Located in the village of Schoharie,

Schoharie County Schoharie County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 29,714, making it the state's fifth-least populous county. The county ...

New York, the Old Stone Fort was originally built as a Reformed Dutch Church in 1772. With the coming of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, the church was enclosed by a log stockade in 1777. ''See also:'' On October 17, 1780, a force of approximately 800

loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

and Native Americans under

Sir John Johnson Brigadier General Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet (5 November 1741 – 4 January 1830) was an American-born military officer, magistrate, landowner and colonial official in the British Indian Department who fought as a Loyalist during the America ...

and

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 ...

Capt. Joseph Brant raided the valley and briefly attacked the fort before proceeding north toward the Mohawk Valley. A

cannonball A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...

hole can still be seen in a cornice at the rear of the building. The stockade was removed in 1785 and the building continued service as a church until 1844 when it was replaced by the present Reformed Church in the village. In 1857 the former fort was sold to the State of New York for $800. Through the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

and until 1873, it was used as an armory. Then, it was given to the county for historical use. In 1888 the Schoharie County Historical Society was formed to operate a museum at the old fort and by 1899, a catalog of 2,500 items was published. The fort is part of the Old Stone Fort Museum complex, which also comprises: the William Badgely Museum and carriage house, built in 1972; the Warner house, a Greek Revival home housing the Scribner Exhibit of 20th Century Communications; the 1830 Jackson law office; the Oliver one-room school house furnished circa 1900; and the Schaeffer-Ingold Dutch barn. Experts on the Dutch Barn have included Harold Zoch (1927–2018), who was Schoharie County Historian. The research library is available to historians and genealogists. The facility is open to the public from May through October. 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 ...

in 2002.

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