The region around Auburn had been Haudenosaunee territory for centuries before European contact and historical records.

The Hudson River area was originally inhabited by Algonquian-speaking Mohican (Mahican), who called it Pempotowwuthut-Muhhcanneuw.[7] The area was settled by Dutch colonists who, in 1614, built Fort Nassau for fur trading and, in 1624, built 

First of the New Hampshire Grants, Bennington was chartered on January 3, 1749, by Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth and named in his honor.