Canajoharie (), also known as the "Upper Castle", was the name of one of two major towns of the

Mohawk nation The Mohawk people ( moh, Kanienʼkehá꞉ka) are the most easterly section of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy. They are an Iroquoian-speaking Indigenous people of North America, with communities in southeastern Canada and norther ...

in 1738. The community stretched for a mile and a half along the southern bank of the

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk f ...

, from a village known as ''Dekanohage'' westward to what is now

Fort Plain, New York Fort Plain is a village in Montgomery County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 2,322. The village is named after a fort built during the American Revolution at the junction of the Mohawk River and its tr ...

.Dean R. Snow and David B. Guldenzopf
"Indian Castle Church"
. Accessed August 23, 2009. The Upper Castle historic district has been designated as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. It contains the

Indian Castle Church Indian Castle Church is a historic mission church at Indian Castle in Herkimer County, New York. The church is located on NYS Route 5S near present-day Danube. It is a one-story, rectangular wood-frame structure, clad in clapboard with a gable ...

, built in 1769 for the Mohawk by Sir William Johnson, the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs, on land donated by his consort

Molly Brant Molly Brant ( – April 16, 1796), also known as Mary Brant, Konwatsi'tsiaienni, and Degonwadonti, was a Mohawk leader in British New York and Upper Canada in the era of the American Revolution. Living in the Province of New York, she was the c ...

and her brother Joseph Brant, both leaders among the Mohawk. The site also has archeological resources related to Iroquois history. For a time the town was the home of the notable Mohawk leaders

Hendrick Theyanoguin Hendrick Theyanoguin (c. 1691 – September 8, 1755), whose name had several spelling variations, was a Mohawk leader and member of the Bear Clan. He resided at Canajoharie or the Upper Mohawk Castle in colonial New York.Sivertsen, Barbara J. ...

(1692–1755) and the Brants. According to Joseph Brant, ''Canajoharie'' means "a kettle stuck on a pole." A modern etymology translates it as "a washed kettle" or "the pot that washes itself". It refers to swirling actions of water in a large circular pothole in the Canajoharie Creek near where it empties into the Mohawk River. The modern village of Canajoharie, New York was settled by European Americans a few miles to the east of the historic Mohawk village.Dean R. Sno
"Searching for Hendrick: Correction of a Historic Conflation"
. ''New York History'', History Cooperative, Summer 2007. Accessed August 23, 2009.

In popular culture

Referenced by

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a ...

in their album ''

Join Us ''Join Us'' is the fifteenth studio album from the rock band They Might Be Giants, released on July 19, 2011. It is the band's first adult album in four years since '' The Else'' in 2007. Following the success of their 2009 children's album, ''He ...

.'' Referenced in book, "Tell the Bees That I am Gone" Chapters 83 and 85 by Diana Gabaldon, 2022.

References

Former Native American populated places in the United States Former populated places in New York (state) Iroquois populated places Mohawk tribe {{NorthAm-native-stub

In popular culture

See also

References