Like
many communities in New York's Hudson River valley, Valatie was settled
in the early seventeenth century by Dutch colonists. It's pronounced
"va LAY sha", by the way, not "VAL-a-TIE". The
name comes from the Dutch "vaaltje" for "little falls",
after the small but scenic waterfall that commands the center of the
village. The original inhabitants
of the area were, of course, Native Americans. The "Meeting Place"
("Pachaquack") south of the "Great Fish Lake" ("Wogashawachook"),
now Kinderhook Lake, may well have referred to the confluence of the
Valatie Kill and the Kinderhook Creeks. And just east of the current
village was Pompoonick, a Native settlement probably named after a
local chief, Pompoen. Records of the European
settlement date back to about 1665. From the beginning, the abundance
of water power provided by the two creeks supported the establishment
of numerous mills in the area. As early as 1697, grist and saw
mills had been erected on the banks of the streams. So successful
did these milling enterprises become, that by 1829 a proposal was
put forward to change the name of the village to Millville.
This rather unimaginative proposition held sway for a few years, but
when its first post office was established in 1832, the original name
was restored. It was further formalized when the village incorporated,
in 1856.
Like
many communities in New York's Hudson River valley, Valatie was settled
in the early seventeenth century by Dutch colonists. It's pronounced
"va LAY sha", by the way, not "VAL-a-TIE". The
name comes from the Dutch "vaaltje" for "little falls",
after the small but scenic waterfall that commands the center of the
village.
The original inhabitants
of the area were, of course, Native Americans. The "Meeting Place"
("Pachaquack") south of the "Great Fish Lake" ("Wogashawachook"),
now Kinderhook Lake, may well have referred to the confluence of the
Valatie Kill and the Kinderhook Creeks. And just east of the current
village was Pompoonick, a Native settlement probably named after a
local chief, Pompoen.