Wassaic is a hamlet in the town of Amenia, Dutchess County, New York, United States. Located in southeast New York in the valley of the Ten Mile River, Wassaic is bordered on the east and west by mountain ranges.The name of the hamlet is derived from the Native American word Washaic; "land of difficult access" or "narrow valley". However, Europeans found ready access by following the Housatonic River valley up from Long Island Sound and through the mountains along the Ten Mile River.One of the earliest recorded Europeans to settle in Wassaic was Richard Sackett. He petitioned the Colonial Government on March 11th 1703 for a license to purchase a tract of land in "Washiack". He was known as Captain Richard Sackett when appointed the first Dutchess County clerk in 1715.By the 1770s Wassaic was processing Ancram pig iron into steel. This continued into the early 1800s, providing steel for the Harris scythe works at Hammertown, near Pine Plains in northern Dutchess.