Fort Hunter, New York
Encyclopedia
Fort Hunter is a hamlet in the town of Florida
in Montgomery County
, New York
, on the Mohawk River
at Schoharie Creek
.
In the 18th century, Fort Hunter was built as a fort near the location of one of the two primary Mohawk
settlements. The Mohawk name for the village was rendered variously in English as Teantontalago, Thienderego, Tionondorage, and Tiononderoga. The European colonists called it the "Lower Mohawk Castle", while Canajoharie
, the other primary Mohawk village, was known as the "Upper Mohawk Castle". The Dongan Charter
gave the city of Albany
the right to own 1000 acres (4 km²) at the Lower Mohawk Castle.
One of its sachem
s, Hendrick Tejonihokarawa
or Hendrick Peters of the Wolf Clan
, was one of the "Four Mohawk Kings
" who went to London in 1710 to meet with Queen Anne
. They asked her for Anglican missionaries to help offset French Catholic influence in the Iroquois Confederacy, as well as defenses against French soldiers. In 1711, the Crown authorized the construction of Fort Hunter near Tionondorage. The fort contained a chapel
and mission house. Queen Anne
donated a set of communion
silver and sent two missionaries to the colony.
In return, she had asked Tejonihokarawa for help in settling Palatine German refugees then working at English camps in the Hudson Valley
. Through Governor Hunter, he made some Mohawk land available to settlers near Schoharie Creek, where some of the Palatines eventually settled..
Fort Hunter is the site of the Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site
, which has the remains of the Schoharie Crossing aqueduct
and part of a lock from the early nineteenth-century development of the Erie Canal
.
Florida, Montgomery County, New York
Florida is a town south of the Mohawk River in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 2,696 in the 2010 United States Census. The town was named after the state of Florida...
in Montgomery County
Montgomery County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 49,708 people, 20,038 households, and 13,104 families residing in the county. The population density was 123 people per square mile . There were 22,522 housing units at an average density of 56 per square mile...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, on the Mohawk River
Mohawk River
The Mohawk River is a river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital District, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
at Schoharie Creek
Schoharie Creek
Schoharie Creek in New York, USA flows north from the foot of Indian Head Mountain in the Catskill Mountains through the Schoharie Valley to the Mohawk River. It is twice impounded north of Prattsville to create New York City's Schoharie Reservoir and the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project.Two notable...
.
In the 18th century, Fort Hunter was built as a fort near the location of one of the two primary Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
settlements. The Mohawk name for the village was rendered variously in English as Teantontalago, Thienderego, Tionondorage, and Tiononderoga. The European colonists called it the "Lower Mohawk Castle", while Canajoharie
Canajoharie
Canajoharie was the name of a Mohawk village.It may also refer to:* Canajoharie , New York* Canajoharie , New York* Canajoharie Central School District* Canajoharie and Catskill Railroad...
, the other primary Mohawk village, was known as the "Upper Mohawk Castle". The Dongan Charter
Dongan Charter
The Dongan Charter is the 1686 document incorporating Albany, New York as a city. Albany's charter was issued by Governor Thomas Dongan of the Province of New York, a few months after Governor Dongan issued a similarly worded, but less detailed charter for the city of New York. The city of Albany...
gave the city of Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
the right to own 1000 acres (4 km²) at the Lower Mohawk Castle.
One of its sachem
Sachem
A sachem[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages...
s, Hendrick Tejonihokarawa
Hendrick Tejonihokarawa
Hendrick Tejonihokarawa, also known as Tee Yee Neen Ho Ga Row and Hendrick Peters was a pro-English leader of the Mohawk who was one of the "Four Mohawk Kings" who went to London in 1710 to meet with Queen Anne...
or Hendrick Peters of the Wolf Clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
, was one of the "Four Mohawk Kings
Four Mohawk Kings
The Four Mohawk Kings or Four Kings of the New World were three Mohawk chiefs of the Iroquois Confederacy and a Mahican of the Algonquian peoples...
" who went to London in 1710 to meet with Queen Anne
Queen Anne
"Queen Anne" generally refers to Anne, Queen of Great Britain , Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1702, and of Great Britain from 1707.Queen Anne may also refer to:-Uses relating to Queen Anne of Great Britain:...
. They asked her for Anglican missionaries to help offset French Catholic influence in the Iroquois Confederacy, as well as defenses against French soldiers. In 1711, the Crown authorized the construction of Fort Hunter near Tionondorage. The fort contained a chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
and mission house. Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
donated a set of communion
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
silver and sent two missionaries to the colony.
In return, she had asked Tejonihokarawa for help in settling Palatine German refugees then working at English camps in the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
. Through Governor Hunter, he made some Mohawk land available to settlers near Schoharie Creek, where some of the Palatines eventually settled..
Fort Hunter is the site of the Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site
Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site
Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site, also known as Erie Canal National Historic Landmark, is a historic district that includes the ruins of the Erie Canal aqueduct over Schoharie Creek, and a long part of the Erie Canal, in the towns of Glen and Florida within Montgomery County, New York...
, which has the remains of the Schoharie Crossing aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
and part of a lock from the early nineteenth-century development of the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
.
External links
- "Fort Hunter", Tryon County, NY at Rootsweb