Amsterdam (city), New York

Market Street in 1909

Prior to settlement by Europeans, the region which includes Amsterdam was inhabited for centuries by the Mohawk tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy, which dominated most of the Mohawk Valley. They had pushed the Algonquin Mohican tribe to the east of the Hudson River.

Dutch settlers began to arrive in the area in the 1660s, founding Schenectady in 1664. They had previously been based in Albany, along the Hudson River to the east. They reached what would later be Amsterdam c.1710. They called the community Veeders Mills and Veedersburgh after Albert Veeder, an early mill owner. By the second decade of the 1700s, Scotch-Irish and German Palatinate immigrants began to arrive in the Mohawk Valley region, but few settled in Amsterdam. The governor of the colony granted a group of 100 Palatine German households land in the area that developed as Little Falls, New York to the west, where the English planned they could serve as a buffer to French and Native American incursions.[2]

The American Revolutionary War had little effect on the Amsterdam region. No major battles were fought there or in the surrounding region. The Battle of Johnstown was essentially the repelling of a raid by British forces and their Native American, mostly Iroquois, allies.

Amsterdam grew slowly after the war, primarily providing the services needed for the farming communities which surrounded it.[2] It was located in the now-defunct Town of Caughnawaga.[3] When the Town of Amsterdam was created, the city changed its name to Amsterdam in 1803, possibly to encourage its selection as the seat of the town's government.[2]

After the War, Loyalists such as the powerful Johnson family fled to Canada. Sir William Johnson had long been the British agent of Indian Affairs for this region. Many new land-hungry settlers came from New England as the state sold off former Iroquois lands for development.[3] The settlement was incorporated as a village on April 20, 1830, from a section of the Town of Amsterdam.

This was a period of rapid growth for the village, influenced by major transportation developments. In turn, the Mohawk Turnpike, the Erie Canal, and construction of the railroad across the valley improved trade. The steeply descending creeks in the region, which flowed from the foothills of the Adirondacks, were used to power an increasing number of mills. These manufactured goods that were shipped from the region by land, canal and rail. Products such as linseed oil, brooms, knit ware, buttons, and iron goods were produced in the growing village, which became an important manufacturing center. It was best known, however, for its carpets, eventually becoming the carpet and rug manufacturing center of the U.S.[2]

Through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Amsterdam was a destination for immigrants from Europe: Irish, Italian, Polish, and Lithuanian peoples, among others, who found work in the factories.

In 1865, the population of Amsterdam was 5,135.[3] New charters in 1854, 1865, and 1875 increased the size of the village. In 1885, Amsterdam incorporated as a city; it expanded by annexing Rockton to the north, and the former village of Port Jackson on the south side of the Mohawk River was annexed to become the fifth ward of the city. By 1920, the city's population was 33,524.

In the Great Depression, the mills slowed down their output, but did not close. The city survived the two world wars without significant effect. Shortly after World War II, however, manufacturing in general began to move to the southern United States, where labor costs and taxes were lower. The mills of Amsterdam also shifted their jobs to the South. After a period in the South, that region lost industrial jobs to overseas locations.

Additionally, the second and third generations of the city's immigrant families often left to go to college and did not return, as there were few jobs to attract college-educated citizens. The city attempted to re-create its industrial base, but these efforts were not particularly successful.[2]

Subsequent city and State projects intended for improved commuting and urban renewal resulted in eroding the local character of the city. As the city's website expresses it:

In an attempt to draw people and business back to Amsterdam, the City and State began a program of urban renewal and arterial roadway construction, destroying much of the original fabric of downtown. Now, not only is there less to go downtown for, it's harder to get there. Once again, Amsterdam is somewhere to be bypassed on the way to somewhere else.[2]

In the early 21st century, post-industrial Amsterdam is still trying to re-invent itself.[2] The city suffered serious flood damage in late August 2011, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. The flooding threatened properties at the river's edge due to erosion and water damage.[4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.3 square miles (16.3 km²), of which 5.9 square miles (15.4 km²) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.9 km²) is water, with the total area being 5.41% water. The city developed on both sides of the Mohawk River and Erie Canal, and both North Chuctanunda Creek and South Chuctanunda Creek flow into the Mohawk at Amsterdam.

New York State Route 30, a north-south highway called Market Street in part, crosses the Mohawk River to link the main part of Amsterdam to the New York State Thruway. NY-30 also intersects east-west highways New York State Route 5 and New York State Route 67 in the city. New York State Route 5S passes along the south side of the Mohawk River.

Amsterdam is currently within New York's 20th congressional district.

In the 19th century, the city of Amsterdam was known for carpet, textile, and pearl button, manufacturing. It continued to be a center for carpet-making in the 20th century, when the Bigelow-Sanford and Mohawk Mills Carpet companies both were located in Amsterdam, but these companies have relocated to other regions. Amsterdam was also the home of Coleco, makers of the ColecoVision, Cabbage Patch Kids and the Coleco Adam. Founded in 1932 as the Connecticut Leather Company, Coleco went bankrupt[5] in 1988 after a failed attempt to enter the electronics market, and pulled out of Amsterdam, as well as its other North American manufacturing sites.

The enclosed shopping center is named the Amsterdam Riverfront Center. Once filled with clothing shops, the mall complex has been adapted for offices of doctors, public assistance services, community organizations, a radio station, and an off-track betting site.

Media in Amsterdam includes one print newspaper, The Recorder, which is owned by the Schenectady-based Daily Gazette,[9] an online newspaper, The Mohawk Valley Compass, and two AM radio stations, WVTL and WCSS.

In the early 2000s, distribution centers began being constructed in the Florida Business Park in the Town of Florida, which is located just outside the City of Amsterdam. The park currently holds Target, Hill & Marks, Alpin Haus, and most recently, Dollar General. In 2019, Vida Blend broke ground on a new distribution center in the park. Some thousands of city and adjacent county residents are now employed by these businesses.

As of the census[8] of 2010, there were 18,620 people, 8,324 households, and 4,721 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,176.4 people per square mile (1,226.4/km²). There were 9,218 housing units at an average density of 1,573 per square mile (607/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.4% White (68.1% Non Hispanic White), 3.8% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander and 3.4% from two or more races. 26.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,146 households in the city, with the average household size being 2.24 persons. In the city, 25.0% of the people were under the age of 18 and 15.8% were age 65 or older.[8] The median income for a household in the city, based on data from 2007 to 2011, was $38,699.[8]

The City of Amsterdam is at the convergence of State Routes 5, 30, and 67. The New York State Thruway/Interstate 90 is slightly less than one mile to the southwest of the city.

Amsterdam also has passenger rail access provided by Amtrak. Three trains stop daily at the Amsterdam Station which is located off of State Route 5 in the western part of the city.

• The Maple Leaf, operating between Toronto Union Station, and New York Penn Station
• Two Empire Service trains, operating between Niagara Falls and New York Penn Station

In 2022, CDTA began providing bus services with two inner-city routes, a Thruway Express route, and an Amsterdam-Schenectady route.

The City of Amsterdam has two Level 3 DC Fast Chargers for electric vehicles provided by New York Power Authority's Evolve NY program. These chargers are located at the city owned parking lot in downtown near the Amsterdam Free Library. Other chargers are located throughout the city at various parks.

• Amsterdam's municipal golf course was designed by Robert Trent Jones.
• The city is home to the Amsterdam Mohawks baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. The team plays at Shuttleworth Park.
• The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame was located in Amsterdam until November 2015, when it relocated to Wichita Falls, Texas.

Lock E11 includes a truss structure which spans the river and which has multiple steel gates which can be opened and closed by the use of electric winches in order to dam the river or let it flow freely. Seven other locks have these trusses, but only two of them carry roadways; this is not one of them.

• The Mohawk Valley Gateway Overlook pedestrian bridge spans the Mohawk River and connects the city's Bridge Street downtown area on the south shore and Riverlink Park on the north. It was built from 2014 to 2016.
• Lock E11 was built to facilitate water traffic on the Mohawk River/Erie Canal; it is one of 8 locks which include a truss structure which spans the river and which has multiple steel gates which can be opened and closed by the use of electric winches in order to dam the river or let it flow freely.
• The Sanford Clock Tower, also known as the Sanford Mills, the Hasbro Plant, the Coleco Industries Plant – where Cabbage Patch Dolls and ColecoVision were manufactured in the 1970s and 1980s – and, currently, the Clock Tower Complex, was built in 1922 for carpet magnate Stephen Sanford as the headquarters and mill of the Sanford-Bigelow Carpet Company. The current owners, who bought the property in 2001, hope to attract small businesses and professional as well as manufacturing and warehousing businesses to the building.[10][11][12]

Although ill-considered urban renewal highway projects did significant damage to the city's historic downtown,[2] a few historic buildings and sites, mostly from the 19th and 20th centuries, remain in the city, and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP):[13]

• Amsterdam (46th Separate Company) Armory was built in 1895 as an armory for the New York Army National Guard and was decommissioned in 1994. It is now a bed and breakfast inn called the Amsterdam Castle;
• Amsterdam City Hall was built in 1869 as the residence of carpet magnate Stephen Sanford. In 1932 it was deeded to the city to become its city hall;
• the Amsterdam Free Library is a Carnegie library which was built in 1903;
• the Gray-Jewett House, was built in 1890;
• Green Hill Cemetery;
• the Greene Mansion was built in 1881;
• Guy Park Manor was built in 1774 in the Georgian style for Guy Johnson, the Irish-born nephew and son-in-law to Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet, the British Superintendent for Indian Affairs in colonial New York. It replaced an earlier house which burnt down. The house and the land it is located on sustained significant damage from Hurricane Irene; the house is located in close proximity to Lock E11;
• the Guy Park Avenue School was built in 1902 and ceased being used as a school in 1968;
• Samuel Sweet Canal Store was built in 1847 to service barges on the Erie Canal as both a store and a forwarding warehouse;
• the Saint Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church Complex contains a church (1897, enlarged 1912), a school building (1906, closed in 2011), a former convent, now the parish center (1934) and a rectory (1941);
• the Temple of Israel is a synagog built in 1901;
• United States Post Office built in 1936; and
• Vrooman Avenue School, built in 1916 and ceased operating as a school in 1975; it is now an apartment building.

The Chalmers Knitting Mills was added to the NRHP in 2010,[14] but was later demolished.

Amsterdam's government consists of a city council and a mayor. The mayor is elected in a citywide vote. The council consists of five members each elected from wards.

Notable natives or residents of Amsterdam include:

• Cinquanti, Michael A Year's Worth of Amsterdam NY Birthdays, Amsterdam (NY): Genium Group.
• Cinquanti, Michael A Year's Worth of Amsterdam NY Birthdays (2nd edition), Amsterdam (NY): Genium Group, 2016.
• Cinquanti, Michael Amsterdam NY Top Ten Lists, Amsterdam (NY): Genium Group, 2017.
• Donlon, Hugh P. Amsterdam, New York: Annals of a Mill Town, Amsterdam (NY): Donlon Associates, 1980.
• Farquhar, Kelly Yacobucci and Scott G. Haefner Amsterdam, Charleston (SC): Arcadia Publishing, 2006.
• Going, Robert N. Honor Roll: The World War II Dead of Amsterdam, NY, Amsterdam (NY): George Street Press, 2010.
• Pietrusza, David Too Long Ago: A Childhood Memory. A Vanished World, Scotia (NY): Church and Reid Books, 2020.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amsterdam, New York.

• City of Amsterdam website