Mohawk Upper Castle Historic District is a
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...
in
Herkimer County, New York
Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named a ...
that was declared 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 ...
in 1993.
Located south of the Mohawk River, it includes 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 by Sir
William Johnson, British Superintendent of Indian Affairs, as a
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
church for the
Mohawk Mohawk may refer to:
Related to Native Americans
*Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York)
*Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people
*Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...
in the western part of their territory; the Brant Family Barn, a rare surviving example of Dutch colonial barns in the Mohawk Valley; as well as important
archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
areas revealing life in ''Nowadaga,'' as the western part of the Mohawk village of ''Canajoharie'' was known.
[Dean R. Snow and David B. Guldenzopf, "Indian Castle Church, the Mohawk Upper Castle Historic District National Historic Landmark"](_blank)
, 1998-2001, Indian Castle Church Website, accessed 10 October 2011 The fortified village was called the Upper Castle by European colonists.
Its name differentiates it from Lower Castle to the east, another fortified Mohawk village, known as ''
Tionondoroge
Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site, also known as Erie Canal National Historic Landmark, is a historic district that includes the ruins of the Erie Canal aqueduct over Schoharie Creek, and a long part of the Erie Canal, in the towns of Glen ...
,'' near the confluence of
Schoharie Creek
Schoharie Creek is a river in New York that flows north from the foot of Indian Head Mountain in the Catskills through the Schoharie Valley to the Mohawk River. It is twice impounded north of Prattsville to create New York City's Schoharie ...
and 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 ...
. Fort Hunter was built here in 1712. The
Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site
Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site, also known as Erie Canal National Historic Landmark, is a historic district that includes the ruins of the Erie Canal aqueduct over Schoharie Creek, and a long part of the Erie Canal, in the towns of Glen an ...
, containing remains of a
navigable aqueduct
Navigable aqueducts (sometimes called water bridges) are bridge structures that carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railways or roads. They are primarily distinguished by their size, carrying a larger cross-section of wa ...
, is near the former village location.
History and resources
The Mohawk concentrated their town life in the villages known as "castles" following the destructive raids by French Canadians and their Indian allies during
King William's War
King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...
of 1693. They reestablished their settlements in both areas, which were located south of the Mohawk River.
Indian Castle Church was built in 1769 as a missionary church to the Mohawk in this western settlement known as Canajoharie, by Sir
William Johnson, British Superintendent of Indian Affairs, on land donated by
Mary (Molly) Brant, his
consort __NOTOC__
Consort may refer to:
Music
* "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses''
* Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles
* Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...
, and her younger brother
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk people, Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York (state), New York, who was closely associated with Kingdom of Great Britain, Great B ...
, both Mohawk leaders allied with Johnson. It has a nearby Mohawk cemetery, a contributing site.
Following the Revolutionary War and the exodus of most Mohawk from New York to Canada, under pressure as allies of the defeated British, the church was used by a variety of Protestant congregations in the area. Dutch Reformed (1800–1820), an interdenominational Union Congregation, a "short-lived" Presbyterian congregation, and Lutherans from 1838-1855.
A new Union Church Society took over the church and accomplished some renovations beginning in 1855. It changed the orientation of the building, so that the short ends face north and south. The Society used the church until 1925. To save the property, local residents formed the Indian Castle Church Restoration and Preservation Society, and have raised funds for it during the years. Due to their efforts, it was 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 v ...
in 1971. The Society operates the property as a public historic site.
The Brant Family Barn is believed to have been constructed about 1754, at the time the family established the homestead. The houses later occupied by Mary Brant and her brother Joseph were both burned down during the revolutionary war, as were most structures existing in the valley before the war. They migrated to Ontario, where they settled on the
Six Nations Reserve
Six Nations (or Six Nations of the Grand River, french: Réserve des Six Nations, see, Ye:i’ Níónöëdzage:h) is demographically the largest First Nations reserve in Canada. As of the end of 2017, it has a total of 27,276 members, 12,848 of w ...
.
This 49.6-acre tract was privately held and used primarily for agriculture. In 1940 Ralph Welden bought the property from the Green family, and it is still held by his descendants. They allowed archaeological assessments in the 1970s and 1980s, and have worked to preserve the land where substantial resources were found.
References
External links
Dean R. Snow and David B. Guldenzopf, "Indian Castle Church, the Mohawk Upper Castle Historic District National Historic Landmark" 1998–2001, Indian Castle Church Website
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)
National Historic Landmarks in New York (state)
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)
Archaeological sites in New York (state)
Native American history of New York (state)
Historic districts in Herkimer County, New York
Iroquois populated places
Former Native American populated places in the United States
Mohawk tribe
National Register of Historic Places in Herkimer County, New York