Editing Fort Plain, New York

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name                   = Fort Plain, New York
| settlement_type                 = [[Village (United States)|Village]]
|
| pushpin_map                     = New York#USA
| pushpin_label                   = Fort Plain
| pushpin_label_position          = bottom <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
| pushpin_map_caption             = 
| pushpin_mapsize                 = 
| image_map                       = 
| mapsize                         = 
| map_caption                     = 
| image_map1                      = 
| mapsize1                        = 
| map_caption1                    = 
| subdivision_type                = Country
| subdivision_name                = [[United States]]
| subdivision_type1               = State
| subdivision_name1               = [[New York (state)|New York]]
| subdivision_type2               = Region
| subdivision_name2               = [[Central New York Region|Central New York]]
| subdivision_type3               = [[List of counties in New York|County]]
| subdivision_name3               = [[Montgomery County, New York|Montgomery]]
| subdivision_type4               = [[Town (New York)|Town]]
| subdivision_name4               = [[Minden, New York|Minden]]
| government_footnotes            = 
| government_type                 = 
| leader_title                    = Mayor
| leader_name                     = Patrick L. Hanifin
| leader_title1                   = 
| leader_name1                    = 
| established_title               = 
| established_date                = 
| unit_pref                       = Imperial
| area_footnotes                  = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2024">{{cite web |title=2024 U.S. Gazetteer Files: New York|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/2024_gaz_place_36.txt |publisher=United States Census Bureau |accessdate=March 11, 2025}}</ref>
| area_total_km2                  = 3.63
| area_land_km2                   = 3.48
| area_water_km2                  = 0.15
| area_total_sq_mi                = 1.40
| area_land_sq_mi                 = 1.34
| area_water_sq_mi                = 0.06
| population_as_of                = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes            = <ref name="Census 2020">{{Cite web| url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALPL2020.P1?q=&g=160XX00US3626924| title=P1. Race – Fort Plain village, New York: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| access-date=March 11, 2025}}</ref>
| population_total                = 1930
| pop_est_as_of                   = 
| pop_est_footnotes               = 
| population_est                  = 
| population_density_km2          = 554.22
| population_density_sq_mi        = 1434.94
| timezone                        = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset                      = -5
| timezone_DST                    = EDT
| utc_offset_DST                  = -4
| elevation_footnotes             = 
| elevation_m                     = 93
| elevation_ft                    = 305
| coordinates                     = {{coord|42|55|51|N|74|37|29|W|region:US-NY|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type                = [[ZIP Code]]
| postal_code                     = 13339
| area_code                       = [[Area code 518|518]]
| blank_name                      = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info                      = 36-26924
| blank1_name                     = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info                     = 0950490
| website                         = {{URL|www.villageoffortplain.org}}
| footnotes                       = 
}}
'''Fort Plain''' is a [[Village (New York)|village]] in [[Montgomery County, New York|Montgomery County]], [[New York (state)|New York]], United States. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 1,930,<ref name="Census 2020"/> down from 2,322 in [[2010 United States census|2010]]. The village is named after a fort built during the American Revolution at the junction of the [[Mohawk River]] and its tributary [[Otsquago Creek]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n128 129]}}</ref>

The village of Fort Plain is in the town of [[Minden, New York|Minden]] and is west of [[Amsterdam (city), New York|Amsterdam]].

==History==
[[File:Fort Plain, N.Y. and Nelliston. LOC 75694772.jpg|thumb|[[Perspective map]] of Fort Plain and [[Nelliston, New York]], with list of landmarks published by [[L.R. Burleigh]] in 1891]]
The village is in a region where the [[Mohawk people]] had four major villages along the Mohawk River in the 17th century. They historically had occupied territory west of the [[Hudson River]] and extending north to the [[St. Lawrence River]] and south to the [[Delaware Water Gap]], but their main villages were located close to the Mohawk River.  Due to losses from a [[smallpox]] epidemic in 1634, the Mohawk reduced their villages to three. By the early 18th century they had two major villages.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

The village of Fort Plain developed at the foot of the hill where the fort once stood. The [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] fort was constructed in 1776; a [[blockhouse]] was garrisoned here throughout the war. While many of the village's men were fighting elsewhere, the women, dressed as men, manned the fort and fought off Indian attacks. The village developed around [[Otsquago Creek]] at its confluence with the Mohawk River.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ward |first=Harry M. |title=Howell, Richard (1754-1802), Revolutionary War officer and governor of New Jersey |date=February 2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |series=American National Biography Online |doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0200181}}</ref>

Fort Plain became an incorporated village in 1832. The opening of the [[Erie Canal]] was an economic boom, stimulating the village to become a center of manufacturing during the nineteenth century. It produced [[textile]]s from cotton from the [[Deep South]] and furniture. Textile mills in upstate New York depended on processing southern cotton; these products made up a major part of exports from New York City in the antebellum years.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Loske|first=Kh.|date=January 1957|title=Anwendung des LiCl-Feuchte-Meßgerätes|journal=Tm - Technisches Messen|volume=252-263|issue=JG|pages=425–426|doi=10.1524/teme.1957.252263.jg.425|s2cid=112849062|issn=2196-7113}}</ref>

[[File:The Clinton Liberal Institute in Fort Plain,NY.jpg|thumb|Clinton Liberal Institute]]
Fort Plain was the site of the 19th-century Fort Plain Seminary, which ran into hard times and whose building was acquired and used by the [[Clinton Liberal Institute]], before being destroyed by fire in 1900.

Fort Plain is the birthplace of [[Bud Fowler]], the first black professional baseball player. Fowler appeared in an exhibition game with a team from [[Lynn, Massachusetts]], in 1878, 68 years before [[Jackie Robinson]] played in a professional baseball game in the major leagues.<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/may-17-1878-bud-fowler-becomes-the-first-black-player-in-organized-baseball/| last=Overmyer| first=James| title=May 17, 1878: Bud Fowler becomes the first Black player in Organized Baseball| publisher=Society for American Baseball Research| access-date=March 11, 2025}}</ref>

Numerous [[Amish]] have migrated to New York from Pennsylvania since the late 20th century, seeking affordable farm land. Many have settled in Fort Plain. Montgomery County has one of the largest populations of Amish in the country.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

The [[Fort Plain Conservation Area]], [[Fort Plain Historic District]], and [[United States Post Office (Fort Plain, New York)|United States Post Office]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2009a}}</ref><ref name="nps">{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/listings/20120824.htm|title=National Register of Historic Places Listings|date=August 24, 2012|work=Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>

On June 28, 2013, there was extensive flooding on [[Otsquago Creek]], tearing up its streambed and damaging houses up the creek to [[Stark, New York|Stark]]. More than 100 houses were damaged or destroyed in Fort Plain, where {{convert|4|in}} of rain fell. Bridges over the creek were destroyed. Ten miles upstream, Stark received {{convert|7|in}} of rain, which entered the creek and washed its bed away. The state quickly started the extensive work needed to repair the stream bed, nearby roadways and other infrastructure. Tons of rocks were laid down to stabilize the banks.<ref name="flood">[http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Piecing-it-all-back-together-4742487.php#item-38491 Bryan Fitzgerald, "Piecing it all back together"], ''Times Union'', August 2013; accessed November 13, 2015.</ref>

==Notable people==
<!--Put in alphabetical order by surname-->
*[[Levi S. Backus]], [[Deaf culture|Deaf]] newspaper editor<ref>{{Cite book |last=Edwards |first=R.A.R. |title=Words Made Flesh: Nineteenth-Century Deaf Education and the Growth of Deaf Culture |date=2012 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=9780814722435 |series=The History of Disability |page=109 |chapter=The Deaf Way |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/wordsmadefleshni0000edwa/page/108/mode/2up?q=backus}}</ref>
*[[Betty Buehler]], actress<ref name=Gazette>{{cite news|title=Local actress made a mark in Hollywood|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1957&dat=19960506&id=bj5GAAAAIBAJ&pg=2018,1618507|access-date=March 15, 2014|newspaper=The Daily Gazette|date=May 6, 1996}}</ref>
*[[Bud Fowler]] (1858–1913), first black professional baseball player
*[[Jeptha Root Simms]] (1807–1883), historian

==Geography==
Fort Plain is located in western Montgomery County at {{coord|42.930846|-74.624799|type:city_region:US|format=dms|display=inline}}.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> It occupies the eastern corner of the town of [[Minden, New York|Minden]] and is bordered to the east, across the [[Mohawk River]], by the village of [[Nelliston, New York|Nelliston]] in the town of [[Palatine, New York|Palatine]].

The [[New York State Thruway]] ([[Interstate 90 in New York|Interstate 90]]) passes through the community, with the closest access {{convert|4|mi|0}} to the east at Exit 29 in [[Canajoharie (village), New York|Canajoharie]]. The intersection of [[New York State Route 80|NY Route 80]] (Reid Street), [[New York State Route 5S|NY Route 5S]] (Canal Street), and [[New York State Route 163|NY Route 163]] is in Fort Plain. NY 80 leads east across the Mohawk River into Nelliston and southwest {{convert|27|mi}} to [[Cooperstown, New York|Cooperstown]], while NY 5S leads southeast {{convert|3.5|mi|1}} to Canajoharie and northwest {{convert|21|mi}} to [[Mohawk, Herkimer County, New York|Mohawk]]. NY 163 has its western terminus at NY 80 in the village and leads southwest {{convert|7|mi|0}} to [[Sprout Brook, New York|Sprout Brook]].

According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the village of Fort Plain has a total area of {{convert|1.40|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|1.35|sqmi|km2}} are land and {{convert|0.06|sqmi|2}}, or 4.07%, are water.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2024"/> The village is located on the south bank of the Mohawk River, at the mouth of [[Otsquago Creek]]. The [[Erie Canal]], using the Mohawk River, is adjacent to the village.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1870= 1797
|1880= 2443
|1890= 2864
|1900= 2444
|1910= 2762
|1920= 2747
|1930= 2725
|1940= 2770
|1950= 2935
|1960= 2809
|1970= 2809
|1980= 2555
|1990= 2416
|2000= 2288
|2010= 2322
|2020= 1930
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 2,288 people, 960 households, and 599 families residing in the village. The population density was {{convert|1,680.0|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 1,108 housing units at an average density of {{convert|813.5|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the village was 98.60% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.09% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.09% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.31% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.48% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.44% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.44% of the population.

There were 960 households, out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $27,476, and the median income for a family was $40,302. Males had a median income of $28,462 versus $21,557 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the village was $16,369. About 10.5% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* {{Official|www.villageoffortplain.org}}
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~nymontgo/minden/fortplainbooklet.html Fort Plain information]

{{Montgomery County, New York}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Villages in Montgomery County, New York]]
[[Category:Populated places on the Mohawk River]]