Template:Wp-Argyle (town), New York-History

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The lands of Argyle prior to becoming the town were used as hunting and fishing grounds for Native American Mohicans and subsequently the Mohawk tribes although Huron and Iroquois tribes may also have hunted here. During the period 1628 to 1664, the Mohawk tribe had a near exclusive fur trading monopoly with the Dutch New Netherland Colony based at nearby Fort Orange; now present day Albany. The town of Argyle was formed from the Argyll Patent of 1764 while still in Great Britain's Albany County, Province of New York and became a town in Charlotte County when that county was created on 24 March 1772.

During the American Revolution, citizens of the town had divided loyalties between the Crown and the Rebel cause. Records indicate at least 95 men with Argyle ties joined the American militia. Many settlers may have been influenced by the killings of Jane McCrae in Fort Edward and the John Allen family in South Argyle prior to the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. During the time of the 9th New York State Legislature, Argyle was officially formed as a town on 23 March 1786. Since many of the original settlers were from Argyll, Scotland, they adopted the name of their native land to the town. Although population growth was slow, the town was the most populous in the county by 1790.

In 1803, part of the town in the south-east portion near Cossayuna Lake was used to establish the new Town of Greenwich. In April 1818, an additional portion of the town in the north-west corner along the Hudson River was taken by New York State legislative act to establish the Town of Fort Edward.^[1]

According to the first census of the United States in 1790, a small number of Argyle residents, along with those from other towns in New York held slaves prior to the final abolition of slavery in New York State on 5 July 1827. In 1790, 14 slaves were reported in the Argyle census count, 29 in 1800, and 15 in 1810. In the early- to mid-1800's, Argyle was also home to abolitionists and the Ransom Stiles home and the County Poor House were believed to be stops on the underground railroad for southern slaves fleeing to Canada.

During the American Civil War, approximately 90 men of Argyle enlisted with the 123rd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment Company F (Washington Country Regiment), and 37 men with the 93rd New York Infantry Regiment, according to the New York State Military Museum. Additional New York volunteer infantry regiments which, at times, contained soldiers from Argyle according to "The History of Washington County" published in 1878, were the 22nd, 43rd, 44th, and 96th Infantry Regiments and the 2nd Cavalry and Harris Light Cavalry units. At least four additional men with Argyle ties enlisted with the 20th, 26th and 31st New York Colored Infantry Regiments and 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.

The U.S. National Weather Service confirmed an EF1 tornado touched down near the hamlet of Goose Island on Monday, 10 August 2020. Damage to roofs and sidings of nearby homes was limited and no injuries were reported, although many tree trunks were snapped or uprooted. According to TornadoHistoryProject.com, at least five tornadoes have been confirmed touching down in Washington County since 1950, although this is the first to be confirmed within Argyle during that time.