Bus tour to Mohawk Valley

Bus tour to Mohawk Valley

Date: 19 June, 2013 (Wednesday) Cost: $60

Departure: About 8 am from the Desmond Hotel Return: About 6 pm

The 2013 Palatines to America tour will take us through the historic Mohawk Valley section of New York State. The first European settlers in the Mohawk Valley were 1710 Palatines who had fled the abyssal living conditions in the Hudson Valley. Upon leaving the Hudson, many settled first in the Schoharie Valley, then moved on to the Mohawk Valley when land title issues in Schoharie were settled adversely to them.

We will start our tour in Little Falls at the home of General Nicholas Herkimer, the famous Palatine general of the Revolution who died of the wounds he received at the Battle of Oriskany, and will continue on to the Oriskany Battle Site near the present day city of Rome, New York. While in Rome we will have lunch and tour the nearby reconstruction of Fort Stanwix National Monument, an important site in the French and Indian as well as the Revolutionary War. It was built on the site of the Oneida Carrying Place, an important stop in the trade route between Albany and the Great Lakes. Many of the original Palatine settlers of the Mohawk Valley, including the father Nicholas Herkimer, made their living trading furs between the Indians and the Dutch settlers in Albany and Schenectady.

En route each way between Little Falls and Rome we will tour many Palatine sites including the old Palatine Church and the original Mohawk Valley Palatine settlements of Burnetsfield and Stone Arabia. One stop will be at Fort Klock, one of many fortified stone homesteads and fur trading posts built by our Palatine ancestors to resist Indian attacks in the French & Indian and Revolutionary Wars. We will end our tour at Johnson Hall, home to Sir William Johnson who decided to remain on the British side during the American Revolution and who, due to his many alliances with the Indians, particularly Joseph Brant, was responsible for the deaths of many Palatine and later European settlers in the Valley.

A historian will be present on the bus to describe the general history of the 1710 Palatines as well as the specific history of the places we visit. We are also seeking a luncheon speaker for in depth coverage of some aspect of the Palatine story in the Mohawk Valley or Palatine genealogy.

(Space is limited. You are encouraged to sign up early with your registration for the Palatines to American National Conference.)

(Contributed by Barbara de Mare, of the NY Chapter.)