Early Frontier

Early Frontier. . , In its early years, Schenectady was a frontier community, centered on farming and trade with the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy (or Haudenosaunee). Life for early settlers was highly focused on the Mohawk River. One of the most precious resources to come from the Mohawk River were fashionable beaver pelts. Once trapped and skinned, the pelts were sent east along the Mohawk River and eventually across the Atlantic to Europe, earning astonishing profits., Navigating the shallows of the Mohawk River during this time period was difficult. In addition to shallows, sandbars and rapids meant that a regular boat would easily get stuck. In response, early boat builders devised a boat of special construction, bespoke to the Mohawk River and its rough conditions. By the early 1700s, these boats, called bateau, filled the waters around Schenectady., Bateaux, with pointed ends and flat bottoms, could navigate through the Mohawk River's treacherous obstacles, passing high over rapids and floating through shallow water. As time and technology progressed, the size of the bateaux gradually got larger. Many of the first bateaux seen in the area fit a crew of three, but soon, longer boats with crews of four or five began to appear, carrying up to one ton of cargo. Think of these as the predecessor to the 18-wheeler; carrying rum west, and furs back east., Schenectady became a hub for the construction of these bateaux and other boats. The area behind today's Stockade neighborhood bustled with the sounds of a booming boatyard. Here, again, the Mohawk River worked to the community's advantage, making it the perfect location for a freshwater seaport., The Mohawk Towpath Byway is a series of local, county and state highways that follow the historic route of the Erie Canal between Schenectady and Waterford/Cohoes in upstate New York. As one travels the Byway you unlock the story of the Mohawk River, Erie Canal, the waterway west and the part our communities played in the westward expansion of the country and the Industrial Revolution. The western terminus of the Byway is at State Street and Erie Blvd, a half dozen blocks east of this point.