A History of Middleburgh

Weiser's Dorf

Hudson

Hardscrabble

Today’s Business District Begins

The Latter half of the 19th Century

A New Beginning

Johan Conrad Weiser established the first Palatine settlement in the Schoharie Valley in what is now the Village of Middleburgh.  The generally accepted time that this happened is the fall of 1712.  Weiser’s Dorf, as the settlement became known began with about forty log and mud huts running along Schoolhouse Creek from today’s high school  to a point opposite Memorial Park.  The Palatines knew the creek as “ketch” meaning chalice or cup.  Up until the Revolution the houses and outbuildings were improved from their humble beginnings.  In 1732, the first Dutch Reformed church was constructed.  By 1760 there were several local tradesmen although a trip to Albany or Schenectady was required for certain items.  School was held either in a crude log schoolhouse or a barn with lessons taught in German, Dutch and later, English.  In 1777 during the American Revolution, The Middle Fort was constructed about three quarters of a mile north of the village.  The Johnson-Brant raid on October 17, 1780 destroyed the village, including the church, as its residents took refuge in the fort.  Johnson’s report described the village as houses on one side of the creek and orchards and fields on the other.
     One of the few structures in the valley that survived the raid in the valley was the Zelie or stone house.  The primary structure was heavy stone walls.  The wooden parts were replaced after the war.  It would serve as residence, Town Hall, and Jail until 1883 when it was torn down to make way for the Union Free School.  It was located approximately where the High School Auditorium is today.

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Village of Middleburgh
Middleburgh, NY 12122