Fonda, New York

Fonda, New York
Village
NY30A through Fonda
Fonda, New York Location within the state of New York
Coordinates:42°57′16″N74°22′32″W
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Montgomery
Incorporated	1850
Area
• Total	0.61 sq mi (1.58 km2)
• Land	0.54 sq mi (1.40 km2)
• Water	0.07 sq mi (0.18 km2)
Elevation	295 ft (90 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	668
• Density	1,239.33/sq mi (478.27/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5(Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4(EDT)
ZIP code	12068
Area code	518
FIPS code	36-26462
GNISfeature ID	0950363
Website	villagefonda.digitaltowpath.org:10193/content

Fondais avillagein and thecounty seatofMontgomery County,New York,United States.The population was 668 at the 2020 census. The village is named afterDouw Fonda,a Dutch-American settler who was killed andscalpedin 1780, during a Mohawk raid in theRevolutionary War,when the tribe was allied with the British.

TheVillage of Fondais in theTown of Mohawkand is west ofAmsterdam.In 1993, the Mohawk people bought land here to re-establish theKanatsioharekecommunity formerly at this site.

The Fonda Fair is an annual agricultural event that takes place in August.

History

Perspective mapof Fonda with list of landmarks from 1889 byL.R. Burleigh

The village of Fonda developed near the site of the formerMohawkvillage ofCaughnawaga,also known asKanatsiohareke.Here the Mohawk had cultivated corn in the floodplain on the north side of the Mohawk River.

In the late 17th-century,Kateri Tekakwitharesettled here. She was aMohawkgirl who had converted toCatholicismand became renowned for her piety. She lived here with relatives after her parents died in a smallpox epidemic. She had survived it but was marked by scars. The village has a national Catholic shrine devoted to her; she is the first Native Americansaint.After French attacked the village in the late 17th century, Kateri and many other Catholic Mohawk moved to the Jesuit mission village ofKahnawake,established on the south side of theSt. Lawrence River,oppositeMontrealin Quebec, or New France.

European settlers, mostly German and English, officially organized the present-day village in 1751 at the former site of Kanatsiohareke. The settlement was later named for Douw Fonda, a Dutch-American settler who was scalped in a Mohawk raid during theRevolutionary War.His family were ancestors of the American actorsHenry Fonda,Jane FondaandPeter Fonda.Henry Fonda wrote about them in his 1981autobiography,as follows:

Early records show the family ensconced in northernItalyin the 16th century where they fought on the side of theReformation,fled toHolland,intermarried with Dutch burghers' daughters, picked up the first names of the Low Countries, but retained the Italianate "Fonda". BeforePieter StuyvesantsurrenderedNieuw Amsterdamto the English the Fondas, instead of settling in Manhattan, canoed up the Hudson River to the Indian village of Caughnawaga. Within a few generations, theMohawksand theIroquoiswere butchered or fled and the town became known to mapmakers as Fonda, New York.

Nineteenth century to present

After the opening of theErie Canalin 1825, Fonda thrived with the growth in trade and traffic that accompanied it. The canal provided transportation and commercial links to communities around the Great Lakes. Fonda became a center of cheesemaking, which was part of the regional dairy industry. The area was devoted to agriculture. As the county seat, it also did well with the arrival of therailroadin 1835, which increased cross-state transportation and shipping of goods. The village was incorporated in 1850.

In the mid to late-20th century,NASCARheld four races at the localFonda Speedway(in 1955, 1966, 1967 and 1968) as part of theFonda 200.To honor this rich tradition, the school district changed the mascot from the Braves to the Racers in 2023. The football team refers to themselves as “the Crew”. This is a call out to the current coaching staff’s love for the sport of dirt track racing. In 1973 theCaughnawaga Indian Village Sitewas listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.It is the only Mohawk village in the country to have been fully excavated in archeological studies. TheWalter Butler Homesteadwas listed on theNRHPin 1976.

Kanatsiohareke

In 1993 Tom Porter (Mohawk) re-established the first Mohawk community in the valley since 1783; he bought land in the Fonda area to cultivate corn and other agricultural produce. Other Mohawk joined him at this historic village site, naming their communityKanatsiohareke.This is the first land the Mohawk have held in the valley since being forced out in 1783 after the Revolution, when Great Britain ceded its former territories in the colonies to the United States.The nameKanatsioharekemeans “The Place of the Clean Pot,” referring to a ten-foot-wide and ten-foot-deep pothole in the creek bed caused by rock scouring.

Geography

Fonda is located at42°57′16″N74°22′32″W(42.954342, -74.375424).

According to theUnited States Census Bureau,the village has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²), of which 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) (11.48%) is water.

Fonda is on the northern bank of theMohawk River,opposite theVillage of Fultonville.

New York State Route 5,New York State Route 30A,andNew York State Route 334all serve Fonda, with NY 334 having its southern terminus at NY 5 at the western end.Amtrak'sEmpire Corridorpasses through the village, though it has no station here. Travelers have to go to Troy to get the train.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	1,092		—
1880	944		−13.6%
1890	1,190		26.1%
1900	1,145		−3.8%
1910	1,100		−3.9%
1920	2,208		100.7%
1930	1,170		−47.0%
1940	1,123		−4.0%
1950	1,026		−8.6%
1960	1,004		−2.1%
1970	1,120		11.6%
1980	1,006		−10.2%
1990	1,007		0.1%
2000	810		−19.6%
2010	795		−1.9%
2020	668		−16.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of thecensusof 2000, there were 810 people, 351 households, and 209 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,520.2 inhabitants per square mile (587.0/km²). There were 409 housing units at an average density of 767.6 per square mile (296.4/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.53%White,0.37%African American,0.25%Native American,0.49%Asian,0.12%Pacific Islander,0.12% fromother races,and 1.11% from two or more races.HispanicorLatinoof any race were 2.22% of the population.

There were 351 households, out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.2% weremarried couplesliving together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.4% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.7 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $28,021, and the median income for a family was $35,714. Males had a median income of $28,333 versus $23,500 for females. Theper capita incomefor the village was $15,330. About 6.7% of families and 11.7% of the population were below thepoverty line,including 13.9% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

External links

• Village of Fonda website
• Fonda Fair
• The Fonda Family