Originally known as Whitlockville, the settlement changed its name, then moved south to its present site in 1897, when what is known by some as "Old Katonah" was flooded by the construction of the New Croton Dam. This raised the water level behind it enough to submerge the existing Muscoot Dam, the waters it empounded, and the village, under the resultantly expanded Muscoot Reservoir. More than 50 buildings were moved from the old site to "New Katonah", rolled on logs pulled by horses. The move was originally ordered to start in 1894, but litigation delayed this by almost three years. Evidently not all of the moved houses were within the affected area, leaving empty foundations where new houses would eventually be built upon.
