Settled circa 1665 by the Dutch
Valatie was first named Pachaquak, meaning "cleared meadow", by the earliest Native American settlers—Algonquian Mohicans—who lived along the banks of Valatie's two waterways now referred to as Valatie Kill and Kinderhook Creek.
Part of the original New Netherland, the first European settlers were the Dutch who settled Kinderhook around 1665, and named this area "Vaaltje", which means "little falls".
The Village of Valatie was incorporated in 1856., and was considered the center of commerce in northern Columbia County throughout the 19th century.