The Mohawk Indians were the first inhabitants of the area that is now called the Town of Minden. The Mohawk Indians belonged to what the British called the "Five Nations", or the French called the "Iroquois Nation". The other tribes of this nation were the Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas; the most eastern tribe was that of the Mohawks. The Mohawks controlled the area from Albany westward to the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers, and as far north as the St. Lawrence river. The Mohawks and their fellow tribesman would come to play a legitimate role throughout the Mohawk Valley during America's war for independence.
The first known white settler to settle in the Minden area was that of Jacob Crouse around the year 1720. The earliest white settlers were Palatine Germans farmers who migrated from Schoharie and settled in the area called Dutchtown. These earliest settlers had very few skills and most of their necessities were most likely bought from Schenectady. They were an illiterate people and had no schools, few books, and no newspapers.
This part of the valley that became the Town of Minden was very sparsely inhabited prior to the American Revolution. The first store, which was also used as a trading post, was opened by William Seeber in 1750 near the Sand Hill area. Around this time in the Sand Hill area the first church was erected and called the Reformed Dutch Church of Canajoharie. This church was later burned down in 1780 during the revolution.
In 1772 Tryon County was formed from the western most part of Albany County. This new county was divided into five districts, and Minden fell into what was then called the "Canajoharie District".
As the American Colonists began to question British rule and the American Revolution began, the Mohawk Valley saw frequent clashes between the loyalists and the patriots. By the time the revolution began, the majority of the people within the Minden area were sympathetic with the Yankees. On June 2, 1775 the Canajoharie District sent representatives to Cherry Valley and met with other Districts of Tryon County to adopt measures to protect the settlers of the county during the Revolution.By the year 1777, there were five well established forts within the Town of Minden. The forts included Fort Plain, Fort Planck, Fort Clyde, Fort Willett, and Fort Windecker. All of these forts were within five miles of Fort Plain, one of the main defensive forts of the Mohawk Valley during the Revolution. Fort Planck was located roughly four miles to the southwest of Fort Plain, and Fort Clyde was located a few miles to the southeast in the hamlet of Freybush. Fort Willett was located in the Dutchtown area, and Fort Windecker was farther to the west in the Mindenville area. All five of these forts became places of refuge for area settlers during raids by the Tories and Indians.
Many destructive raids throughout the valley occurred during the Revolution. One of the more destructive of these raids occurred in 1780 under the command of Mohawk Indian Chief, Joseph Brant. Joseph Brant led a group of Tories and Indians down the Otsquago creek and into the valley on August 2, 1780. They ravaged the Dutchtown and Freybush sections, and terrified the families of the area into fleeing to Fort Plain.
The Revolution in America had a great impact on the Mohawk Valley and especially Tryon County. Whole families were wiped out, and mothers were left without their husbands and sons at the end of the war. In Tryon County alone, it was estimated that about only 800 of the more than 2,500 , militia men were left. It was estimated that one-third of them had been killed or made prisoners; one-third had abandoned the county, and the other third had gone over to the enemy. It should be noted that near the end of the Revolution General George Washington in the summer of 1782 visited Fort Plain on a tour of the frontier posts of New York.
On April 2, 1784 Tryon County was renamed Montgomery County in honor of General Richard Montgomery who had