The town was named for LutheranministerJohn Christopher Hartwick, an early landowner of the town. He bought the area that now constitutes the township from the Mohawk Indians in 1763. Discontented with the sparsely settled communities of Palatine Germans in the Mohawk Valley to the north, which Hartwick believed made people immoral, he bought the original Hartwick Patent with the intent to build a "New Jerusalem". Hartwick tried to control development, stipulating that residents look to him as their religious superior. By the 1790s the shrewd land speculatorWilliam Cooper had sold most of Hartwick's land against his wishes. Instead of a New Jerusalem, Hartwick requested in his will that a Lutheran seminary be opened with his estate. Upon Hartwick's death in 1797, efforts to do this started but were complicated by the fact that Hartwick left his estate to Jesus Christ. The Lutheran seminary established at Hartwick in 1797 was incorporated in 1816. It moved to Oneonta after 1931 and in 1947 merged with the Hartwick College, established in 1927. The town was established in 1802 from the Town of Otsego. In 1803, the north town line was altered. The largest commercial enterprise to occur in Hartwick was probably the Southern New York Railroad which was constructed to the town in 1901. It was supported by extensive shops, a car barn and yards on the southeast side of the village. Many of the hamlets and crossings still show architectural signs related to the trolley line nearly a century after the last passenger service. The Hartwick Historic District, Mathewson–Bice Farmhouse and Mathewson Family Cemetery, Old Hartwick Village Cemetery, and The White House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
People of note in Hartwick
William H. Bissell, born in Hartwick in 1811, later congressman and governor in Illinois.
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,203 people, 850 households, and 601 families residing in the town. The population density was 54.9 people per square mile. There were 1,098 housing units at an average density of 27.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 97.96% White, 0.41% African American, 0.73% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.36% of the population. There were 850 households, out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.06. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.1% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,764, and the median income for a family was $38,889. Males had a median income of $28,529 versus $21,111 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,473. About 9.9% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.6% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.
