HAMLET OF OMI
- Program
- Subject
- Location
- Lat/Long
- Grant Recipient
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Legends & Lore®
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People, Site
- 1264 Co Rte 22, Ghent, NY 12075, USA
- 42.324737, -73.681777
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Town of Ghent
HAMLET OF OMI
Inscription
HAMLET OF OMINAMED IN 1897 AFTER
POSTMASTER VAN VALKENBURGH
ASKED HIS DAUGHTER WHAT TO DO
FOR A NAME AND SHE REPLIED,
"OH, MY! I DON’T KNOW."
NEW YORK FOLKLORE
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2024
In the hamlet of Omi, in Columbia County New York, a unique story is told on the origin of the community’s name, a story that has been passed down for almost as long as the name has existed. It is said that upon the establishment of a new post office in Columbia County in 1897, local postmaster J.J. Van Valkenburgh required a new name for the locale and sought out his daughter’s input. In response to what the name should be, she answered her father, “oh, my! I don’t know.” Thus inspiring the Omi name, and a distinct piece of place-name lore still shared by this community to this day.
