Place:Herkimer (town), Herkimer, New York, United States

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source: Family History Library Catalog

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Herkimer is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States, southeast of Utica. It is named after Nicholas Herkimer. The population was 10,175 at the 2010 census.

The town contains a village also called Herkimer. Herkimer County Community College is located in Herkimer village.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Herkimer was first settled circa 1722, in an area originally called "Stone Ridge", now the village of Herkimer. Early settlers were primarily German Palatines.

Johan Jost Herchheimer, a farmer who also engaged in trade and transport on the Mohawk River, settled in the German Flatts District of Albany County in 1725, on the south side of the Mohawk River, within the present-day town of German Flatts, incorporated in 1788. He owned of the land, including a strategic portage around Little Falls on the Mohawk, where his eldest son Nicholas Herkimer established a farmstead. In 1788, the town of Herkimer, on the north side of the river, was incorporated and named after him.

During the French and Indian War, the Mohawk Valley was ravaged by raids of the French and their native allies. By 1770, Nicholas had established great wealth through farming and trade during the wars, and had also gained military experience as a captain of a militia. He would later fight in the Battle of Oriskany.

In 1906, the murder trial of Chester Gillette brought many spectators to the county courthouse in Herkimer village.

The Herkimer County shootings took place partially in Herkimer on March 13, 2013.

Research Tips

External Links

• Outstanding guide to Herkimer family history and genealogy resources (FamilySearch Research Wiki). Birth, marriage, and death records, town histories, cemeteries, churches, newspapers, libraries, and genealogical societies.