On May 17, 1880 the New York Times reported, “New-Hampton was once one of the most important places in this county (Orange County, New York), being the center of several large manufacturing interests. But, by the authority of the State, the industrial interests of the village were destroyed in order to increase the acreage of the farmers along the upper waters of the Wallkill.

Between 1886 and 1900, a Mohawk Valley art teacher named Rufus Grider, sketched and painted current scenes as well as historical reconstructions of the Mohawk Valley.  Some of his watercolors are delightful and many are fully realized works of great delicacy and charm.  Others are monotints.  His paintings and drawing usually have handwritten notes pointing out features and directions.  Grider interviewed old-timers to learn about details of landscape or of Revolutionary War-era structures no longer existing.  The art works not infrequently contain signed statements from his informants, often in a shaky hand, testifying to their faithfulness.

The Mohawk River is both the largest tributary to the Hudson and, in the words of John Cronin, Director of the Beacon Institute, the neglected stepchild of the Hudson.  Among the problems faced by the Mohawk River community, that has not been a recent issue in the Hudson Estuary, is flooding.  A June, 2006 flood destroyed private and public property.  It contributed to Beech-Nut, a major employer in Canajoharie, relocating.  Floods are also a frequent occurrence in Schenectady due to ice jams.