Mohawk or Iroquois Trail: Difference between revisions

Did an ancestor travel the '''Mohawk Trail''' of New York? Learn about this settler migration route, its transportation history, and find related genealogy sources.  

Some sources also extend the Mohawk Trail from Albany to Boston through the northwest corner of Massachusetts.<ref>[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tqpeiffer/Documents/Ancestral%20Migration%20Archives/Migration%20Webpage%20Folder/Northeast%20U.S.%20Migration%20Routes.htm#_NAME_%28M%29 Mohawk Trail] in ''Routes in the Northeastern United States: Historic Trail, Roads, and Migration Routes'' in RootsWeb (accessed 6 October 2014).</ref>  

In 1759 British troops from Fort Oswego were shipped along Lake Ontario to Fort Niagara. The British [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Niagara besieged Fort Niagara] for 19 days and captured it.<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Battle of Fort Niagara" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Niagara (accessed 2 July 2011).</ref> This made the Mohawk Trail an important supply route from Albany to Fort Schuyler (Utica) to Fort Niagara. The '''''west fork''''' of the Mohawk Trail from Utica to Fort Niagara was about 212 miles (341 km) long. From Albany to Fort Niagara it was about 306 miles (492 km).  

As American settlers moved west the two branches of the Mohawk Trail were used heavily. [[New York Genealogy|New York]] invested in road improvements from Albany to Utica in 1793.<ref>"The Mohawk Turnpike" in ''RootsWeb'' at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tqpeiffer/Documents/Ancestral%20Migration%20Archives/Migration%20Webpage%20Folder/%281%29%20NORTHEASTERN%20US%20ROUTES/Mohawk%20Turnpike.htm (accessed 2 July 2011).</ref> Further, in 1794 New York authorized work on the [[Great Genesee Road]] from Utica to Caledonia and after 1798 to Buffalo.<ref name="Rte5">Wikipedia contributors, "New York State Route 5" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Route_5 (accessed 2 July 2011).</ref> The Genesee Road partially overlapped the west Fork of the Mohawk Trail as far as [[Albany County, New York Genealogy|Oneida]] and [[Madison County, New York Genealogy|Madison]] counties on its way to Fort Niagara. However, near [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]] the original Mohawk Trail took a more northerly route. In 1797 a weekly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stagecoach stagecoach] began service between Utica and Geneva on the Seneca/Ontario county line. Each leg of the round trip took three days.<ref>"The Way West Through Northern Seneca County," http://www.co.seneca.ny.us/history/The%20Way%20West%20Through%20Northern%20Seneca%20County.pdf (accessed 2 July 2011).</ref> In 1798 the [[Great Genesee Road|Great Genesee Road]] became a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toll_road turnpike], a high quality toll road under private control.<ref name="Rte5" />  

But New York toll roads eventually had competition. Water travel on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canal canals] was less expensive than road tolls. The [[Erie Canal]] was completed in sections: Rome to Utica 1819, Utica to Syracuse 1820, Brockport (west of Rochester) to Albany 1823, and the entire canal Albany to Buffalo opened 1825.<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Erie Canal" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Central_Railroad (accessed 2 July 2011).</ref> Moreover, several [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railroads railroads] charging about the same as the canal began offering passenger service farther and farther west. Railroad service from Albany to Schenectady began 1831, to Utica 1836, to Auburn 1839, to Rochester in 1841, and to Buffalo in 1842. In 1853 the several railroads were merged into a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Central_Railroad New York Central Railroad] mainline from Albany to Buffalo.<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "New York Central Railroad" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Canal (accessed 2 July 2011).</ref> The decrease in toll revenues made the old turnpike company unprofitable. By 1852 it was dissolved and the former toll roads from Utica to Buffalo became public roads again.<ref name="Rte5" />  

The counties along the Mohawk or Iroquois Trail route (southeast to northwest) were as follows:<ref name="HBG" />  

Many of the New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania [[American Loyalists|Loyalists]] who fled to [[Ontario Genealogy|Ontario]] during or shortly after the American Revolution followed the Mohawk or Iroquois Trail. For a list of over 300 Loyalist families is the Niagara area of Ontario see:  

No complete list of settlers in New York who used the '''Mohawk or Iroquois Trail''' is known to exist. Nevertheless, local and county histories along that trail may reveal pioneer settlers who arrived 1722 to 1850, and therefore who were the most likely candidates to have traveled the Great Genesee Road or Seneca Turnpike.  

'''''Oswego County'''''  

'''''Oneida County'''''  

'''''Niagara County'''''  

=== External Links  ===

*[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gentutor/trails.html#Mohawk Mohawk (Iroquois) Trail] RootsWeb description of the route and a brief history.  

*[http://www.schenectadyhistory.org/resources/mvgw/history/101.html History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925] focuses most on modern Mohawk Turnpike.