Minisink Ford is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

on the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

, fifteen miles northwest of

Port Jervis Port Jervis, named after John Bloomfield Jervis, a Roman civil engineer who oversaw the construction of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, is a city located at the confluence of the Neversink and Delaware rivers in western Orange County, New York, ...

. It is in the town of

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

Sullivan County, New York Sullivan County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,624. The county seat is Monticello. The county's name honors Major General John Sullivan, who was labeled at the time as a hero in th ...

, United States.

History

"Minisink" once referred to a vast area stretching all the way from Minisink Ford to the

Delaware Water Gap The Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. The gap makes up the southern portion of the Delaware Wa ...

. In 1800, the Town of Minisink was given its present boundaries, thirty miles southwest of Minisink Ford. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

in 1779, Minisink Ford was the site of the

Battle of Minisink The Battle of Minisink took place during the American Revolutionary War at Minisink Ford, New York, on July 22, 1779. It was the only major skirmish of the Revolutionary War fought in the upper Delaware River valley. The battle was a decisive Ir ...

, in which 40–50 settlers were killed in an engagement with a band of

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

and

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 Cr ...

under

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people (Kanien’kehá:ka), an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language (Kanien’kéha), the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a ...

chief and Colonel

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York and, later, Brantford, in what is today Ontario, who was closely associated with Great Britain du ...

. The Minisink Battlefield was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1993. In 1827, the

Delaware and Hudson Canal The Delaware and Hudson Canal was the first venture of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, which would later build the Delaware and Hudson Railway. Between 1828 and 1899, the canal's barges carried anthracite coal from the mines of northeast ...

began operating between

Honesdale, Pennsylvania Honesdale is a Local government in Pennsylvania#Borough, borough in, and the county seat of, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 4,458 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Honesdale is lo ...

and

Kingston, New York Kingston is the only Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in, and the county seat of, Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany, New York, Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grou ...

. In its time, the canal company was the largest private commercial enterprise in the nation. Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct was constructed in 1848 as part of the canal, between

Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania Lackawaxen is an unincorporated community in Lackawaxen Township, Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community is located at the confluence of the Delaware and Lackawaxen Rivers, the former of which forms the state line with New Yor ...

and Minisink Ford. It was designed by and built under the supervision of John A. Roebling, who would design the

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...

twenty years later. Portions of the Canal, including the Delaware Aqueduct, were designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1968. The aqueduct has been restored and is now preserved by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

References

External links

Minisink Valley Historical Society
{{authority control Hamlets in New York (state) Hamlets in Sullivan County, New York New York (state) populated places on the Delaware River