Toponym
The placename Gümüşhacıköy is an amalgamation of two separate villages Gümüş (silver) and Hacıköy (the village of pilgrims).
History
The town achieved some prosperity during the 13th and 14th centuries due to the nearby silver mines. Both the Seljuks and the Ilkhans minted coins in the town, then known as Gümüşbazar (Arabic: كمشبازار).
The town grew and continued to thrive under Ottoman rule. The population shrank as the Ottoman Empire collapsed, and many men of Gümüşhacıköy were lost in the Balkan Wars and the First World War.
Armenian Population and Its Destruction
“In 1914, the 4,064 Armenians of the kaza of Gümüşhacıköy all lived in the principal town of the kaza, near Merzifun, which boasted two churches and six schools. The district was well known for its silver and copper mines. The kaymakam, Ibrahim Niyazi Bey, who held his post from October 1914 to 2 July 1916, oversaw the massacres and the deportation along the same route taken by the Armenians of Merzifun.”[1]