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Minden is a town in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 4,297 at the 2010 census. The town is located at the western edge of the county and south of the Mohawk River, which forms its northern border. It has possessed a post office from 1802 to 1903. [edit] History
This area was first settled by Europeans around 1748. It was probably named after Minden, in Germany. Among the early European settlers in the 18th century were Palatine Germans; these Protestants had come to New York as refugees from religious warfare. Their passage was paid by Queen Anne's government in exchange for their work at camps along the Hudson River, producing naval stores for England. During the American Revolution, rebel colonists constructed a small fort in 1778 at Fort Plain village. In 1780, the village was attacked by Tories and allied natives. They burned and sacked the community, but were not able to overcome the defenders at the fort. Following the war, the town of Minden was formed in 1798 from the Town of Canajoharie. It was part of a rural area that was important for agriculture and dairy farming. In 1985, a former farm in Minden was found to be the site of a cocaine processing lab set up at a former dairy farm by the Cali cartel based in Colombia. The drug lab was shut down following a state police and federal investigation of an explosion at the site, and the United States Marshals Service took control of the property. "The 3.24 acre parcel, situated about 5 miles south of the city of Little Falls, once was the location of a farmhouse, garage, in-ground pool, stable building and dairy barn, parts of which were contaminated when toxic chemicals used to refine cocaine were dumped on the property between 1985 and 1987."[1] The buildings were razed and removed, and the site had remediation done over a period of several years following the investigation. Toxic chemicals had been dumped on the property during the drug processing period. An estimated $15 million worth of cocaine was processed at the site. Eleven Colombian nationals were arrested and prosecuted in connection with this investigation; they were convicted and received sentences of 10 to 25 years. By 2011 the site was safe for other uses. [edit] Research Tips[edit] External Links
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