History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 116: The City of Amsterdam, continued ...
Birth of Amsterdam Carpet Industry, 1840
The story of the carpet industry's location and growth at Amsterdam forms an absorbing chapter in the romance of American business.
In 1836 William K. Greene, Sr., met with business reverses in Connecticut and removed to Poughkeepsie, where he met a Scotchman named Douglas, who was a dyer and whose father was a manufacturer of ingrain carpets in Scotland.
Mr. Greene thus became interested in carpet manufacture.
One day in looking through the New York Herald he saw an advertisement of an old mill and dwelling at Hagaman (north of Amsterdam).
Mr. Greene and Mr. Douglas came to Hagaman and rented the property for $100 a year.
They purchased six hand looms, loaded them on a sloop for Albany, brought them to Hagaman, and so this great Amsterdam industry began in the year 1840 in this northern suburb — as the result of advertising and of a keen man's eye happening to scan that advertisement.
The business was removed in 1842 to Amsterdam and there grew rapidly.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 116: The City of Amsterdam, continued ...
The armory of Company G, 105th Infantry, 27th Division, National Guard of the State of New York, is located at Florida Avenue, corner of Dewitt Street.
The following information regarding the City of Amsterdam has been furnished for this work by Mr. Earl O. Stowitts, secretary of the Amsterdam Board of Trade.
The 1920 census showed a city population of 33,524; the 1925 estimate is 38,000.
The villages of Cranesville, Hagaman (on the northern limits) and Fort Johnson are all integral parts of the City of Amsterdam.
Their 1920 population was as follows: Hagaman, 855; Cranesville, about 300; Fort Johnson, 680; Amsterdam, 33,524.
Total 1920 Amsterdam City district, 35,259.
1925 estimate, 40,000.
The 1923 assessed valuation of the city was $23,617,167.
Amsterdam stands first in the manufacture of brooms in America.
It is the second city in the United States in the manufacture of rugs, carpets and pearl buttons.
It stands sixth in the manufacture of knit goods.
In 1920 Amsterdam stood fifth among the cities of New York State in the value of its manufactures.
The 1925 estimate of the value of its manufactures is $60,000,000.
The city has a large jobbing trade.
Amsterdam's estimated annual freight tonnage is, outbound, 195,451 tons; inbound (estimated), 695,983.
Amsterdam is located on the New York Central and West Shore Railroads, the Mohawk River (State Barge Canal), the Old Mohawk Turnpike, south shore highway.
By the Schenectady Railways Company electric road it has westward connections with Fort Johnson, Tribes Hill, Johnstown, Gloversville and Fonda; eastward, with Cranesville, Hoffmans, Scotia, Schenectady, Albany, Saratoga Springs, etc.
Amsterdam is the only city in Montgomery County.
Amsterdam is served with power, light and heat by the Adirondack Power and Light Corporation and the Chuctanunda Gas Light Company.
The steam power plant of the Adirondack Power and Light Corporation is located west of the southern and eastern limits of Amsterdam.
This is one of the Adirondack's main plants and its chief steam plant which will largely figure in future super-power systems.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 116: The City of Amsterdam, continued ...
The armory of Company G, 105th Infantry, 27th Division, National Guard of the State of New York, is located at Florida Avenue, corner of Dewitt Street.
The following information regarding the City of Amsterdam has been furnished for this work by Mr. Earl O. Stowitts, secretary of the Amsterdam Board of Trade.
The 1920 census showed a city population of 33,524; the 1925 estimate is 38,000.
The villages of Cranesville, Hagaman (on the northern limits) and Fort Johnson are all integral parts of the City of Amsterdam.
Their 1920 population was as follows: Hagaman, 855; Cranesville, about 300; Fort Johnson, 680; Amsterdam, 33,524.
Total 1920 Amsterdam City district, 35,259.
1925 estimate, 40,000.
The 1923 assessed valuation of the city was $23,617,167.
Amsterdam stands first in the manufacture of brooms in America.
It is the second city in the United States in the manufacture of rugs, carpets and pearl buttons.
It stands sixth in the manufacture of knit goods.
In 1920 Amsterdam stood fifth among the cities of New York State in the value of its manufactures.
The 1925 estimate of the value of its manufactures is $60,000,000.
The city has a large jobbing trade.
Amsterdam's estimated annual freight tonnage is, outbound, 195,451 tons; inbound (estimated), 695,983.
Amsterdam is located on the New York Central and West Shore Railroads, the Mohawk River (State Barge Canal), the Old Mohawk Turnpike, south shore highway.
By the Schenectady Railways Company electric road it has westward connections with Fort Johnson, Tribes Hill, Johnstown, Gloversville and Fonda; eastward, with Cranesville, Hoffmans, Scotia, Schenectady, Albany, Saratoga Springs, etc.
Amsterdam is the only city in Montgomery County.
Amsterdam is served with power, light and heat by the Adirondack Power and Light Corporation and the Chuctanunda Gas Light Company.
The steam power plant of the Adirondack Power and Light Corporation is located west of the southern and eastern limits of Amsterdam.
This is one of the Adirondack's main plants and its chief steam plant which will largely figure in future super-power systems.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 116: The City of Amsterdam, continued ...
There are 18 schools in Amsterdam, besides one business and two night schools, 25 churches and 40 fraternal organizations.
Several of the latter have buildings of their own.
Civic commercial-social organizations include the Amsterdam Board of Trade, the Rotary, Kiwanis and Century Clubs and the Amsterdam Automobile Club.
Amsterdam is a Mohawk Valley banking center of much importance.
There are three national banks with interest departments, one savings bank, one trust company, and two private banks.
Amsterdam has two fine hospitals, the City and St. Mary's; a large and well conducted library in a beautiful building; Y. M. C. A., the Century and Good Will Clubs for women and young girls, in addition to active troops of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and two strong posts of the American Legion.
A World War memorial statue was in process of erection at the time of this writing (1925).
Amsterdam furnished about 2,500 men to the American forces during the World War.
The city went over the top with all its drives during the war.
In 1925 Amsterdam was in the 30th Congressional and the 39th Senatorial districts.
In 1925 the chairman of the Republican State Committee was Mr. George K. Morris, of Amsterdam.
Amsterdam's area in 1925 was 3,869.4 acres.
The city is establishing a system of beautiful parks and well-arranged and popular playgrounds.
Green Hill Cemetery occupies a most sightly location, overlooking the city and valley.
Amsterdam has 75 miles of water mains; 650 fire hydrants; a very efficient fire and police department; fine waterworks system with one of the best services in the state; 70 miles of gas mains; 70 miles of sewer system; 150 miles of permanent sidewalks; 18 miles of electric railway; all night street electric lighting services; four hotels; four theatres; two telegraph companies; one local telephone line and several rural lines; one daily newspaper, the "Amsterdam Recorder," and one weekly newspaper; a home for elderly women; a children's home; a day nursery.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 116: The City of Amsterdam, continued ...
There are 18 schools in Amsterdam, besides one business and two night schools, 25 churches and 40 fraternal organizations.
Several of the latter have buildings of their own.
Civic commercial-social organizations include the Amsterdam Board of Trade, the Rotary, Kiwanis and Century Clubs and the Amsterdam Automobile Club.
Amsterdam is a Mohawk Valley banking center of much importance.
There are three national banks with interest departments, one savings bank, one trust company, and two private banks.
Amsterdam has two fine hospitals, the City and St. Mary's; a large and well conducted library in a beautiful building; Y. M. C. A., the Century and Good Will Clubs for women and young girls, in addition to active troops of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and two strong posts of the American Legion.
A World War memorial statue was in process of erection at the time of this writing (1925).
Amsterdam furnished about 2,500 men to the American forces during the World War.
The city went over the top with all its drives during the war.
In 1925 Amsterdam was in the 30th Congressional and the 39th Senatorial districts.
In 1925 the chairman of the Republican State Committee was Mr. George K. Morris, of Amsterdam.
Amsterdam's area in 1925 was 3,869.4 acres.
The city is establishing a system of beautiful parks and well-arranged and popular playgrounds.
Green Hill Cemetery occupies a most sightly location, overlooking the city and valley.
Amsterdam has 75 miles of water mains; 650 fire hydrants; a very efficient fire and police department; fine waterworks system with one of the best services in the state; 70 miles of gas mains; 70 miles of sewer system; 150 miles of permanent sidewalks; 18 miles of electric railway; all night street electric lighting services; four hotels; four theatres; two telegraph companies; one local telephone line and several rural lines; one daily newspaper, the "Amsterdam Recorder," and one weekly newspaper; a home for elderly women; a children's home; a day nursery.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 116: The City of Amsterdam, continued ...
The United States Department of Commerce has furnished the following interesting statistics regarding the City of Amsterdam:
The total payments for expenses, interest, and outlays for the city government of Amsterdam, New York, for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1923, including the independent school district of Amsterdam for the fiscal year ending July 31, 1923, and the independent county supervisors' fund for the fiscal year ending October 31, 1923, amounted to $1,396,953, or $40.68 per capita.
Of this total $777,829 represents the expenses of operating the general departments of the city government; $58,822, expenses of operating the public service enterprises, such as water works, markets and similar enterprises; $58,426, interest on debt; and $501,876, outlays for permanent improvements, including those for public service enterprises.
In 1922 the total payments for the city were $981,916, and in 1917, $694,604, a per capita of $28.79 and $21.09, respectively.
The totals include all payments for the year, whether made from current revenues or from the proceeds of bond issues.
The total revenue receipts of Amsterdam for 1923 were $1,109,854, or $32.32 per capita.
This was $214,777 more than the total payments of the year exclusive of the payments for permanent improvements, but $287,099 less than the total payments including those for permanent improvements.
These payments in excess of revenue receipts were met from the proceeds of debt obligations.
Property taxes represented 59.0 per cent of the total revenue for 1923, 58.2 per cent for 1922, and 70.6 per cent for 1917.
The increase in the amount of property taxes collected was 38.4 per cent from 1917 to 1922 and 11.2 per cent from 1922 to 1923.
The per capita property taxes were $19.08 in 1923, $17.27 in 1922, and $12.92 in 1917.
Earnings of public service enterprises operated by the city represented 13.6 per cent of the total revenue for 1923, 14.3 per cent for 1922, and 15.4 per cent for 1917.
The net indebtedness (funded and floating debt less sinking fund assets) of Amsterdam on December 31, 1923, was $1,310,281, or $38.16 per capita.
In 1922 the per capita debt was $32.07, and in 1917, $33.60.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 116: The City of Amsterdam, continued ...
The United States Department of Commerce has furnished the following interesting statistics regarding the City of Amsterdam:
The total payments for expenses, interest, and outlays for the city government of Amsterdam, New York, for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1923, including the independent school district of Amsterdam for the fiscal year ending July 31, 1923, and the independent county supervisors' fund for the fiscal year ending October 31, 1923, amounted to $1,396,953, or $40.68 per capita.
Of this total $777,829 represents the expenses of operating the general departments of the city government; $58,822, expenses of operating the public service enterprises, such as water works, markets and similar enterprises; $58,426, interest on debt; and $501,876, outlays for permanent improvements, including those for public service enterprises.
In 1922 the total payments for the city were $981,916, and in 1917, $694,604, a per capita of $28.79 and $21.09, respectively.
The totals include all payments for the year, whether made from current revenues or from the proceeds of bond issues.
The total revenue receipts of Amsterdam for 1923 were $1,109,854, or $32.32 per capita.
This was $214,777 more than the total payments of the year exclusive of the payments for permanent improvements, but $287,099 less than the total payments including those for permanent improvements.
These payments in excess of revenue receipts were met from the proceeds of debt obligations.
Property taxes represented 59.0 per cent of the total revenue for 1923, 58.2 per cent for 1922, and 70.6 per cent for 1917.
The increase in the amount of property taxes collected was 38.4 per cent from 1917 to 1922 and 11.2 per cent from 1922 to 1923.
The per capita property taxes were $19.08 in 1923, $17.27 in 1922, and $12.92 in 1917.
Earnings of public service enterprises operated by the city represented 13.6 per cent of the total revenue for 1923, 14.3 per cent for 1922, and 15.4 per cent for 1917.
The net indebtedness (funded and floating debt less sinking fund assets) of Amsterdam on December 31, 1923, was $1,310,281, or $38.16 per capita.
In 1922 the per capita debt was $32.07, and in 1917, $33.60.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 116: The City of Amsterdam, concluded ...
Cranesville, three miles east of the center of Amsterdam, is a suburban part of the eastern city district.
It was originally called "Willegas," the Holland-Dutch name for Willows, and is one of the oldest settled sections in the Mohawk Valley, Dutch farmers having located here prior to 1690.
The picturesque Evaskill flows through Cranesville.
Fort Johnson, on the Mohawk Turnpike, is a postoffice and railway station of the New York Central Railroad (with prepaid freight office).
It was known for some years as Akin.
Knit goods are made here.
Fort Johnson is a village, which is virtually a western part of the neighboring City of Amsterdam.
It takes its name from Fort Johnson, on the north side of the Turnpike near the Central Station.
It was built in 1749 by Sir William Johnson, who, for a quarter century before the Revolution, was perhaps the most prominent figure in the British Province of New York.
In the great French-Indian war (1754-1760) Fort Johnson was valley British army and militia headquarters.
Here at one time Colonel Johnson had 1,100 Indians (300 of them warriors) camped on his plantation.
Johnson kept the Mohawks true to England.
At one time, in this war, all the other Iroquois deserted to France, but came back with later English military success.
Johnson built Fort Johnson in 1749 and then moved into it, coming from the stone house one-half mile east, which he occupied after he came to the north side of the Mohawk from his first location on the eastern limits of south side Amsterdam.
Sir William Johnson's life is fully covered in the several chapters devoted to him and to the Mohawk Valley in the period from his arrival at present South Amsterdam, in 1738, until his death at Johnson Hall, Johnstown, in 1774.
Mr. John Fea, the historian of Amsterdam, says that Johnson came to his first location on the north side when he bought lands at Fort Johnson in 1739, and that he occupied a stone house built here by one of the Phillips brothers.
The Phillips family originally settled about 1680 to the east of where Sir William Johnson located when he came into the Mohawk Valley, in 1738, and built a house and store in south side Amsterdam.
When Johnson moved over to the north shore of the Mohawk, he located in this stone house.
Most historians date his removal to the north side in 1742, but Mr. Fea puts it at 1739.
Johnson called his new location Mount Johnson, naming the abrupt hill, which runs westward to present Fort Johnson Creek, by that title.
This name referred to the locality rather than to the house.
So when Johnson moved to his new stone house at present Fort Johnson he called this new dwelling Mount Johnson.
It continued to bear that name after it was fortified and until December, 1755.
In that month General Johnson returned home with a wound in his leg received at Lake George where the army he commanded had won a decided victory.
Then Johnson changed the name from Mount Johnson to Fort Johnson, which name it continued to bear to this day.
The history of Fort Johnson, in Sir William's day, is fully and completely covered in the general historical chapters of this work dealing with the Colonial period.
After Johnson built Fort Johnson he may have occupied it as an official residence while he "kept house" first in the first north side stone house with his wife, Katherine Weisenberg, second with Catherine, niece of King Hendrick, and third with Molly Brant, whom he probably installed there on or before 1755.
He brought his white children up in Fort Johnson apart from his Indian family in Mount Johnson No. 1.
Up to a few years ago the cellar and foundation of the first Mount Johnson was visible, but it has now been filled in by building operations and its stone has been used for foundation walls in new adjacent buildings.
All of Johnson's activities at Mount Johnson, Fort Johnson and Johnson Hall are covered at length in the Colonial chapters of this work.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 116: The City of Amsterdam, concluded ...
Cranesville, three miles east of the center of Amsterdam, is a suburban part of the eastern city district.
It was originally called "Willegas," the Holland-Dutch name for Willows, and is one of the oldest settled sections in the Mohawk Valley, Dutch farmers having located here prior to 1690.
The picturesque Evaskill flows through Cranesville.
Fort Johnson, on the Mohawk Turnpike, is a postoffice and railway station of the New York Central Railroad (with prepaid freight office).
It was known for some years as Akin.
Knit goods are made here.
Fort Johnson is a village, which is virtually a western part of the neighboring City of Amsterdam.
It takes its name from Fort Johnson, on the north side of the Turnpike near the Central Station.
It was built in 1749 by Sir William Johnson, who, for a quarter century before the Revolution, was perhaps the most prominent figure in the British Province of New York.
In the great French-Indian war (1754-1760) Fort Johnson was valley British army and militia headquarters.
Here at one time Colonel Johnson had 1,100 Indians (300 of them warriors) camped on his plantation.
Johnson kept the Mohawks true to England.
At one time, in this war, all the other Iroquois deserted to France, but came back with later English military success.
Johnson built Fort Johnson in 1749 and then moved into it, coming from the stone house one-half mile east, which he occupied after he came to the north side of the Mohawk from his first location on the eastern limits of south side Amsterdam.
Sir William Johnson's life is fully covered in the several chapters devoted to him and to the Mohawk Valley in the period from his arrival at present South Amsterdam, in 1738, until his death at Johnson Hall, Johnstown, in 1774.
Mr. John Fea, the historian of Amsterdam, says that Johnson came to his first location on the north side when he bought lands at Fort Johnson in 1739, and that he occupied a stone house built here by one of the Phillips brothers.
The Phillips family originally settled about 1680 to the east of where Sir William Johnson located when he came into the Mohawk Valley, in 1738, and built a house and store in south side Amsterdam.
When Johnson moved over to the north shore of the Mohawk, he located in this stone house.
Most historians date his removal to the north side in 1742, but Mr. Fea puts it at 1739.
Johnson called his new location Mount Johnson, naming the abrupt hill, which runs westward to present Fort Johnson Creek, by that title.
This name referred to the locality rather than to the house.
So when Johnson moved to his new stone house at present Fort Johnson he called this new dwelling Mount Johnson.
It continued to bear that name after it was fortified and until December, 1755.
In that month General Johnson returned home with a wound in his leg received at Lake George where the army he commanded had won a decided victory.
Then Johnson changed the name from Mount Johnson to Fort Johnson, which name it continued to bear to this day.
The history of Fort Johnson, in Sir William's day, is fully and completely covered in the general historical chapters of this work dealing with the Colonial period.
After Johnson built Fort Johnson he may have occupied it as an official residence while he "kept house" first in the first north side stone house with his wife, Katherine Weisenberg, second with Catherine, niece of King Hendrick, and third with Molly Brant, whom he probably installed there on or before 1755.
He brought his white children up in Fort Johnson apart from his Indian family in Mount Johnson No. 1.
Up to a few years ago the cellar and foundation of the first Mount Johnson was visible, but it has now been filled in by building operations and its stone has been used for foundation walls in new adjacent buildings.
All of Johnson's activities at Mount Johnson, Fort Johnson and Johnson Hall are covered at length in the Colonial chapters of this work.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 117: Tribes Hill — Fort Hunter.
Twin villages at the junction of the Schoharie and Mohawk Rivers, Tribes Hill on the north shore, Fort Hunter on the south — Ogsadaga, the Mohawk tribal village, at Tribes Hill, 1693-1700 — Iconderoga, the lower Mohawk castle of the Wolf Clan, at Fort Hunter, 1700-1779 — Fort Hunter and Queen Anne's chapel, built in 1711 — Queen Anne's parsonage, built in 1712.
Tribes Hill lies on the north side connected by bridge over the Mohawk with Fort Hunter on the south shore of the river.
Neither village is (1921) incorporated.
They have an estimated combined population of about 1,000.
Og-sa-da-ga, 1693-1700 — Mohawk Tribal Village
In 1693 a French-Indian raiding party came down from Canada, burned the four Mohawk castles and defeated the Mohawks in a bloody battle at the upper castle.
The shattered tribe then built, here at present Tribes Hill, a single tribal village, known as Og-sa-da-ga, which they occupied from 1693 until 1700, when they built three castles on the south shore at present Fort Hunter, Fort Plain and Indian Castle, which were their final valley locations and which they occupied from about 1700 until 1775.
From the tribal village of Ogsadaga, the village of Tribes Hill takes its name.
Fort Hunter was named from the British governor, Hunter, who here (1711) built a fort to protect the frontier and the Lower Castle of the Mohawks, occupied by the Wolf clan (1693-1775).
It was also the Revolutionary fortification of Fort Hunter (1776-1783).
There are several old houses at Tribes Hill, which is an old settlement, among them being the brick Fonda-Striker home.
Vaccination was first practised in the Mohawk Valley at Tribes Hill by Dr. Cushney.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 117: Tribes Hill — Fort Hunter.
Twin villages at the junction of the Schoharie and Mohawk Rivers, Tribes Hill on the north shore, Fort Hunter on the south — Ogsadaga, the Mohawk tribal village, at Tribes Hill, 1693-1700 — Iconderoga, the lower Mohawk castle of the Wolf Clan, at Fort Hunter, 1700-1779 — Fort Hunter and Queen Anne's chapel, built in 1711 — Queen Anne's parsonage, built in 1712.
Tribes Hill lies on the north side connected by bridge over the Mohawk with Fort Hunter on the south shore of the river.
Neither village is (1921) incorporated.
They have an estimated combined population of about 1,000.
Og-sa-da-ga, 1693-1700 — Mohawk Tribal Village
In 1693 a French-Indian raiding party came down from Canada, burned the four Mohawk castles and defeated the Mohawks in a bloody battle at the upper castle.
The shattered tribe then built, here at present Tribes Hill, a single tribal village, known as Og-sa-da-ga, which they occupied from 1693 until 1700, when they built three castles on the south shore at present Fort Hunter, Fort Plain and Indian Castle, which were their final valley locations and which they occupied from about 1700 until 1775.
From the tribal village of Ogsadaga, the village of Tribes Hill takes its name.
Fort Hunter was named from the British governor, Hunter, who here (1711) built a fort to protect the frontier and the Lower Castle of the Mohawks, occupied by the Wolf clan (1693-1775).
It was also the Revolutionary fortification of Fort Hunter (1776-1783).
There are several old houses at Tribes Hill, which is an old settlement, among them being the brick Fonda-Striker home.
Vaccination was first practised in the Mohawk Valley at Tribes Hill by Dr. Cushney.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 117: Tribes Hill — Fort Hunter, continued ...
Lock No. 12, Dam No. 8 — Barge Canal 12-Mile Level to Yosts
Lock No. 12, Dam No. 8, Erie section Barge Canal, on the Mohawk at Tribes Hill-Fort Hunter, is also known as the Tribes Hill lock and dam.
There is a 11-foot rise from the river water level of 267 feet sea level elevation below to 278 feet above the dam.
The river level westward to Yosts is 12 miles long, the longest east of the summit level (from Whitesboro to New London) on the Mohawk River section of the Barge Canal.
The Schoharie River — Howe's Cave
It has a course of some seventy miles from the Catskills in the south through Schoharie County.
It flows through the beautiful agricultural valley of the Schoharie, which is also exceedingly wild in sections.
This region has retained much of its old-time character.
The Schoharie River is the third minor stream of the Hudson, the Mohawk and Walkill outranking it.
The Schoharie rises in the Catskills, less than ten miles from the Hudson near Catskill.
A number of Catskill Mountain resorts are located on the upper Schoharie River.
In the Schoharie Valley (on its main branch, the Cobleskill) is located Howe's Cave, an underground cavern of very considerable size and interest.
The Schoharie Valley lies mostly in Schoharie County (beginning some ten miles south of here) and is a rich agricultural and one-time hop growing section of much beauty.
It is famed as the only county of New York State which, up to 1914, had always given Democratic majorities in every election.
Through the Schoharie Valley to the mouth of the Mohawk came the great Tory-British-Indian raid of October, 1780, under Sir John Johnson and the Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant, details of which are given at different points along your route.
The headwaters of the Schoharie in the Catskill are impounded, by a dam at Gilboa, for the Catskill water system of New York City and flow into the Ashokan reservoir west of Kingston, showing that the world metropolis reaches out and affects the territory of New York State many miles from the city itself.
Palatine Germans settled on the Schoharie in 1712 and some removed to Stone Arabia and other Mohawk Valley points.
The area of the Schoharie watershed is 920 square miles, of the 3,485 square miles in the whole Mohawk River watershed, of which the Schoharie Valley is a part.
The Schoharie Valley therefore forms about 27 per cent of the total area of the Mohawk Valley, or a little more than one-quarter of its watershed.
At Gilboa, on the Upper Schoharie, in 1869, a freshet unearthed fossil tree stumps of the Devonian age — the most ancient and wonderful fossil forest remains ever uncovered.
Specimens are in the State Museum, Education Building, Albany, where a very wonderful re-creation of this ancient Devonian forest was unveiled in 1925.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 117: Tribes Hill — Fort Hunter, continued ...
Lock No. 12, Dam No. 8 — Barge Canal 12-Mile Level to Yosts
Lock No. 12, Dam No. 8, Erie section Barge Canal, on the Mohawk at Tribes Hill-Fort Hunter, is also known as the Tribes Hill lock and dam.
There is a 11-foot rise from the river water level of 267 feet sea level elevation below to 278 feet above the dam.
The river level westward to Yosts is 12 miles long, the longest east of the summit level (from Whitesboro to New London) on the Mohawk River section of the Barge Canal.
The Schoharie River — Howe's Cave
It has a course of some seventy miles from the Catskills in the south through Schoharie County.
It flows through the beautiful agricultural valley of the Schoharie, which is also exceedingly wild in sections.
This region has retained much of its old-time character.
The Schoharie River is the third minor stream of the Hudson, the Mohawk and Walkill outranking it.
The Schoharie rises in the Catskills, less than ten miles from the Hudson near Catskill.
A number of Catskill Mountain resorts are located on the upper Schoharie River.
In the Schoharie Valley (on its main branch, the Cobleskill) is located Howe's Cave, an underground cavern of very considerable size and interest.
The Schoharie Valley lies mostly in Schoharie County (beginning some ten miles south of here) and is a rich agricultural and one-time hop growing section of much beauty.
It is famed as the only county of New York State which, up to 1914, had always given Democratic majorities in every election.
Through the Schoharie Valley to the mouth of the Mohawk came the great Tory-British-Indian raid of October, 1780, under Sir John Johnson and the Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant, details of which are given at different points along your route.
The headwaters of the Schoharie in the Catskill are impounded, by a dam at Gilboa, for the Catskill water system of New York City and flow into the Ashokan reservoir west of Kingston, showing that the world metropolis reaches out and affects the territory of New York State many miles from the city itself.
Palatine Germans settled on the Schoharie in 1712 and some removed to Stone Arabia and other Mohawk Valley points.
The area of the Schoharie watershed is 920 square miles, of the 3,485 square miles in the whole Mohawk River watershed, of which the Schoharie Valley is a part.
The Schoharie Valley therefore forms about 27 per cent of the total area of the Mohawk Valley, or a little more than one-quarter of its watershed.
At Gilboa, on the Upper Schoharie, in 1869, a freshet unearthed fossil tree stumps of the Devonian age — the most ancient and wonderful fossil forest remains ever uncovered.
Specimens are in the State Museum, Education Building, Albany, where a very wonderful re-creation of this ancient Devonian forest was unveiled in 1925.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 117: Tribes Hill — Fort Hunter, continued ...
Fort Hunter, 1711
Here, at Fort Hunter, Gov. Hunter built the first fort west of Schenectady, in 1711.
From 1700 here was located one of the two leading villages or "castles" of the Mohawk tribe of the great Iroquois confederacy.
Schenectady was the New York colony British frontier post until Fort Hunter was built in 1711, after which Fort Hunter was the western frontier post till 1722, when Fort Oswego was built.
When Fort Hunter was built in 1711, the settled portion of New York State comprised only the Hudson Valley and the eastern Mohawk Valley.
Queen Anne's Parsonage — 1712
At Fort Hunter an Episcopal Chapel was built about 1712.
Queen Anne furnished a great part of it as it was to be an Indian mission and it was called Queen Anne's Chapel.
It was destroyed by the building of the Erie Canal in 1825.
This famous little stone church in the wilderness boasted the first church organ west of Albany, which was the wonderment of the valley red men.
The chapel's stone parsonage, erected about 1712, is still standing at Fort Hunter.
When this house was built the Mohawk Valley was practically a virgin forest west of present Amsterdam.
The parsonage is located about a mile from the site of chapel and fort.
Queen Anne's parsonage is the sole remaining one of the many structures comprising Fort Hunter (1711-1783) and the Lower Mohawk Castle (1700-1775).
As one gazes on its ancient walls one can see the silent Mohawk in "an old bear skin," squatted by the roadside watching the white settlers in their Sunday best riding gaily by on their way to service in Queen Anne's Chapel with its church bell, its wonderful organ and its silver communion service presented by Queen Anne herself.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 117: Tribes Hill — Fort Hunter, continued ...
Fort Hunter, 1711
Here, at Fort Hunter, Gov. Hunter built the first fort west of Schenectady, in 1711.
From 1700 here was located one of the two leading villages or "castles" of the Mohawk tribe of the great Iroquois confederacy.
Schenectady was the New York colony British frontier post until Fort Hunter was built in 1711, after which Fort Hunter was the western frontier post till 1722, when Fort Oswego was built.
When Fort Hunter was built in 1711, the settled portion of New York State comprised only the Hudson Valley and the eastern Mohawk Valley.
Queen Anne's Parsonage — 1712
At Fort Hunter an Episcopal Chapel was built about 1712.
Queen Anne furnished a great part of it as it was to be an Indian mission and it was called Queen Anne's Chapel.
It was destroyed by the building of the Erie Canal in 1825.
This famous little stone church in the wilderness boasted the first church organ west of Albany, which was the wonderment of the valley red men.
The chapel's stone parsonage, erected about 1712, is still standing at Fort Hunter.
When this house was built the Mohawk Valley was practically a virgin forest west of present Amsterdam.
The parsonage is located about a mile from the site of chapel and fort.
Queen Anne's parsonage is the sole remaining one of the many structures comprising Fort Hunter (1711-1783) and the Lower Mohawk Castle (1700-1775).
As one gazes on its ancient walls one can see the silent Mohawk in "an old bear skin," squatted by the roadside watching the white settlers in their Sunday best riding gaily by on their way to service in Queen Anne's Chapel with its church bell, its wonderful organ and its silver communion service presented by Queen Anne herself.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 117: Tribes Hill — Fort Hunter, continued ...
Iconderoga — Lower Mohawk Castle, 1700-1775
The lower castle of the Mohawks was located at Gandawague (at present Auriesville, two miles west of Fort Hunter) from 1659 until 1666, when it was burned by a Canadian war party (see Auriesville).
From 1666 until 1693, the lower castle was at Caugnawaga, near present Fonda.
In 1693 Count Frontenac's Canadian army destroyed Caughnawaga and the lower castle was later located at Fort Hunter, where it remained until the Mohawks left for Canada to join the British forces in 1775.
All their villages were built in the river section between the Schoharie and the Nowadaga (at Indian Castle) with the exception of one small village near Rome (1666-1693), and one or more small ones on the Schoharie.
Castles of the Wolf, the Tortoise and the Bear
The Mohawks, after 1700, rebuilt their three "castles" at the following locations:
Iconderoga, castle of the Wolf Clan, also called the Lower castle, at Fort Hunter;
Tarajorees, castle of the Tortoise Clan, at Fort Plain;
Canajoharie, castle of the Bear Clan, at Indian Castle, also called the Upper or Great Castle of the Mohawks.
Besides these they had occasional small settlements of a few cabins and temporary hunting, fishing and harvesting villages.
One of their chief fishing villages was at the junction of the Hudson and the Normanskill below Albany.
This was a temporary village used only during the fishing.
The favorite hunting grounds of the Mohawks were in present Saratoga County.
I-con-der-o-ga is a Mohawk word meaning "two streams coming together," referring to the junction here of the Schoharie with the Mohawk.
The name is also spelled Tionderoga and Ticonderoga, as the famous Fort Ticonderoga, situated at the Lake George outlet into Lake Champlain.
Nearly all Indian names have had various spellings and many are interpreted differently by different historical authorities.
Other spellings are Teondeloga, Tiononderoga, Dyondarogon, etc.
Figures of the wolf, tortoise and the bear were the totems of these clans and the chieftains of these families signed all documents with the figures of their particular clans.
Other Iroquois tribes, besides the Mohawks, had other clans as well as these chief three.
The Bear, the Turtle and the Wolf were the three clans into which the Mohawks were divided.
Members of all clans generally lived in each castle.
The clan, however, had jurisdiction, in its clan village.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 117: Tribes Hill — Fort Hunter, continued ...
Iconderoga — Lower Mohawk Castle, 1700-1775
The lower castle of the Mohawks was located at Gandawague (at present Auriesville, two miles west of Fort Hunter) from 1659 until 1666, when it was burned by a Canadian war party (see Auriesville).
From 1666 until 1693, the lower castle was at Caugnawaga, near present Fonda.
In 1693 Count Frontenac's Canadian army destroyed Caughnawaga and the lower castle was later located at Fort Hunter, where it remained until the Mohawks left for Canada to join the British forces in 1775.
All their villages were built in the river section between the Schoharie and the Nowadaga (at Indian Castle) with the exception of one small village near Rome (1666-1693), and one or more small ones on the Schoharie.
Castles of the Wolf, the Tortoise and the Bear
The Mohawks, after 1700, rebuilt their three "castles" at the following locations:
Iconderoga, castle of the Wolf Clan, also called the Lower castle, at Fort Hunter;
Tarajorees, castle of the Tortoise Clan, at Fort Plain;
Canajoharie, castle of the Bear Clan, at Indian Castle, also called the Upper or Great Castle of the Mohawks.
Besides these they had occasional small settlements of a few cabins and temporary hunting, fishing and harvesting villages.
One of their chief fishing villages was at the junction of the Hudson and the Normanskill below Albany.
This was a temporary village used only during the fishing.
The favorite hunting grounds of the Mohawks were in present Saratoga County.
I-con-der-o-ga is a Mohawk word meaning "two streams coming together," referring to the junction here of the Schoharie with the Mohawk.
The name is also spelled Tionderoga and Ticonderoga, as the famous Fort Ticonderoga, situated at the Lake George outlet into Lake Champlain.
Nearly all Indian names have had various spellings and many are interpreted differently by different historical authorities.
Other spellings are Teondeloga, Tiononderoga, Dyondarogon, etc.
Figures of the wolf, tortoise and the bear were the totems of these clans and the chieftains of these families signed all documents with the figures of their particular clans.
Other Iroquois tribes, besides the Mohawks, had other clans as well as these chief three.
The Bear, the Turtle and the Wolf were the three clans into which the Mohawks were divided.
Members of all clans generally lived in each castle.
The clan, however, had jurisdiction, in its clan village.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: HISTORY OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY
History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Chapter 117: Tribes Hill — Fort Hunter, continued ...
Lower Castle of the Mohawks
Here at Fort Hunter was one of the strongholds of the powerful Six Nations and the traveler going west is now well within their one-time country.
Here many important Indian councils were held and here came Sir William Johnson to confer with his red "brethren" on many occasions.
The Six Nations occupied land along the Albany-Buffalo route, from the Schoharie to beyond the Genesee.
Their order from east to west was Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas.
Of these the Mohawks were the most warlike and are said to have been the highest type, physically and mentally, of the red aborigines of North America.
They gave their name to the Mohawk River, the Hudson's greatest tributary, whose valley carries for a hundred miles westward the great tide of traffic and transportation which goes over the New York to Buffalo route.
Prior to the Revolution the Iroquois or Six Nations had conquered a great part of the Indian country of eastern North America.
The Mohawks were important allies of the English through the French and Indian wars and the Revolution.
The successful example of this famous Indian confederacy is said to have had a great influence on the formation of the United States of America.
It must be remembered that the Mohawks were the firm friends and allies in arms of the white settlers on the Mohawk for over one hundred years prior to the Revolution.
In 1775 the Mohawks left the valley and went to Canada to fight with the British army.
The tribe (over 3,000 strong) is now (1924) located on Grand River, Ont., Caughnawaga and Lake of Two Mountains, Que., with some Mohawks also on New York State Indian reservations.
In 1779 Col. Van Schaick removed the last of the neutral Mohawks from the Fort Hunter Castle, that date marking the end of Mohawk occupation in the valley.
From Fort Hunter the motorist can run two miles westward to the Auriesville shrine, site of the Mohawk Castle of Osseruenon, where Father Jogues was slain in 1646.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Chapter 117: Tribes Hill — Fort Hunter, continued ...
Lower Castle of the Mohawks
Here at Fort Hunter was one of the strongholds of the powerful Six Nations and the traveler going west is now well within their one-time country.
Here many important Indian councils were held and here came Sir William Johnson to confer with his red "brethren" on many occasions.
The Six Nations occupied land along the Albany-Buffalo route, from the Schoharie to beyond the Genesee.
Their order from east to west was Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas.
Of these the Mohawks were the most warlike and are said to have been the highest type, physically and mentally, of the red aborigines of North America.
They gave their name to the Mohawk River, the Hudson's greatest tributary, whose valley carries for a hundred miles westward the great tide of traffic and transportation which goes over the New York to Buffalo route.
Prior to the Revolution the Iroquois or Six Nations had conquered a great part of the Indian country of eastern North America.
The Mohawks were important allies of the English through the French and Indian wars and the Revolution.
The successful example of this famous Indian confederacy is said to have had a great influence on the formation of the United States of America.
It must be remembered that the Mohawks were the firm friends and allies in arms of the white settlers on the Mohawk for over one hundred years prior to the Revolution.
In 1775 the Mohawks left the valley and went to Canada to fight with the British army.
The tribe (over 3,000 strong) is now (1924) located on Grand River, Ont., Caughnawaga and Lake of Two Mountains, Que., with some Mohawks also on New York State Indian reservations.
In 1779 Col. Van Schaick removed the last of the neutral Mohawks from the Fort Hunter Castle, that date marking the end of Mohawk occupation in the valley.
From Fort Hunter the motorist can run two miles westward to the Auriesville shrine, site of the Mohawk Castle of Osseruenon, where Father Jogues was slain in 1646.
TO BE CONTINUED ...