Amsterdam

History

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 to the west, where the English planned they could serve as a buffer to French and Native American incursions.

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. It was located in the now-defunct town of Caughnawaga. 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.

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. 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 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.

Geography

Amsterdam is in eastern Montgomery County, 17 miles (27 km) northwest of Schenectady and 32 miles (51 km) northwest of Albany, the state capital. It is bordered to the north and east by the town of Amsterdam and to the south and west by the town of Florida.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.26 square miles (16.2 km2), of which 5.87 square miles (15.2 km2) are land and 0.39 square miles (1.01 km2), or 6.18%, are water. The Mohawk River passes through the city south of the downtown area, with the Erie Canal part of the river. 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 leads north to Mayfield and on into the Adirondacks, and south to Schoharie and thence into the Catskills. NY-30 intersects east-west highways 5 and 67 in the city. NY-5 leads southeast to Schenectady and Albany and west to Utica, while NY-67 leads east to Ballston Spa. New York State Route 5S passes along the south side of the Mohawk River.

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

Economy

In the 19th century, the city of Amsterdam was known for carpet, textile, broom, 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 were located in Amsterdam, but these companies have since 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 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, 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, just outside 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.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Amsterdam had a population of 18,219. The median age was 37.2 years; 24.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.2% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.0 males age 18 and over.

99.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.2% lived in rural areas.

There were 7,579 households in Amsterdam, of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 29.5% were married-couple households, 22.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 36.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 9,070 housing units, of which 16.4% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.0%.

The population density was 3,102.7 people per square mile.

The most reported ancestries were:

Puerto Rican (26.2%)

Italian (16.2%)

Irish (12%)

German (9.6%)

English (8.5%)

Polish (8.1%)

African American (3.7%)

French (2.7%)

Dutch (2.3%)

Dominican (2.1%)

The median household income was $43,164, and the per capita income was $25,303. 23.8% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010 census

As of the census 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 inhabitants 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. The median income for a household in the city, based on data from 2007 to 2011, was $38,699.

Transportation

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

Amsterdam has passenger rail access provided by Amtrak. Three trains stop daily at the Amsterdam Station located off 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 the 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.

Sports

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.

Places of interest

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 eight 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 the heirs of carpet magnate Stephen Sanford as the headquarters and a mill of the Sanford 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.

Although ill-considered urban renewal highway projects did significant damage to the city's historic downtown, 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):

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;

Education

Public schools

Elementary

William H. Barkley Elementary School

William B. Tecler Elementary School (part of the Greater Amsterdam School District, located in the Town of Amsterdam)

Marie Curie Elementary School

Raphael J. McNulty Elementary School

Secondary

Wilbur H. Lynch Literacy Academy

Amsterdam High School (part of the Greater Amsterdam School District, located in the Town of Amsterdam)

Private schools

St. Mary's Institute

Library

The Amsterdam Free Library at 28 Church Street is a Carnegie library built in 1902-1903 with $25,000 from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It was designed by Albert W. Fuller in the Beaux-Arts style.

Arts

Amsterdam is rich in the arts. Amsterdam High School is the home of the award-winning Amsterdam Marching Rams, one of the top marching bands in the area. AHS also supports a thriving theater program, with performances housed in the Bert DeRose Theatre.

Amsterdam also has opportunities for music within the community. The Mohawk Valley Choir has three ensembles: one for elementary-aged, one for middle-high school aged, and one for adults. The Mohawk Valley Chamber Ensembles are an extension of this program.

Government

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. Previously, the city featured eight wards

and eight council members.

Notable people

Notable natives or residents of Amsterdam include:

Gary Aldrich, FBI agent assigned to the White House under Presidents George H. W. Bush and Clinton; author of a book about the Clinton administration

Bruce Anderson, Medal of Honor recipient, American Civil War soldier

Benedict Arnold (1780–1849), U.S. congressman from New York

Felix Joseph Aulisi, New York Supreme Court justice, Appellate Division

Josh Beekman, former National Football League offensive guard (Chicago Bears)

Benjamin Paul Blood, inventor, poet, and philosopher

Matthias J. Bovee, congressman from New York

Roger Bowman, professional baseball player

Lucille Bremer, actress

Tim Buckley, musician

Tom Catena, physician, humanitarian

Todd Cetnar, played professional basketball in the United Kingdom

William B. Charles, congressman

Jessica Collins (birth name: Jessica Capogna), actress

Charles Dayan, congressman from New York and lieutenant governor of New York

Kirk Douglas, actor