Mohawk or Iroquois Trail

United States Migration  Trails and Roads  New York  Mohawk Trail

The Mohawk Trail, also known as the Iroquois Trail, or Great Indian Trail, started as an from Albany, a major early New York trade center, to Fort Oswego, the first British fur trading post on Lake Ontario established in 1722. An important fork of this trail from Fort Schuyler (Utica) to Fort Niagara (Youngstown) is also described in Great Genesee Road. Each end of the Mohawk Trail connected to other important migration pathways. The length of the Mohawk Trail from Albany to Fort Oswego 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 Mohawk or Iroquois Trail.

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 Mohawk Trail to Fort Oswego and the junction with the Mohawk Trail 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 Mohawk Trail an important supply route from Albany to Fort Schuyler 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 settlers moved west these two branches of the Mohawk Trail were used heavily. New York invested in road improvements to 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 Mohawk Trail as far as Oneida and Madison counties on its way to Fort Niagara. However, near Syracuse the original Mohawk Trail 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 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 Mohawk Trail route (southeast to northwest) were as follows:


 * Albany County
 * Schenectady County
 * Herkimer County
 * Oneida County
 * Oswego County

The Mohawk trail 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 Mohawk Trail route (east to west) were:


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

Connecting trails. The Mohawk or Iroquois Trail linked to other trails at each end.

The migration pathways connected at the southeast end of the Mohawk or Iroquois Trail 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)
 * Mohawk or Iroquois Trail a pre-historic Indian path from Albany to Utica to Rome to Fort Oswego on Lake Ontario
 * with a fork called the Great Genesee Road from Utica to Fort Niagara, Niagara 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
 * 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 pathways connected at the northwest end of the Mohawk or Iroquois Trail in Fort Oswego included:


 * Lake Ontario

The migration pathways connected at the west end of the Mohawk or Iroquois Trail (west fork) in Utica included:


 * Mohawk Trail (or Iroquois Trail) a pre-historic footpath that connected Albany to Fort Oswego
 * 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 Mohawk or Iroquois Trail (west fork) in Fort Niagara included:


 * Lake Erie
 * Niagara River
 * Lake Ontario
 * 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

Modern parallels. The modern road that roughly matches the Mohawk or Iroquois Trail and its extension to Buffalo is New York State Route 5 from Utica to Buffalo.

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.

No complete list of settlers 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.

For partial lists of early settlers who may have used the Mohawk or Iroquois Trail, see histories like:

Cayuga County


 * Elliot G. Storke, and James. H. Smith, History of Cayuga County, New York, 1789-1879 : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers (Syracuse, New York : D. Mason, 1879). WorldCat entry..

Cortland County


 * H. C. Goodwin, Pioneer history, or, Cortland County and the border wars of New York : from the earliest period to the present time (Photocopy of original published: New York : A.B. Burdick, 1859). WorldCat entry..

Onondaga County


 * W. Woodford Clayton, History of Onondaga County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers (Syracuse, N. Y. : D Mason, 1878). Digital version.