Mohawk or Iroquois Trail

United State] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png|go t] [[United States Migration Internal|Migratio] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png|go t] [[US Migration Trails and Roads|Trails and Road] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png|go t] [[New York Genealogy|New York [[Image:Gotoarrow.png|go t] [[Mohawk_or_Iroquois_Trail|Mohawk Trail]]

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

The Mohawk Trail, also known as the Iroquois Trail, or Great Indian Trail, started as an from Alban], a major early [[New York Genealogy|New York trade center, to Fort Osweg, the first British fur trading post on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ontario Lake Ontari established in 1722. An important fork of this trail from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utica,_New_York Fort Schuyler (Utica) to Fort Niagar (Youngstown) is also described in [[Great Genesee Road]. Each end of the Mohawk Trail connected [[Image:Mohawk Trail map.png|right|420px|Mohawk Trail map.pn]to other important migration pathways. The length of the Mohawk Trail from Albany to Fort Oswego was about 190 miles (306 km).

Some sources also extend the Mohawk Trail from Albany to Boston through the northwest corner of Massachusetts.

Background History
Albany, New York was founded by the Dutch colony of New Netherland in 1614 and quickly became their premier [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_trade fur tradin center and second largest town. In 1664 England conquered the former Dutch colony and renamed it New York.

In 1722 the British built a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_trade_in_North_America fur tradin post near the mouth of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswego_River_%28New_York%29 Oswego Rive on the southeast side of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ontario Lake Ontari. In 1727 they constructed log palisades, the first of a series of fortifications in the area. This was the first British military outpost on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ontario Lake Ontari. 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 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes Great Lake, and were sometimes collectively were called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Oswego Fort Osweg.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Trail Indian trail through the forests existed for hunting, for trading, and for making war. To reach what became [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Oswego Fort Osweg 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 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Niagara Fort Niagar area on the southwest side of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ontario Lake Ontari guarding the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_River Niagara Rive.

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 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Niagara besieged Fort Niagar for 19 days and captured it. 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).

During and shortly after the [[Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783|American Revolutionary Wa] 1775-1783, many [[American Loyalist] sought refuge from angry American neighbors by leaving for Canada. Those Loyalists from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania that made it to [[Ontario Genealogy|Ontari] usually reached there by following the Mohawk or Iroquois Trail.

As American settlers moved west the two branches of the Mohawk Trail 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 Mohawk Trail as far as [[Albany County, New York Genealogy|Oneid] and [[Madison County, New York Genealogy|Madiso] counties on its way to Fort Niagara. However, near [[Syracuse, New York|Syracus] 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|Great Genesee Road]] became a turnpik, a high quality toll road under private control. But New York toll roads eventually had competition. Water travel on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canal canal 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 railroad 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. 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 or Iroquois Trail route (southeast to northwest) were as follows:


 * [[Albany County, New York Genealogy|Albany Count]
 * [[Schenectady County, New York Genealogy|Schenectady Count]
 * [[Herkimer County, New York Genealogy|Herkimer Count]
 * [[Oneida County, New York Genealogy|Oneida Count]
 * [[Oswego County, New York Genealogy|Oswego Count]

The Mohawk or Iroquois 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, New York Genealogy|Oneida Count]
 * [[Madison County, New York Genealogy|Madison Count]
 * [[Onondaga County, New York Genealogy|Onondaga Count]
 * [[Cayuga County, New York Genealogy|Cayuga Count]
 * [[Wayne County, New York Genealogy|Wayne Count]
 * [[Monroe County, New York Genealogy|Monroe Count]
 * [[Genesee County, New York Genealogy|Genesee Count]
 * [[Niagara County, New York Genealogy|Niagara Count]


 * [[Lincoln County, Ontari], Canada, the trail continued westward in Canada following the base of the escarpment south of Lake Ontario

Connecting trails. The Mohawk or Iroquois Trail 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 Mohawk or Iroquois Trail in Albany, New York included:


 * Hudson Rive a navigable river stretching from north of [[Albany, New York|Alban then flowing south to empty into the Atlantic Ocea at [[New York City, New York|New York Cit
 * Lake Champlain Trail a pre-historic Indian path from [[Albany, New York|Alban] to the St. Lawrence Rive via the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_River Hudson Rive, [[Champlain Canal], Lake Champlai, and in [[Quebec Genealogy|Quebec] the Richelieu Rive (and [[Chambly Canal])
 * Mohawk or Iroquois Trail 1722 from [[Albany, New York|Alban] to [[Utica, New York|Utic] to [[Rome, New York|Rom] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Oswego Fort Osweg on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ontario Lake Ontari
 * with a Mohawk or Iroquois Trail west fork by 1758 from [[Utica, New York|Utic] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Niagara Fort Niagar
 * and that fork was partially overlapped in 1794 by the Great Genesee Road from Utic] to [[Buffalo, New York|Buffal], [[Erie County, New York
 * Forbidden Path (later Catskill Turnpike) a pre-historic Indian path from [[Albany, New York|Alban] to [[Buffalo, New York|Buffal] on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Erie Lake Eri
 * Old Connecticut Path a pre-historic Indian path from [[Boston, Massachusett] to [[Springfield, Massachusett] to [[Albany, New York|Alban] with a fork from Springfield to [[Hartford, Connecticu]
 * Albany Post Road (or Queen's Road, or King's Road) 1669 from [[Albany, New York|Alban] to [[New York City, New York|New York Cit]
 * Greenwood Road from [[Hartford, Connecticu] to [[Albany, New York|Alban]
 * Champlain Canal 1819 connected the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_River Hudson Rive to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Champlain Lake Champlai (New York City to Montreal)
 * Erie Canal 1825 connected [[Albany, New York|Alban] to [[Buffalo, New York|Buffal] on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Erie Lake Eri (New York City to the Great Lakes)

The migration pathway connected at the northwest end of the Mohawk or Iroquois Trail in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Oswego Fort Osweg included:


 * [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ontario Lake Ontari with connections to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto,_Ontario Toronto, Ontari, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lawrence_River St. Lawrence Rive and the other [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes Great Lake
 * Mohawk or Iroquois Trail 1722 from [[Albany, New York|Alban] to [[Utica, New York|Utic] to [[Rome, New York|Rom] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Oswego Fort Osweg on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ontario Lake Ontari


 * West Fork. The migration pathways connected at the east end of the Mohawk or Iroquois Trail (west fork) in [[Utica, New York|Utic] included:


 * Mohawk or Iroquois Trail by 1758 from [[Albany, New York|Alban] to [[Utica, New York|Utic] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Niagara Fort Niagar
 * Great Genesee Road 1794 from [[Utica, New York|Utic] to [[Caledonia, New York|Caledoni] and later [[Buffalo, New York|Buffal]
 * Erie Canal 1825 from [[Albany, New York|Alban] to [[Utica, New York|Utic] to [[Buffalo, New York|Buffal]


 * The migration pathways connected at the west end of the Mohawk or Iroquois Trail (west fork) in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Niagara Fort Niagar included:


 * Lake Eri with connections to [[Buffalo, New York|Buffal, [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]], [[Toledo, Ohio|Toled], and [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroi]
 * Niagara Rive with connections to [[Buffalo, New York|Buffal, Fort Niagar, and [[Ontario Genealogy|Ontari in [[Canada Genealogy|Canad]
 * [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ontario Lake Ontari with connections to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto,_Ontario Toronto, Ontari, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lawrence_River St. Lawrence Rive and the other [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes Great Lake
 * Mohawk or Iroquois Trail by 1758 from [[Albany, New York|Alban] to [[Utica, New York|Utic] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Niagara Fort Niagar
 * Great Genesee Road 1794 from [[Utica, New York|Utic] to [[Caledonia, New York|Caledoni] and later [[Buffalo, New York|Buffal]
 * Erie Canal 1825 from [[Albany, New York|Alban] to [[Utica, New York|Utic] to [[Buffalo, New York|Buffal]
 * Lake Shore Path from Buffalo, New York to [[Cleveland, Ohi]
 * pathways into [[Ontario Genealogy|Ontari], 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 Mohawk or Iroquois Trail 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 Mohawk or Iroquois Trail 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 Alban]. Albany was a hub of pathways from [[New York City, New York|New York Cit], [[Vermont Genealogy|Vermon], [[Connecticut Genealogy|Connecticu], [[Massachusetts Genealogy Guide|Massachusett], [[Pennsylvania Genealogy|Pennsylvani], and [[Quebec Genealogy|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 [[American Loyalists|Loyalist] who fled to [[Ontario Genealogy|Ontari] 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:


 * Norman K. Crowder, "1784-1785 Niagara Return" Early Ontario Settlers: A Source Book (Baltimore: Genealogical Publ., 1993), 132-42. [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28416689 WorldCat entr..

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.

For partial lists of early settlers who may have used the Mohawk or Iroquois Trail, 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). [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1302975 WorldCat entr. . Indexed in Index to History of Oswego County, New York (Salt Lake City : Family History Library, 1991)..

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 &amp; Fariss, 1878). [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/15238689 WorldCat entr..

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). [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3009409 WorldCat entr..