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

The Fur Trade

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 12, 2017

1. The Fur Trade Marker

Inscription.

The Fur Trade. . , Why is Albany Here? , Mohawk and Mahican peoples inhabited this region for thousands of years when the Dutch ship the Half Moon dropped anchor near this spot in 1609. At that time, the world was in the midst of a "Little Ice Age,” and beaver fur could be made into much-needed warm, water-repellent hats, muffs, and collars. Beaver thrived here, and the Dutch staked claim to the bounty. They forged alliances with Native peoples and established a trade center here on the bank of the Hudson River, first at Fort Nassau in 1614 and then Fort Orange in 1624. In 1652 the village that had spread north and west of Fort Orange - today's downtown Albany - was named Beverwijck, or "Beaver District." , The Fur Trade , 1. Mohawk men were the primary trappers in this region. During the winter, they spent months away from home, trapping beaver and otter. After the hunters returned home, Mohawk women scraped and processed the skins in the late winter and early spring. , 2. Between May and November, traders brought the pelts eastward by canoe to today's Schenectady. From there, carrying packs of furs on their backs, they came on foot to Fort Orange and Beverwijck. , 3. In late summer, Dutch traders shipped the pelts downriver to Manhattan, where they were loaded onto ships bound for the Netherlands. In the peak years of the mid-1650s, tens of thousands of pelts were shipped from Albany annually. , 4. From the Netherlands, pelts were sent to fur processors in Russia, then France or England, where they were fashioned into hats and clothing. , 5. Beaver hats and clothes were exported across Eurasia and also back across the Atlantic to the Americas. , Trading Season in Beverwijck , During the summer trading season, Beverwijck swelled with visitors. Dutch traders from Manhattan and the Dutch Republic filled the many inns and taverns of early Albany. , The Mohawk and Mahican traders often slept in villagers' houses or in small outbuildings called wildenhuijsjes, meaning "little Indian houses," on villagers' properties, built especially to accommodate local traders. , Native peoples exchanged pelts for European goods, such as axes, knives, scissors, mirrors, mouth harps, shoes, and cloth, as well as beads and sewant or wampum, the shell-made currency.

Why is Albany Here?
Mohawk and Mahican peoples inhabited this region for thousands of years when the Dutch ship the Half Moon dropped anchor near this spot in 1609. At that time, the world was in the midst of a "Little Ice Age,” and beaver fur could be made into much-needed warm, water-repellent hats, muffs, and collars. Beaver thrived here, and the Dutch staked claim to the bounty. They forged alliances with Native peoples and established a trade center here on the bank of the Hudson River, first at Fort Nassau in 1614 and then Fort Orange in 1624. In 1652 the village that had spread north and west of Fort Orange - today's downtown Albany - was named Beverwijck, or "Beaver District."

The Fur Trade
1. Mohawk men were the primary trappers in this region. During the winter, they spent months away from home, trapping beaver and otter. After the hunters returned home, Mohawk women scraped and processed the skins in the late winter and early spring.

2. Between May and November, traders brought the pelts eastward by canoe to today's Schenectady. From there, carrying packs of furs on their backs, they came on foot to Fort Orange and Beverwijck.

3. In late summer, Dutch traders shipped the pelts downriver to Manhattan, where they were loaded onto ships bound

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for the Netherlands. In the peak years of the mid-1650s, tens of thousands of pelts were shipped from Albany annually.

4. From the Netherlands, pelts were sent to fur processors in Russia, then France or England, where they were fashioned into hats and clothing.

5. Beaver hats and clothes were exported across Eurasia and also back across the Atlantic to the Americas.

Trading Season in Beverwijck
During the summer trading season, Beverwijck swelled with visitors. Dutch traders from Manhattan and the Dutch Republic filled the many inns and taverns of early Albany.
The Mohawk and Mahican traders often slept in villagers' houses or in small outbuildings called wildenhuijsjes, meaning "little Indian houses," on villagers' properties, built especially to accommodate local traders.
Native peoples exchanged pelts for European goods, such as axes, knives, scissors, mirrors, mouth harps, shoes, and cloth, as well as beads and sewant or wampum, the shell-made currency.

Erected 2016 by Albany Cultural Heritage and Tourism Partnership, New York State Museum, Downtown Albany and SUNY.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Colonial Era •

The Fur Trade Marker (<i>tall view</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 12, 2017

2. The Fur Trade Marker (tall view)

Industry & Commerce • Native Americans • Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 42° 39.005′ N, 73° 45.016′ W. Marker is in Albany, New York, in Albany County. It is in Downtown. Marker is at the intersection of Broadway and Maiden Lane, on the right when traveling north on Broadway. Marker is a composite plaque, mounted on a waist-high pole, located along the pedestrian walkway leading east from the intersection. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 445 Broadway, Albany NY 12207, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. 1st Telephone Central Office in New York State (within shouting distance of this marker); Building A Place to Live (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Union Station (about 400 feet away); Anneke Janse Bogardus House Site (about 500 feet away); Railroads (about 500 feet away); Henry Hudson (about 600 feet away); Lydius Corner (about 600 feet away); Site of First Poor House in the United States (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Albany.

Also see . . . Fur Trade. New Netherlands Institute website entry
If it was the search for a short route to Asia that brought the Dutch to North America, it was the beaver that made them stay. In 16th- and 17th-century Europe, fur

The Fur Trade Marker (<i>wide view</i>) image. Click for full size.

3. The Fur Trade Marker (wide view)

was more than a luxury: as standards of living rose, fur-lined coats, fur collars, fur capes and muffs became near necessities. The beaver was particularly prized because its fur had a special characteristic: under the long glossy coat was another layer of short, tightly-packed hairs. This layer was made into felt, which produced hats of every description and fashion, of great warmth and quality. (Submitted on April 22, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Albany and the Fur-Seal Trade image. Click for more information.

via Historia Albanica, unknown

4. Albany and the Fur-Seal Trade

Historia Albanica website entry:
The early history of Albany was defined to a great extent by the fur trade, specifically beaver fur. For the first hundred years of its existence, Albany served as a trading post, where Indian trappers would exchange their beaver pelts for European trade goods, which pelts would then be trans-shipped to Holland and England, where they would be manufactured into clothing (mainly hats, in the case of beaver fur). (Submitted on April 22, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Click for more information.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 22, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 842 times since then and 109 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 22, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 4. submitted on July 31, 2021, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.