Catskill Turnpike

United States Migration Trails and Roads New York Catskill Turnpike

The Catskill Turnpike, also known as the Susquehanna Turnpike, started on the Hudson River at Catskill, Greene County, skirted the north side of the Catskill Mountains and worked its way westward through upstate New York to Unadilla (formerly Wattle's Ferry) on the Susquehanna River in 1804. From there New York State extended it to Ithaca, and Bath about 1806. Later extensions not normally called the Catskill Turnpike took travelers into Erie County, New York, or followed part of the old Indian Forbidden Path and beyond to Erie, Pennsylvania. Each end of the Catskill Turnpike connected to other important migration pathways. The length of the Catskill Turnpike from Catskill to Bath was about 190 miles (306 km).

Background History

Albany, New York was founded by the Dutch colony of New Netherland in 1614 and quickly became their premier fur trading center and second largest town. In 1664 England conquered the former Dutch colony and renamed it New York.

In 1722 the British built a fur trading post near the mouth of the Oswego River on the southeast side of Lake Ontario. In 1727 they constructed log palisades, the first of a series of fortifications in the area. This was the first British military outpost on Lake Ontario. More nearby forts were also added in 1741 and 1755. These forts around the trading post helped establish the British as a power on the Great Lakes, and were sometimes collectively were called Fort Oswego.

Indian trails through the forests existed for hunting, for trading, and for making war. To reach what became Fort Oswego and build it up, the British most likely improved an already existing Indian path between Albany and Fort Oswego. The route for carrying furs and skins to Albany, for communication, and for military troop and supply movements became known as the Catskill Turnpike.

In 1726, after a period of absence, the French re-settled and fortified the Fort Niagara area on the southwest side of Lake Ontario guarding the Niagara River.

The French and Indian War (1754-1763) led to improvement of Indian pathways into roads for the military and for settlers. In 1758 the British built Fort Schuyler (now Utica, New York) to guard the central Catskill Turnpike to Fort Oswego and the junction with the Catskill Turnpike to Fort Niagara at a Mohawk River ford.

In 1759 British troops from Fort Oswego were shipped along Lake Ontario to Fort Niagara. The British besieged Fort Niagara for 19 days and captured it. This made the Catskill Turnpike an important supply route from Albany to Fort Schuyler (Utica) to Fort Niagara. The west fork of the Catskill Turnpike from Utica to Fort Niagara was about 212 miles (341 km) long. From Albany to Fort Niagara it was about 306 miles (492 km).

During and shortly after the American Revolutionary War 1775-1783, many American Loyalists sought refuge from angry American neighbors by leaving for Canada. Those Loyalists from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania that made it to Ontario usually reached there by following the Catskill Turnpike.

As American settlers moved west the two branches of the Catskill Turnpike were used heavily. New York invested in road improvements from Albany to Utica in 1793. Further, in 1794 New York authorized work on the Great Genesee Road from Utica to Caledonia and after 1798 to Buffalo. The Genesee Road partially overlapped the west Fork of the Catskill Turnpike as far as Oneida and Madison counties on its way to Fort Niagara. However, near Syracuse the original Catskill Turnpike took a more northerly route. In 1797 a weekly stagecoach began service between Utica and Geneva on the Seneca/Ontario county line. Each leg of the round trip took three days. In 1798 the Great Genesee Road became a turnpike, a high quality toll road under private control.

But New York toll roads eventually had competition. Water travel on 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. Moreover, several 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 New York Central Railroad mainline from Albany to Buffalo. 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.

Route

The counties along the Catskill Turnpike route (southeast to northwest) were as follows:

• Albany County
• Schenectady County
• Herkimer County
• Oneida County
• Oswego County

The Catskill Turnpike had a west fork from Fort Schuyler (Utica) to Fort Niagara that partially overlapped the Great Genesee Road. Counties along the west fork of the Catskill Turnpike route (east to west) were:

• Oneida County
• Madison County
• Onondaga County
• Cayuga County
• Wayne County
• Monroe County
• Genesee County
• Niagara County

• Lincoln County, Ontario, Canada, the trail continued westward in Canada following the base of the escarpment south of Lake Ontario

Connecting trails. The Catskill Turnpike linked to other trails at each end of the main trail, and each end of the west fork.

The migration pathways connected at the southeast end of the Catskill Turnpike in Albany, New York included:

• Hudson River a navigable river stretching from north of Albany then flowing south to empty into the Atlantic Ocean at New York City
• Lake Champlain Trail a pre-historic Indian path from Albany to the St. Lawrence River via the Hudson River, Champlain Canal, Lake Champlain, and in Quebec the Richelieu River (and Chambly Canal)
• Catskill Turnpike 1722 from Albany to Utica to Rome to Fort Oswego on Lake Ontario

• with a Catskill Turnpike west fork by 1758 from Utica to Fort Niagara
• and that fork was partially overlapped in 1794 by the Great Genesee Road from Utica to Buffalo, Erie County, New York

• Forbidden Path (later Catskill Turnpike) a pre-historic Indian path from Albany to Buffalo on Lake Erie
• Old Connecticut Path a pre-historic Indian path from Boston, Massachusetts to Springfield, Massachusetts to Albany with a fork from Springfield to Hartford, Connecticut
• Albany Post Road (or Queen's Road, or King's Road) 1669 from Albany to New York City
• Greenwood Road from Hartford, Connecticut to Albany
• Champlain Canal 1819 connected the Hudson River to Lake Champlain (New York City to Montreal)
• Erie Canal 1825 connected Albany to Buffalo on Lake Erie (New York City to the Great Lakes)

The migration pathway connected at the northwest end of the Catskill Turnpike in Fort Oswego included:

• Lake Ontario with connections to Toronto, Ontario, the St. Lawrence River and the other Great Lakes
• Catskill Turnpike 1722 from Albany to Utica to Rome to Fort Oswego on Lake Ontario

West Fork. The migration pathways connected at the east end of the Catskill Turnpike (west fork) in Utica included:

• Catskill Turnpike by 1758 from Albany to Utica to Fort Niagara
• Great Genesee Road 1794 from Utica to Caledonia and later Buffalo
• Erie Canal 1825 from Albany to Utica to Buffalo

The migration pathways connected at the west end of the Catskill Turnpike (west fork) in Fort Niagara included:

• Lake Erie with connections to Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, and Detroit
• Niagara River with connections to Buffalo, Fort Niagara, and Ontario in Canada
• Lake Ontario with connections to Toronto, Ontario, the St. Lawrence River and the other Great Lakes
• Catskill Turnpike by 1758 from Albany to Utica to Fort Niagara
• Great Genesee Road 1794 from Utica to Caledonia and later Buffalo
• Erie Canal 1825 from Albany to Utica to Buffalo
• Shore Line Path from Buffalo, New York to Cleveland, Ohio
• pathways into Ontario, Canada including the extension of the Iroquois Trail westward along the south side of Lake Ontario

Modern parallels. The modern roads that roughly match the Catskill Turnpike from Albany to Fort Oswego are:

• New York State Route 5 from Albany to Deerfield (near Utica)
• New York State 49 from Deerfield (near Utica) to Rome
• where it becomes New York State 69 from Rome to Mexico
• turn west onto New York State 104 from Mexico to Oswego

The modern roads that roughly match the west fork of the Catskill Turnpike to Fort Niagara are:

• New York State Route 5 from Albany to two miles east of Sherrill, Oneida County
• two miles east of Sherrill turn northeast on New York State Route 31 from near Sherrill to the outskirts of Lockport, Niagara County
• at the outskirts of Lockport, turn northeast on Cold Springs Road which becomes Old Niagara Road which becomes Stone Road
• which merges into westbound New York State Route 93 from Lockport to Fort Niagara

Settlers and Records

Early settlers in central New York most likely traveled there via Albany. Albany was a hub of pathways from New York City, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Quebec. Probably the largest group to settle were New Englanders, many from Vermont. But people from almost every part of the eastern seaboard and Europe also were common in the area.

Many of the New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania Loyalists who fled to Ontario during or shortly after the American Revolution followed the Catskill Turnpike. For a list of over 300 Loyalist families is the Niagara area of Ontario see:

• Norman K. Crowder, "1784-1785 Niagara Return" Early Ontario Settlers: A Source Book (Baltimore: Genealogical Publ., 1993), 132-42. WorldCat entry. FHL Book 971.3 H29c.

No complete list of settlers in New York who used the Catskill Turnpike 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.

For partial lists of early settlers who may have used the Catskill Turnpike, see histories like:

Oswego County

• Crisfield Johnson, History of Oswego County, New York, 1789-1877 : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers (Philadelphia : L.H. Everts, 1877). WorldCat entry. FHL Film 874492. Indexed in Index to History of Oswego County, New York (Salt Lake City : Family History Library, 1991). FHL Fiche 6087924 (4 fiche); Book 974.767 H2j index.

Oneida County

• Samuel W. Durant, History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers (Microreproduction of original published: Philadelphia : Everts & Fariss, 1878). WorldCat entry. FHL Film 823718.

Niagara County

• Samuel T. Wiley and W. Scott Garner, Biographical and portrait cyclopedia of Niagara County, New York (Microreproduction of original published: Philadelphia : Gresham Pub. Co., 1892). WorldCat entry. FHL Film 317821 Item 4.

External Links

• Mohawk (Iroquois) Trail RootsWeb description of the route and a brief history.
• Iroquois Trail Heritage Village, Vineland, Ontario brief description of the Canadian part.
• History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925 focuses most on modern Mohawk Turnpike.

The Great Genesee Road partially overlaps the Catskill Turnpike.

• New York State Route 5 Wikipedia's excellent brief history of New York roads, especially the Great Genesee Road.
• The Great Genesee Road RootsWeb brief history and maps.
• The Way West Through Northern Seneca County good history of roads, canals, and railroads in Seneca County.

References