German Flatts, New York
| German Flatts, New York | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 German Flatts, New York
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| Coordinates: 43°0′19″N 75°0′47″W / 43.00528°N 75.01306°WCoordinates: 43°0′19″N 75°0′47″W / 43.00528°N 75.01306°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Herkimer |
| Government | |
| • Type | Town Council |
| • Town Supervisor | Frank P. Spatto (R) |
| • Town Council |
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| Area | |
| • Total | 34.3 sq mi (88.7 km2) |
| • Land | 33.7 sq mi (87.4 km2) |
| • Water | 0.5 sq mi (1.3 km2) |
| Elevation | 971 ft (296 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 13,258 |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 13407 |
| Area code(s) | 315 |
| FIPS code | 36-28750 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0978997 |
German Flatts is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 13,258 at the 2010 census. The town is in the south part of Herkimer County, on the south side of the Mohawk River, across from the Village of Herkimer and southeast of Utica.
This was one of the original areas of the Burnetsfield Patent in the province of New York, where in 1722–1723, Governor Burnet granted Palatine German immigrants leases to purchase land from the Mohawk, one of the powerful nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. It was the first land sold to Europeans west of Schenectady. During the 18th century warfare in the valley, the village was attacked by French and Iroquois forces during the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War), and many women and children were taken to Canada as captives.
On September 17, 1778 Mohawk chief and Loyalist leader Joseph Brant lead a force of 150 Iroquois Indians and 300 Loyalists under the command of Captain William Caldwell in a surprise attack on the area of German Flatts, New York. German Flatts, now known as Herkimer, New York, was left virtually undefended by Patriot troops prior to the raid.
The Indian and Loyalist raiders captured hundreds of head of cattle and sheep before setting fire to every house, barn and mill in German Flatts. Despite the complete destruction of the town, including 63 houses, 57 barns, three gristmills and one sawmill, only three men were killed. The day before, four Patriot scouts had run into the Loyalists while on reconnaissance. Though only one, Adam Helmer, survived the encounter, he was able to run the nine miles back to the village of German Flatts to warn the residents. As a result, the vast majority of the town's people was able to seek safety in the area's forts, Herkimer and Dayton, and survived the destruction of their town.
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