Mohawk Area

Mohawk Area. Historic New York. The Mohawk Valley was a principal pass to the interior between the Adirondack Mountains and the Allegheny Plateau. Here dwelt the Mohawks, one of the Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy who barred the white man's advance westward. In the seventeenth century they were visited by French Catholic missionaries from Canada, some of whom suffered martyrdom. In 1712, with the aid of Queen Anne, an Anglican Chapel for the Mohawks was erected at Fort Hunter., Trade goods and furs were carried by river boats over the Mohawk between Albany and the West. The same route was followed by military expeditions during the French and Indian War., From Fort Johnson, and after 1763 from Johnson Hall at Johnstown, Sir William Johnson ably conducted Indian affairs for the British government. During the Revolution, Tory and Indian raiders from Canada harassed the Mohawk Valley settlements., The completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 and the formation of the New York Central Railroad in 1853 introduced an era of rapid settlement and industrial growth. In the twentieth century improved highways follow this historic route long famed for its scenic beauty.