The village and town are named after Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter, a famous admiral in the Dutch navy.

DeRuyter was originally part of the ancient town of Whitestown, a component of the famous "Lincklaen purchase".

It became part of Cazenovia when that town was formed in 1795, and Col. John Lincklaen gave it the name of "Tromptown"; but when the act authorizing the formation of a new town was passed by the New York State Legislature on March 15, 1798, Col. Lincklaen named it "DeRuyter", after his illustrious countryman.

The location of the village at the confluence of four valleys made DeRuyter an early center of trade.

The railroad forming a part of the "old Midland", running east and west, and the Cazenovia branch running north and south and now forming part of the Lehigh Valley system, furnished excellent facilities for trade and travel.

The building stock dates predominantly from the early to late Victorian period, the peak population and commercial era in DeRuyter's history.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.37 square miles (0.96 km2) all of it recorded as land.