its average extent is 30 miles, and from east to west 

 23 miles. The population is shown in the following table: 

 Population by Townships 



Blenheim . . . 

 Broome 

 Carlisle 

 Cobleskill . . 

 Conesville . . 

 Esperance 



Fulton 



Gilboa' 



Jefferson . . . 

 Middleburgh 



(Census of 1915) 

 530 Richmondville 

 Schoharie* . . 



Seward 



Sharon 



Summit ..... 

 Wright 



756 



963 



3,870 



681 



970 



1,350 



1,420 



1,181 



2,253 



Total 



1,460 

 2, 438 

 1,380 

 1,781 

 1,046 

 926 



23,005 



*Schoharie, in the town of Schoharie, is the county seat. 



HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS 



Schoharie County was formed from Albany and Otsego in 

 1795, and a small part of Greene was annexed in 1836. Its name 

 is said to signify " drift wood." This arises from the point where 

 the Lime Kill and Little Schoharie flow into Schoharie ('reck 

 from opposite sides, drift wood having accumulated in quantities 

 so great as to form a natural bridge. 



The land now included in the county of Schoharie formed part 

 of the Indian hunting grounds. On the advent of the whites a 

 small tribe of Indians occupied the Schoharie Valley. The 

 Mohegan.s were stationed in considerable numbers near the loca- 

 tion of the present Middleburgh village. 



The first white settlement was made by German Palatines, 

 numbering from six to seven hundred. These people had been 

 living on the Palatinates in the lower part of Germany so handi- 

 capped by taxation that they barely made a living. The English 

 Board of Trade made them an offer of land to be paid for in pitch, 



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