 The site that would eventually become Ferrisburgh was originally called Varenbrug, or 'Fern Bridge' by Dutch explorers from the colony of New Amsterdam.The Dutch operated a trading post at the site, doing business with French voyageurs and Native American merchants until it was abandoned during the course of the Third Anglo-Dutch War in 1673.The English burned the old Dutch trading post, and did not settle the area, which eventually became a meeting site for diverse peoples.