Catskill Turnpike

United States Migration Trails and Roads New York Catskill Turnpike

The Catskill Turnpike, also known as the Susquehanna Turnpike, and sometimes identified with the Forbidden Path started on the Hudson River at Catskill in 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 207 miles (333 km). For the route from Bath to Buffalo add 102 miles (165 km). From Bath to Erie, Pennsylvania in an additional 169 miles (272 km).

Route

The counties along the Catskill Turnpike route (east to west) were as follows:

• Greene County
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The Catskill Turnpike was later extended westward. Counties along the northwest fork of the extension (east to west) were:

• Steuben County
• Livingston County
• Wyoming County
• Erie County

Connecting trails. The Catskill Turnpike linked to other trails at each end.

The migration pathways connected at the east end of the Catskill Turnpike in Catskill, 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
• 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 end of the northwest extension in Buffalo 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.