Schenectady in Schenectady County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Stockade Historic District

Photographed by Howard C. Ohlhous, January 7, 2012

1. Stockade Historic District Marker

Inscription. The Seventeenth Century The Schenectady Stockade is one of the oldest communities in America. Founded by the Dutch on land purchased from the Mohawk Indians in 1661, it came under English rule three years later. From the earliest days a timber stockade wall enclosed the settlement; however, in 1690 a massacre and fire destroyed the village in the first of the colonial wars. With the help of the Mohawks, undaunted settlers rebuilt before the new century.

The Eighteenth Century The village thrived with farming, fur trading, and boat building on the Mohawk River bank. It became a commercial transportation and military center. Schenectadians contributed significantly to the development of the west. They played an important role during the colonial wars and the Revolutionary War, after which the third stockade wall was removed. Union College, founded in 1795, was first located in the Stockade.
The Nineteenth Century Two events changed the commercial life of the Stockade. In 1819 a disastrous fire destroyed businesses near the Mohawk River, and several years later the Erie Canal provided water transportation outside

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the old stockade boundaries. Businesses rebuilt in a new part of town. Community life still centered in the Stockade; but the area continued as mainly residential, retaining a diverse architectural legacy of houses, churches, and public buildings.

The Twentieth Century In 1962 the Schenectady Stockade became the first historic district in New York State. The city established it as a legally protected historic zone under a state enabling act. In 1973 the United States Department of the Interior entered the Stockade on the National Register of Historic Places. The national recognition affirms the historic and architectural significance of the Stockade and encourages the preservation of this important part of America's heritage.

Erected 1998.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Erie Canal series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1661.

Location. 42° 48.982′ N, 73° 56.525′ W. Marker is in Schenectady, New York, in Schenectady County. It is at the intersection of

Photographed by Howard C. Ohlhous, January 7, 2012

2. Stockade Historic District Marker

One of two monuments posted at the entryway into the Stockade section of Schenectady on Union Street.

Erie Blvd and Union Street, on the right when traveling west on Erie Blvd. There are a set of two of these masonry markers, one on either side of Union Street marking the beginning of the Stockade section of Schenectady at Erie Blvd. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Schenectady NY 12305, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Upstate New York,

in the Capital District,

and in the Albany Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American Northeast

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: West College (a few steps from this marker); Elizabeth Van Rensselaer Gillette, MD (within shouting distance of this marker); Member, New York State Assembly (within shouting distance of this marker); Founder, Schenectady Humane Society (within shouting distance of this marker); The “Original” Erie Canal (about

Photographed by Howard C. Ohlhous, January 7, 2012

3. Stockade Historic District Marker

The historic text is on the side of the two gateway monuments that face away from Erie Blvd. The second post is across Union Street, seen here on the left. Both posts have the same text.

600 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Military Barracks / Folkie A. and Jane H. Ryley House (approx. 0.2 miles away); John Miller and Sons Boarding House (approx. 0.2 miles away); Schenectady's Little Italy (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Schenectady.

Also see . . . The Stockade Association. (Submitted on August 27, 2012, by Howard C. Ohlhous of Duanesburg, New York.)

Photographed by Howard C. Ohlhous, January 7, 2012

4. Stockade Historic District Marker

The Seventeenth Century

Photographed by Howard C. Ohlhous, January 7, 2012

5. Stockade Historic District Marker

The Eighteenth Century

Photographed by Howard C. Ohlhous, January 7, 2012

6. Stockade Historic District Marker

The Nineteenth Century

Photographed by Howard C. Ohlhous, January 7, 2012

7. Stockade Historic District Marker

The Twenthieth Century

Stockade Historic District image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Howard C. Ohlhous, August 20, 2012

8. Stockade Historic District

One of the many homes that makes the Stockade an architecturaly significant area of Schenectady. The circa 1740 John Teller House, a Dutch Colonial home at 121 Front Street, features a brick gambrel-roof and is entered through a heavy Dutch door, topped with a transom light made of panes of hand-blown bull’s-eye glass.

Welcome To The Stockade - 1661 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Howard C. Ohlhous, August 20, 2012

9. Welcome To The Stockade - 1661

Lawrence the Indian image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Howard C. Ohlhous, June 10, 2012

10. Lawrence the Indian

At the junction of Front, Green and North Ferry Streets in the Stockade, is the Indian monument which marks the northeastern extremity and blockhouse of Queen's Fort that was built by 1705, after the 1690 massacre. The statue was placed at that site in 1887 and became known as "Lawrence the Indian." Lawrence was named after the Christian Mohawk who was a great friend to the early settlers and the most persistent of the trackers of the retreating French and Indians following the 1690 massacre atthe Stockade. In June of 2012 the Stockade Association paid for the statue to undergo a 10 day long refurbishment of the zink casting, which is one of 9 like it known in the world today.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 18, 2016. It was originally submitted on August 27, 2012, by Howard C. Ohlhous of Duanesburg, New York. This page has been viewed 1,502 times since then and 64 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. submitted on August 27, 2012, by Howard C. Ohlhous of Duanesburg, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.