Editing Niverville, New York (section)

==History ==
Niverville was first settled by the [[Dutch people|Dutch]]; the first house was built circa 1707 by Louren Lourenson Van Alen, who obtained the Kinderhoeck Patent—a [[land grant]]—in 1629 from Jan Hendrickse DeBruyn, including the area now known as Niverville. Located within the hamlet, Kinderhook Lake—originally called ''Wogasawoochuk'' or "Big Fish Lake" by the [[Mohican]] early Native American inhabitants—provided fertile, [[peat]]-rich soil that supported numerous [[orchard]]s and farms.

The Niver cousins—John Niver and John M. Niver—emigrated to the area from [[Germany]] in the early nineteenth century.<ref>[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~clifflamere/History/Col/NivervilleColCo.htm Niver Cousins]</ref> They built the first [[gristmill]] for rye flour; their prosperity built the Niver mansion just across the bridge along County Route 28 in 1848. The hamlet was ultimately named "Niverville" after the prosperous Nivers, although it was long known as Kinderhook Station, after its Boston and Albany Railroad, and Kinderhook and Hudson Railroad [[railway turntable|turntable]], built in 1841. The railroad restaurant known as the Van Hoesen House (not to be confused with the [[Jan Van Hoesen House]] some 20 miles south in [[Claverack, New York|Claverack]]) has since become the Niverville Pub.
[[File:Van Hoesen House, Niverville, NY.jpg|thumb|The Van Hoesen House, a.k.a. Kinderhook Station on the Boston & Albany Railroad, as seen in 2005]] 
In 1846, the Niverville Post Office was established with less than twenty business and residential addresses. Niverville's first park—Kinderhook Lake Park, aka The Old Park—was established in 1870 as a picnic and meeting place.

By 1899 the railroad trolleys were electrified and Niverville's [[Electric Park]] was founded along Kinderhook Lake. Lit by colored lights, the [[amusement park]] featured two [[Ferris wheel]]s (one run by steam, the other by electricity), a [[carousel]], a [[roller coaster]], and other rides, as well as live [[vaudeville]] performances held in a dancing pavilion, an [[aquarium]] stocked with native fish, and a bathing [[beach]] alongside the lake's popular boating and fishing activities.

The Niverville Fire Department, established in 1916, is a central community hub serving Kinderhook Lake, residents of adjacent Chatham town along the eastern edge of the lake, and Niverville residents. The current firehouse sits on {{convert|13|acre}} of land purchased by the Fire Department in 1965. The department maintains an impressive collection of fire trucks—including a vintage 1935 Ford chassis with a [[Ward LaFrance Truck Corporation|Ward LaFrance]] fire engine body—which are put to use in local parades and festivities, including Niverville's Fourth of July fund raiser. The department also hosts an annual Halloween Parade and Party. The Ladies' Auxiliary of the Niverville Fire Department is an important and active community group who offer refreshments and assist members of the Fire Department in any way possible before/during and after emergency situations. In addition, the Ladies host dinners, banquets, and other fundraisers for the purchase of Fire Department equipment. The centennial anniversary of the founding of the Niverville Fire Department was in 2016.

Niverville is served by the nearby Valatie Free Library, a member of the [[Mid-Hudson Library System]].