Mohawk River Valley

Fort Alden | Fort Ballston | Fort Bell | Berne Indian Stockade | Bowman's Creek Blockhouse
Fort Bull | Burnet's Field Blockhouses | Fort Campbell | Fort Canajoharie
Fort Canastaginone | Fort Canastagone | Fort Cannatchoeari | Fort Castel
Fort Caughnawaga | Cedar Swamp Camp | Cherry Valley Stockade | Fort Clyde
Cooperstown Blockhouses | Fort Cordority | Corlaer's Fort | Fort Cosby
Fort Countryman | Fort Craven | Fort Dayton | Fort Defiance (2) | Fort Desolation
Fort Dieffendorf | Fort Dievendorf | Fort Dubois (2) | Fort Ehle | Fort Failing
Fort Fisher | Fort Folley | Fort Fox | Fort Frey | Fultonville Blockhouse | Fort Gile
Fort Harrison | Heidman's Fort | Fort Hendrick | New Fort Herkimer | (Old) Fort Herkimer
Herkimer Church Fort | Herkimer Home | Fort Hess | Fort Hill | Fort House | Fort Hunter (1)
Fort Hunter (2) | Hyde Bay Camp | Indian Castle Fort | Old Fort Johnson (1)
Fort William Johnson (2) | Fort Johnstown | Fort Kayser | Fort Keyser | Fort Klock (1)
Fort Klock (2) | Fort Klock (3) | Fort Kouari | Fort Lewis (1) | Fort Loucks | Lower Fort
Lower Mohawk Castles (1-7) | Fort McKean | Mayfield Fort | Middle Fort
Middle Mohawk Castle (1a) | Middle Mohawk Castles (1b-4) | Midway Fort
Fort Mike | Camp Mohawk | Fort Nellis | New Petersburgh Fort | Fort Newport
Fort Niskayuna | Fort Nistigone | Ochs' Fort | Oneida Castle (1) | Oneida Castle (2)
Ox Fort (2) | Fort Paris | Paris' Mill Blockhouse | Fort Pentagon | Fort Plain | Fort Plank
Fort Putman | Queen's Fort (2) | Rector's Fort | Fort Rensselaer (1) | Fort Rensselaer (2)
Rheimensnyder's Fort | Fort Rickey | Rome Arsenal (1) | Rome Arsenal (2)
Royal Blockhouse (2) | Royal Fort | Sacandaga Blockhouse (1) | Sacandaga Blockhouse (2)
Schell's Blockhouse | Schenectady Depot | Fort Schenectady | Schenectady Stockade
Schoharie Blockhouse | Fort Schoharie | (Old) Fort Schuyler (3) | Fort Schuyler (4)
Shaffer's Fort | Fort Snell | Fort Stanwix | Old Stone Fort (2) | Old Stone Fort at Johnson Hall
Swart's Fort | Fort Timmerman | Upper Fort | Upper Mohawk Castles (1-7)
Upper Mohawk Castle (8) | Fort Van Alstyne (a) | Fort Van Alstyne (b) | Viele's Fort
Fort Wagner | Fort Waggoner | Fort Walrath | Fort Willett | Fort Williams (1)
Fort Windecker | Wood Creek Fort | Fort Yellow | Fort Zimmerman

Northeastern New York - page 1 | Hudson River Valley - page 3 | Catskill Region - page 4
New York City I - page 5 | New York City II - page 6 | New York City III - page 7
Long Island - page 8 | Western New York - page 9 | Northwestern New York - page 10

NEW YORK'S FORTS AND MILITARY HISTORY
A REVOLUTIONARY DAY ALONG THE HISTORIC MOHAWK TURNPIKE

Last Update: 12/OCTOBER/2013
Compiled by Pete Payette - ©2013 American Forts Network

Oneida Castle (2)
(1760's ?, 1770's ?, 1780's ?), Oneida Castle
The Oneida Indians relocated here after the French and Indian War. Allies to the Patriots during the American Revolution. Of interest here is the Oneida Nation Shako-wi Cultural Center at 5 Territory Road.


¤ Forts of the Oneida Portage

¤ Royal Blockhouse (2)
(1759 - 1764), Sylvan Beach
A British two-story blockhouse with earthworks at the mouth of Wood Creek. A British post may have been built here as early as 1722 according to one source.

¤ Fort Rickey
(1759 - 1760), Siefert Corners
An outpost of Fort Stanwix for 50 men located at the Wood Creek dam, opposite the mouth of West Canada Creek. In ruins by 1776. The Fort Rickey Children's Zoo/Game Farm is near the actual site.

¤ Fort Bull
(1755 - 1756), Rome FORT WIKI
A stockaded star-shaped earthwork at the upper landing on Wood Creek, one mile west of Fort Newport. It was burned by the French in March 1756 (Fort Bull Massacre). It was rebuilt adjacent to the first work in May-August 1756 and renamed Wood Creek Fort, a palisaded four-bastioned moated earthwork. Destroyed by the British in August 1756 as they retreated before the French advance from Oswego. Trace remnants extant at Erie Canal Village (admission fee) on New London Road.

¤ Fort Newport
(1756), Rome
A wooden stockade with two bastions protecting the Wood Creek Landing. It was destroyed by the fleeing British in August 1756. Marker located on present Calvert Street between Arsenal Street and Brewer Alley.

¤ Fort Williams (1)
(1755 - 1756), Rome
A log stockade with two blockhouses located at the upper landing on the Mohawk River, about one-quarter mile downstream from the future site of Fort Stanwix. It was destroyed by the fleeing British in August 1756. Marker located on Bouck Street between East Whitesboro and East Dominick Streets.

¤ Fort Craven
(1756), Rome
A partially completed pentagon-shaped earthwork built just south of Fort Williams. Also known as Fort Pentagon. It was destroyed by the fleeing British in August 1756. Marker located on East Whitesboro Street between Bouck and Mill Streets.

¤ Fort Stanwix (National Monument)
(1758 - 1760, 1777 - 1783), Rome FORT WIKI
A French fort was located here in 1689. The first British fort here was built in 1728. After the destruction and abandonment of the earlier forts, the British built a new fort here, but it never saw action and was soon abandoned in 1760. Patriots garrisoned Fort Stanwix in 1777 and renamed it Fort Schuyler (4). Attacked by the British in August 1777. Patriot reinforcements were ambushed at Oriskany (see also Oriskany Battlefield SHS). In May 1781 the fort was destroyed by fire and flood. It was rebuilt, and renamed back to its original name. A blockhouse (1794 - 1815) was built by the New York state militia on the old parade ground, and the rest of the fort was leveled by 1830. The site was excavated in 1970, and became a National Park in 1977. The current structure is a 1978 reconstruction of the 1777 fort. Admission fee. See also Oneida County Landmarks from Oneida County Historical Society


Rome Arsenal (1)
(unknown - 1822), Rome
A state arsenal built sometime before 1810, located at the present location of St. Peter's Church. Burned down in 1822.

Rome Arsenal (2)
(1813 - 1873), Rome FORT WIKI
A three-acre Federal arsenal with magazines, workshops, Officers' quarters, hospital, and barracks. The Commandant's House (aka Arsenal House) has been restored, located at 514 West Dominick Street (private property). The rest of the arsenal site is now commercial development.

(Old) Fort Schuyler (3) (park)
(1758 - 1760), Utica
A British timber and earthwork fort no longer in use by the time of the American Revolution. May have also been known as Fort Desolation by Patriots in the 1770's. Site located on Genesee Street. The town was incorporated and named in 1798.


Mohawk River Valley Forts

Herkimer County:

Ochs' Fort
(1770's), undetermined location
Probably a settlers' fortified house. Also referred to as Ox Fort (2).

Fort Mike
(1777), Schuyler Township
A Patriot palisaded fort with three corner blockhouses, located on the route between Fort Dayton and Fort Stanwix.

New Petersburgh Fort
(1764 - 1770's), East Schuyler
Three log houses within a common palisade. The German settlement was abandoned during the American Revolution, later resettled. Marker on NY 5.

Burnet's Field Blockhouses
(1757), German Flatts Township
A series of five colonial militia blockhouses in the German Flatts area, along the Mohawk River and major creeks. All were destroyed by the French in November 1757, along with 60 settler homes.

(Old) Fort Herkimer
(1740 - 1783), Mohawk
Located about two miles east of town, this was a fortified two-story stone house originally used as a trading post by Johann Yost Herscheimer. Indians called it Fort Kouari. It was surrounded by an earthwork and palisaded ditch 30 feet away, with four bastions, and a barracks adjacent to the house. In 1756 the fort was dismantled and rebuilt nearby around the stone Herkimer Dutch Reformed Church (1740), and renamed Herkimer Church Fort, as the British built a new wooden blockouse on the north side of the river, naming that work Fort Herkimer also (see Fort Dayton below). It was abandoned after 1760. The Church Fort was refortified by the Patriots in 1775 with a palisade and earthworks. The church was enlarged in 1812. The house and earthworks of the first fort were destroyed in 1825 during construction of the Erie Canal. The earthworks of the Church Fort were destroyed in 1918 upon the construction of the new Erie Barge Canal, the replacement for the old Erie Canal.

Fort Dayton
(1776 - 1783), Herkimer
Built on the site of New Fort Herkimer, a British wooden blockhouse from 1756 - 1760. Fort Dayton had a stockade, blockhouse, bastions, barracks, and artillery park. It was from here that Patriot troops went to relieve the garrison at Fort Stanwix, only to be ambushed by the British at the Battle of Oriskany in August 1777. The fort was strengthened in May 1781 after Fort Stanwix was burned. The Herkimer County Historical Society (1884) now occupies the site.

John Schell's Blockhouse
(1775 - 1783), Schell's Bush
John Christian Schell's two-story blockhouse about five miles north of Herkimer. Attacked by the British in August 1781.

Fort Klock (3)
(1770's), near Middleville
The fortified home of Conrad Klock, probably located in the settlement then known as Klock's Bush, along Maltanner Creek. It had been abandoned by the family before the summer of 1781. Conrad and his sons Jacob and Joseph were taken prisoner to Canada in March 1778. They then later enlisted in the British army and defected when their unit returned to the area (Jacob in 1782).

Henry Rheimensnyder's Fort
(1777 - 1780's), Manheim Township
A settlers' palisaded home, possibly with two blockhouses. It was attacked by the British in April 1780. The structure burned down a few years after the war. The settlement here, about four miles north of Little Falls, was known as Snyder's Bush during the war.

Fort Bell
(1770's), Little Falls Township
The fortified stone house of George Hendrick Bell, located on Fall Hill, about six miles east of Old Fort Herkimer.

Oneida Castle (1)
(1756 - 1760 ?), Little Falls
A 120-foot square palisade with two 24-foot square blockhouses, built by the British for the Oneida Indians.

Gen. Nicholas Herkimer's Home (State Historic Site)
(1764), Little Falls
The stone house of Gen. Herkimer was palisaded during the American Revolution. Herkimer died here in August 1777 ten days after being wounded at the Battle of Oriskany. Located at 200 State Route 169. Admission fee. See also Vrooman (1951)

Fort Hendrick
(1755 - 1760), near Indian Castle
A 150-foot square stockade with two blockhouses. Built to protect the Mohawks from the French-allied Hurons. Actual site of the fort is located about 3km east of the townsite of the Upper Mohawk Castle (8), aka Can-a-jo-har-ie (2) (1753 - 1777).

Local Patriot militia troops (50 men) under Capt. George House were headquartered here at Indian Castle Fort in 1782, which was probably the palisaded Indian Castle Church (1769).

Montgomery County:

Excerpt from "The Frontiersmen of New York" (Vol. I) by Jeptha Simms (1883)
Excerpt from "The Frontiersmen of New York" (Vol. II) by Jeptha Simms (1883)

Fort Harrison
(1756 - 1760), Kring's Bush
A wooden blockhouse located on Mother Creek. Possibly built as early as 1736.

Fort House
(1750's - 1783), St. Johnsville Township
A fortified stone house originally built by Christian Haus for George Klock. Also known as Fort Hill, and Fort Klock (2). Still extant near the mouth of East Canada Creek. Palisaded in 1779 by militia troops. Garrisoned by troops from Fort Plain after 1781. Withstood an attack in 1782.

Fort Klock (1)
(1750 - 1783), St. Johnsville
A fortified stone house built by Johannes Klock. It was used as a trading post and includes the restoration of a blacksmith shop, schoolhouse, Dutch barn, and gardens. Admission fee. The Battle of Klock's Field (October 1780) was fought here. See also Fort Klock || Vrooman (1951)

Fort Nellis
(1777 - 1783), St. Johnsville
A fortified farm house (1723) built by Christian Nellis.

Fort Walrath
(1779 - 1780), St. Johnsville
A small blockhouse located on Henry Walrath's land, about three miles east of Fort Windecker. It was burned in the August 1780 British attack of the area. It was ungarrisoned by the militia at the time.

Fort Willett
(1781 - 1783), St. Johnsville
A palisaded enclosure with two blockhouses at opposite corners, built by the local militia to replace Fort Walrath. It was dismantled after the war.

Fort Zimmerman
(1777 - 1783), St. Johnsville
A fortified farm house with a palisade. Home of either Jacob or Conrad (Jacob's son ?). Also spelled Timmerman. Located about one mile from Fort Nellis. Brothers Conrad and David Zimmerman had built a gristmill nearby on Zimmerman Creek. The farmhouse was dismantled after the war and rebuilt nearby, still extant on private property.

Fort Windecker
(1779 - 1783), Mindenville
A fortified and palisaded farm house with a blockhouse, located on the old river road. Built by Johannes Windecker. Troops from Fort Plain garrisoned the fort after 1781. It was dismantled after the war.

Fort Countryman
(1770's), Minden Township
The fortified home of George Countryman.

Fort Hess
(1776), Palatine Church (Nelliston)
A small fortified and palisaded stone house built by Capt. John Hess. Located one mile northwest of Fort Fox.

Upper Mohawk Castle (4)
(1667 - 1689), Palatine Township
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as Ti-on-non-to-gen (2). Located on Caroga Creek in Wagner's Hollow.

Upper Mohawk Castle (5)
(1689 - 1693), Palatine Township
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as Ti-on-non-to-gen (3). Located on Caroga Creek.

Fort Fox
(1778 - 1783), Nelliston
A stone house originally built by Philip Fox at Fox's Mills. Owned and fortified by Christopher Fox during the war. Located one mile northwest of Fort Wagner.

Fort Wagner
(1777 - 1783), Nelliston
A two-story stone farm house (1750), originally built by Johan Peter Wagner. Also spelled Waggoner. Fortified and palisaded by his son John Peter Wagner II. A blockhouse was inside the stockade. Attacked in October 1780 but held. The house still exists, but modified. Located about two miles northwest of the town center. See also Vrooman (1951)

Fort Dieffendorf
(1780), Minden Township
The palisaded home of Capt. Henry Dieffendorf, located about two miles northwest of Fort Plain. Attacked and burned in August 1780 only a few months after it was fortified.

Upper Mohawk Castle (1)
(1580 - 1625), near Hallsville
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as Ots-tun-go located on Otsquago Creek. Marker located on NY 80 about two miles east of town, on Indian Hill.

Upper Mohawk Castle (2)
(1625 - 1640), Minden Township
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as Te-no-to-ge. Located on Oak Hill north of Fort Plain, on the "Dutchtown Road".

Fort Canajoharie
(1747 - 1752), near Fort Plain
A simple square stockade for 25 men (also spelled Cannatchoeari and other variations), built to protect the Mohawks from the French-allied Hurons. Located near Sand Hill on the north side of town, just below the site of the Upper Mohawk Castle (7), aka Can-a-jo-har-ie (1) (1728 - 1753). Replaced by the larger and stronger Fort Hendrick when the Canajoharie (Upper) Mohawks moved their main town further upriver.

Upper Mohawk Castle (6)
(1694 - 1728), Fort Plain
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as Ta-ra-jo-rees, located on Prospect Hill on the south side of town

Fort Plain
(1779 - 1786/1796), Fort Plain
Officially known as Fort Rensselaer (1) after 1780. This was a stockaded fort with a small blockhouse and barracks. It was enlarged in 1780, and then "renamed" by certain troops and local settlers who wished to distance themselves from General Robert Van Rensselaer during and after his court martial concerning the Battle of Klock's Field (October 1780). Briefly renamed (unofficially) Fort McKean for a few weeks after Capt. Robert McKean's death at the Battle of Sharon Springs (July 1781). A new three-story blockhouse and protective earthen redoubt were constructed about 500 feet northwest outside of the main fort in 1781-82. This post was the headquarters of the Mohawk Valley military district from 1780-84. The post was abandoned and dismantled in 1786, however one of the blockhouses or powder magazines may have still been used by the state to store munitions and/or powder until as late as 1796. By 1810 it had been demolished and the materials used in the building of several local homes, many of which still exist today. The Fort Plain Museum is located in the Nelson Greene Memorial House (nee 1848 David Lipe Homestead) located on site.
See also History of Fort Plain by Ken D. Johnson

Paris' Mill Blockhouse
(1780 - 1782), Fort Plain
A blockhouse was built here to protect Isaac Paris' gristmill (1777) on Otsquago Creek, garrisoned by troops from Fort Plain. The present Paris-Bleeker House was built here in 1786 by Isaac's son, Isaac Jr..

Fort Plank
(1778 - 1782), near Fort Plain
Frederick Plank's palisaded farm house with blockhouses, often used by the local militia under the command of Capt. Joseph House, Plank's stepson. The house no longer exists. Located about two miles west of Fort Plain.

Fort Clyde
(1779 - 1783), Freysbush
A large palisade with a blockhouse in the center, located two miles southwest of Fort Plain. Built by the local militia under Col. Samuel Clyde at the home of Johann Nicolas Dunkle. Dismantled in 1785.

Bowman's Creek Blockhouse
(1779 ?), Canajoharie Township
A blockhouse on Bowman's Creek built by the local militia under Col. Samuel Clyde. Canajoharie Creek was also known as Bowman's Kill during that time.

Middle Mohawk Castle (2)
(1625 - 1640), near Canajoharie Village
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as Soch-an-i-dis-se. Located one mile west of town.

Fort Failing
(1777 - 1783), Canajoharie Township
A stone house built in the 1750's by Nicolas Failing, later fortified by his son Henry, although it was never palisaded. After the war it became the property of Col. Henry Frey, a Tory and brother to Major John Frey, a Patriot. It burned down in 1833. Located one mile west of the Van Alstyne Tavern, about two miles south of Fort Plain.

Fort Van Alstyne (a)
(1777 - 1783), Canajoharie Village
A fortified log and stone house, originally built in 1738 by Marte Janse Van Alstyne. Philip Van Alstyne owned the house during the American Revolution. At this time the house functioned as a tavern and became a frequent meeting place in 1776 for the Tryon County Committee of Safety. General Nicholas Herkimer received his commission here to command the Tryon County Militia in 1775. Later, Colonel Samuel Clyde, who commanded at Fort Plain/Fort Rensselaer (1), is known to have moved his family there after the Cherry Valley Massacre. This may have contributed to the building erroneously being called Fort Rensselaer (2) in some historical texts. There is no evidence of the house being palisaded during the war. The house (rebuilt in 1760's) still exists at 4 Moyer Street, refurbished by the Van Alstyne Society and the Fort Rensselaer Club, which owns and operates it. See also Vrooman (1951)

There may have been another fortified house just downriver from the Van Alstyne Tavern, also known as Fort Van Alstyne (b). It was sold to the Kane brothers after the war and later became an important stop on the Erie Canal.

Fort Ehle
(1777 - 1783), Canajoharie Township
A stone house originally built by Harmanus Ehle, later owned by William Ehle and palisaded and garrisoned by local militia. A pile of fieldstones marks the probable site off of Mapletown Road just south of the Fort Rensselaer Club. (NOTE: this is NOT the 1729 stone house of Rev. John (Dominie Johannes Jacobus) Ehle that was located across the Mohawk River in the Nelliston/Palatine Bridge area.)

Fort Frey
(1750's - 1760), Palatine Bridge
A log trading post built by Heinrich Frey was originally here in 1689 (at foot of hill), and was palisaded by the British in Queen Anne's War from 1702 - 1713. The present stone house was built in 1739 by son Hendrick, and was used by the local militia in the 1750's. Hendrick's son John lived here at that time. It was minimally fortified (loopholed), but it is not known if the house was palisaded, nor if it was used by Patriot militia forces in the American Revolution. It was nevertheless never known to have been attacked during the latter war. John Frey was later a major in the Patriot militia. The house still exists today in fine condition.

Fort Keyser
(1778 - 1780), Stone Arabia
A stone house (1740's) built by Johannes Keyser, later occupied by Henry Keyser, palisaded by militia troops under Lt. John Zeiley. Also spelled Kayser. The house was torn down in the 1840's, some foundation ruins are still extant. Site is marked about one-quarter mile east of NY 10 and Dillenbeck Road.

Fort Paris
(1777 - 1781), Stone Arabia
A fortified farm house and trading post (1737) originally built by Isaac Paris. A barracks for 100 men and a blockhouse were also inside the palisade. Attacked in October 1780 (Battle of Stone Arabia). The house was destroyed after the war. Located about one-half mile north (or southeast ?) of the Stone Arabia Reformed Dutch Church (rebuilt 1788).

Fort Loucks
(1770's), Palatine Township
Probably a fortified house. Adam Loucks lived in Stone Arabia.

Fort Snell
(1770's), Palatine Township ?
The fortified house (1750's) of Johannes Snell. A two-story blockhouse was also built. Located about two miles from Fort Paris (direction ?), and about two and one-half miles north of the Mohawk River.

Middle Mohawk Castle (4b)
(1668 - 1693), Palatine Township
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as Can-a-jor-ha. Located on Knauderack Creek.

Upper Mohawk Castle (3)
(1640 - 1666), Sprakers
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as Ti-on-non-to-gen (1). Destroyed by the French in 1666.

Fort Lewis (1)
(1777 - 1783), Currytown
A fortified settlers' house 11 miles southeast of Fort Plain. It was one of the few houses in town that withstood a British attack in July 1781, as Lewis was a known Tory.

Fort Dievendorf
(1780 - 1781), Currytown
The palisaded home of Capt. Jacob Dievendorf, with militia barracks. Attacked and burned in July 1781.

Lower Mohawk Castle (2)
(1625 - 1640), near Randall
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as O-ne-ka-gon-ka. Located at or near the mouth of Yatesville Creek.

Middle Mohawk Castle (1b)
(1580 - 1625), Mohawk Township
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village located up on Briggs Run.

Middle Mohawk Castle (4a)
(1666 - 1693), near Yosts
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as Can-a-gor-ha. Located at the mouth of Briggs Run. Burned by the French in 1693.

Lower Mohawk Castle (1)
(1580 - 1625), near Sammonsville
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as Cayadutta. Located on Cayadutta Creek.

Lower Mohawk Castle (5)
(1667 - 1693), Fonda
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as Caughnawagoe (or Ka-han-i-aga). Destroyed by the French in 1693.

Fort Caughnawaga
(1779 - 1783), Fonda
According to local tradition a small settlers' blockhouse was at "Sandy Flats", just west of town. The village was destroyed by the British in a spring 1780 raid, no mention of a blockhouse in British reports. Possibly built after the raid, if it existed at all.

Camp Mohawk
(1862), Fonda
A Civil War training camp. Marker located on NY 148 one-half mile north of town.

Middle Mohawk Castle (3)
(1642 - 1666), Glen Township
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as An-da-gor-on. Destroyed by the French in 1666. Marker located on NY 5 (South) about two miles west of Fultonville.

Fultonville Blockhouse
(1781 - 1783), Fultonville
A Patriot blockhouse.

Lower Mohawk Castle (4)
(1659 - 1666), near Auriesville
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as Gan-da-ou-age. Destroyed by the French in 1666. Marker located on NY 5 (South) about 0.75 mile west of town.

Lower Mohawk Castle (3)
(1642 - 1659), near Auriesville
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as Oss-eru-e-non. Marker located on NY 5 (South) near Route 288.

Lower Mohawk Castle (6)
(1693 - 1700), Tribe's Hill
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as Og-sa-da-ga.

Fort Putman
(1770's), near Fort Hunter
Probably a fortified house, located on, and near the mouth of, Schoharie Creek. Possibly also known as Fort Cordority.

Fort Hunter (1)
(Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site)
(1711 - 1783), Fort Hunter
This was the first British fort built within the Five Nations Confederacy, at the Lower Mohawk Castle (7), aka I-con-de-ro-ga (1700 - 1775). It was a 150-foot square log fort with a 12-foot high palisade surrounding 30 cabins. A two-story 24-foot square blockhouse was at each corner. In the center of the fort was a one-story 24-foot square stone chapel (Queen Anne Chapel), built in 1741, the log-lined basement being used as a powder magazine. Improvements to the fort were made in 1755. Troops were also posted at the Mohawk Indian village nearby. A two-story stone parsonage was built in 1734 one mile away from the original fort site, which was also palisaded by the Patriots during the American Revolution. The old fort was partially rebuilt after a fire in 1773 destroyed portions of it. It was finally torn down for the construction of the Erie Canal in 1820. The chapel itself was not torn down until 1822. Stone from the chapel was used for the Schoharie Creek "Guard Lock" of the Erie Canal. The nearby parsonage still exists. Stone foundations of the Queen Anne Chapel are located buried underneath the Schoharie Crossing SHS visitor center parking lot. See also Vrooman (1951)

Old Fort Johnson (1)
(1749 - 1758), Fort Johnson
Sir William Johnson's restored fortified house (his second house in the area). A palisade and two blockhouses were built in 1755. During the American Revolution, Patriots melted down the lead roof to make bullets. Admission fee. See also Vrooman (1951)

Fort Gile
(1770's), Florida Township
Probably a fortified house.

Viele's Fort
(1770's), near Amsterdam ?
A log house and fort were located at Viele's Rapids, located about 14 miles above Schenectady.

Fulton County:

Middle Mohawk Castle (1a)
(1580 - 1625), Garoga, Ephratah Township
A Mohawk Indian palisaded village, also known as Caroga (or Garoga). Located on Castle Hill, a hilltop overlooking Caroga Creek, near Ephratah. Site excavated in 1969 - 1970.

Additional sites located nearby, associated with Garoga, include the three-acre Klock Site (1540 - 1565), and the four-acre Smith Pagerie Site (1560 - 1580). Both sites were also found to be palisaded town sites, and were excavated in 1969 - 1970.

Rector's Fort
(1768), Ephratah
A wooden blockhouse.

Fort Johnstown
(1776 - 1783), Johnstown
Originally built as the Tryon County jail in 1772. In 1776 the stone structure was palisaded with bastions and lookout towers at diagonal corners. The defensive works were removed in 1783. The jail still exists today as the Fulton County Gaol on South Perry Street. The Battle of Johnstown (October 1781) was fought nearby, northeast of Johnson Hall, several days after the Battle of Yorktown in Virginia.

Fort William Johnson (2)
(Johnson Hall State Historic Site)
(Friends of Johnson Hall)
(1763 - 1776), Johnstown
Sir William Johnson's third house. Also known as Old Stone Fort at Johnson Hall. It had two stone blockhouses to either side of the Georgian mansion. The eastern blockhouse burned in 1868 and was demolished. Johnson died in July 1774, the estate passing to his son John, who then fled to Canada in 1776. Johnson Hall was confiscated in 1779 by the State of New York as Loyalist property and was subsequently sold at auction. The house remained a private residence until 1906, when the state acquired it as a historic site. The second blockhouse was faithfully reconstructed on its original foundation in the 1960's.

Sacandaga Blockhouse (1)
(1777 - 1778 or 1780), Mayfield
A Patriot blockhouse, also referred to as Mayfield Fort by 19th-century historians. Either attacked and destroyed in June 1778, or attacked (but not destroyed) in April 1780. Site located off of Van Den Burgh Road along the southwest shore of Great Sacandaga Lake.

Fort Fisher
(1778), Fish House
A Patriot blockhouse built by Col. Frederick Fisher, said to have been the replacement for an earlier blockhouse. Also known as Sacandaga Blockhouse (2), and also as Fort Folley or Fort Yellow.


Fort Ballston
(1775 - 1783), near Ballston Center, Saratoga County
A stockaded log church or meetinghouse (built 1771) used by Patriots. Also spelled Balls Town. Known as the Red Meetinghouse in 1780. The Ballston Academy was built here in 1804. Site may have been on Front Street in Ballston Spa (marker removed). New marker is located at Charlton Road (NY 51) and NY 50.

Capt. Teunis Swart's Fort
(1776 - unknown), near Hutchinson
A Patriot palisaded brick blockhouse, located about three miles west of Scotia on Tinker Hill, near the river bank. Armed with only one swivel gun.

Schenectady Stockade
(1661 - 1783), Schenectady
Corlaer's Fort was first located here in 1661. It was the northernmost Dutch outpost at the time. The town itself was founded by the Dutch in 1672, and was surrounded by a palisade. The town was divided into four sectors, with the north gate at the end of Church Street, and the south gate leading out to Albany Road. It originally had one blockhouse, with a second built in the opposite corner just before the village was destroyed by the French in February 1690. The main fort was located at present-day Washington and Front Streets. The town had about 80 houses at that time. The town was immediately rebuilt and surrounded by a triple stockade with four blockhouses in each corner. The Royal or Queen's Fort (2) was built in 1704 at the northeast corner of the stockade (where the "Lawrence the Indian" statue stands today) at present-day Front, Ferry, and Green Streets, and in 1735 it was rebuilt with heavy timbers over a 100-foot square stone foundation, with six guns. The town stockade was also replaced in 1735, with five new blockhouses. The main fort was renamed Fort Cosby in 1755. Later renamed by the Patriots in 1775 as Fort Schenectady, with troop barracks outside the stockade. The town stockade encompassed about 500 houses by this time. The fort, blockhouses and stockade were all dismantled in 1783. The Schenectady Stockade Historic District encompasses the general area of the colonial palisaded village.

Schenectady Army Depot
(1918 - 1950's ?), Rotterdam
An Army general supply depot built in WWI. In 1933 became a supply depot for the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Northeast. Expanded in 1941 as a motor supply depot for the Army's New York Ports of Embarkation. Expanded again in 1951 for the Korean War. Closed before the Vietnam War.

Fort Niskayuna
(1691 - 1712 ?), Niskayuna
A stockade located on the west side of Mill Creek at "Fort's Ferry" (1698). It was in ruins by 1702. A stone redoubt was built nearby in 1704. Also known as Fort Canastaginone, Canastagone, and/or Nistigone. The site was destroyed in 1911 for the Erie Barge Canal.

Fort Hunter (2)
(unknown dates), Fort Hunter
No data. A small settlement located in Albany County, south of Rotterdam, along the I-90 corridor.

Berne Indian Stockade
(pre-contact ?), Berne Center, Albany County
An Indian stockade was once located in the vicinity, according to a state marker on NY 443.

Heidman's Fort
(1770's), Berne Township
Probably a fortified house, located on Beaverdam Creek.

Schoharie Valley Forts
(1778 - 1783), Schoharie County
Schoharie Blockhouse, a local militia defense built in the spring of 1781, about six miles north of Schoharie. Also known as Midway Fort. Marker located at junction of NY 7 and NY 30, near Barton Hill in Schoharie Township, at the Schenectady County line. This may have been located at or near the Kneiskern's Dorf settlement, which was located near present Sidney Corners.
Old Stone Fort (2), Schoharie, built in 1772 as the Reformed Dutch Church. It was stockaded with two blockhouses in 1777-78. It was also known as Lower Fort. Attacked by the British in October 1780, but held. 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 1857 the former church was sold to the state for $800. Through the Civil War and until 1873, it was used as a local armory. Then it was given to the county for historical use. Admission fee to the museum. FORT WIKI
Middle Fort, Middleburgh, a stockade similar to the fort in Schoharie, enclosing a settlers' (Becker) stone house and barn, and troop barracks. Built in August 1777, the first of the three. It became the Patriot headquarters of the Schoharie District. Also known as Fort Defiance (2). Attacked by the British in October 1780. Located north of town.
Upper Fort, near Watsonville, a stockaded settlers' (Johannes Feeck) house and barn with two blockhouses, troop barracks, and defensive earthworks, built in 1777. The strongest fort of the three, it was never attacked. Located northeast of Fultonham, on the west side of Schoharie Creek.

Fort Castel
(Iroquois Indian Museum)
(1757), Howes Cave
An Iroquois (Mohawk) fort (also possibly named Fort Schoharie) has been excavated at the museum grounds. Admission fee to museum.

Fort Dubois (2)
(1779), Cobleskill
A Patriot palisaded and moated blockhouse enclosing three acres, located on present-day Main Street about one mile east of the town center. It was burned by British-allied Onondaga Indians in May 1779 shortly after it was built.

Also nearby was the palisaded home of Jacob Shaffer, on whose land Fort Dubois (2) was built.

Cedar Swamp Camp
(1781), near Sharon Center, Schoharie County
A Tory (Loyalist) and Indian campsite during the summer of 1781. The Battle of Sharon (July 1781) took place in the vicinity, a Patriot victory.

Cherry Valley Stockade
(1756), Cherry Valley
The town was palisaded, but destroyed by the French and Indians.

Fort Alden
(1778 - 1780), Cherry Valley
A Patriot palisaded work enclosing two blockhouses. The town was burned by the British in November 1778, with only this fort and the nearby stockaded church surviving. The fort was garrisoned through 1779, when the troops were ordered away for General Sullivan's Expedition. The town was attacked again and burned in April 1780. Monument located in the Cherry Valley Cemetery.

Fort Campbell
(1777 - 1778), Cherry Valley
Major Samuel Campbell's fortified home, with a blockhouse and an earthen breastwork. Destroyed by the British in November 1778. Replaced by Fort Alden as the main defensive work in town.

Hyde Bay Camp
(1779), Springfield Township, Otsego County
A temporary Patriot fortified encampment at Otsego Lake during the Sullivan Expedition. The settlement at Springfield was abandoned in the summer of 1778 after a Loyalist/Indian raid.

Cooperstown Blockhouses
(1777), Cooperstown
Three blockhouses were located here and garrisoned by Capt. John Winn's Rangers.


Northeastern New York - page 1 | Hudson River Valley - page 3 | Catskill Region - page 4
New York City I - page 5 | New York City II - page 6 | New York City III - page 7
Long Island - page 8 | Western New York - page 9 | Northwestern New York - page 10

QUESTIONS ? Please send any corrections and/or additions to this list to:
"Updates" at NorthAmericanForts.com