#ANHP-Adirondack Native Historic Preservation
#W. Earl Mattison
#Wayne E Mattison
#Youtube: Adirondack Native Historic Preservation
Old Maps of Fort Edward:
Norman B. Leventhal, Map & Education Center at Boston Public Library, Digital Collections. Plan of Fort Edward. American Revolutionary War-Era Maps-British Library Collection. Associated name: Eyre, William, active 1755. Support from the Boston Public Library, the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH), and the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Copyright Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center.
https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:hx11xz419
Norman B. Leventhal, Map & Education Center at Boston Public Library, Digital Collections. Plan of Fort Edward. American Revolutionary War-Era Maps-British Library Collection. Contributor: Roger's Rangers, 1757. Support from the Boston Public Library, the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH), and the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Copyright Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center.
https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:hx11z389g
Fort Edward in 1700, was expanse of woodlands and void of any modernness with a few narrow dirt paths. Prior to any forts, most houses, and groups of people the area was known by an old Mohawk Indian name which translates to the “Great Carrying Place.”(Copyright Paul McCarty, Town of Fort Edward © 2020- 2022; Lakes to Locks Passage; Fred Anderson; David R. Starbuck; and HMdb.org, THE HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE, Rogers Island - Fort Edward, NY A History of the Island)
Sir Francis Nicholson was sent here during Queen Anne’s War (1702–1713) to established a small fortification and build more stable dirt road to Fort Ann to the north in 1709. The ramparts became known as Fort Nicholson which was abandoned a short time later.(Copyright Paul McCarty, Town of Fort Edward © 2020- 2022; Lakes to Locks Passage; Fred Anderson; and David R. Starbuck)
In 1731, John Henry Lydius, a Dutch immigrant from Albany, built a fur trading post known as Lydius House or Fort Lydius which became the area's first documented building. (Paul McCarty, Town of Fort Edward © 2020- 2022 All Rights Reserved; Lakes to Locks Passage; and Fred Anderson)
Sir William Johnson modified the name from Fort Lyman to Fort Edward in September of 1755. Named in honor of Edward, Duke of York and Albany, grandson of George II and brother of George III. During this time a large military hospital was constructed on what became known as Rogers Island.(Copyright Paul McCarty, Town of Fort Edward © 2020- 2022; Robert O. Bascom; Lakes to Locks Passage; Maury Thompson; Fred Anderson; and David R. Starbuck)
Eric Hinderaker wrote in The Two Hendricks: Unraveling a Mohawk Mystery: by the "...summer of 1755....One of the greatest concerns of the New York Iroquois was to avoid fight against their Kahnawake and Kanesatake relatives. Indians were streaming toward Montreal from throughout the Great Lakes to join in the French campaigns, and the St. Lawrence Indians intended to fight alongside them. Any Iroquois warriors who joined Johnson's campaign ran the rick of encountering their relatives on the battlefield." (Hinderaker, pg. 257) Hinderaker was more than precise and couldn't have articulated the circumstances any better, by September of 1755 the Battle of Lake George was in complete uproar and during one incident called the Bloody Morning Scout, saw Mohawk against Mohawk which many perished ; and Fort Edward was certainly apart of the action. (Fred Anderson, 108-123)
Right before the American Revolution, the ramparts were disassembled. A short time later, the War put Fort Edward on the “Great War Path” yet again. With fortifications in disrepair the region was defenseless against any onslaught. General Philip Schuyler withdrew to Schuylerville in preparation for (what became known as the two Battles of Saratoga). At this point Fort Edward was under Britain's General John Burgoyne’s control. As the northern campaigns raged on the two Battles of Saratoga would become known as: Richard M. Ketchum titled his book, the "Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War." (Paul McCarty, Town of Fort Edward © 2020- 2022; Robert O. Bascom; Richard M. Ketchum, Saratoga, front Cover and additional pages, [several references to John Burgoyne]; John Ferling; Lakes to Locks Passage; and Maury Thompson).
The area's post office was created in 1798 with Matthias Ogden as postmaster. The town of Fort Edward was officially established on April 10, 1818. Solomon Emmons' house was utilized for the first town meeting on May 22, 1798. Moses Cary was voted in as supervisor and Walter Rogers became the first town clerk.(Paul McCarty, Copyright Town of Fort Edward © 2020- 2022 and Robert O. Bascom)
The Emmons house owner (Solomon Emmons)was located in the small hamlet of Fort Edward center and for many years was known as the Black House. This hamlet, located south of the village of Fort Edward, contained a church, schoolhouse, and post office. (Copyright Paul McCarty, Town of Fort Edward © 2020- 2022; and Robert O. Bascom)
The settlement of Moses Kill located on the Hudson River in the southern section of town took its name from the stream which flows into the Hudson. The area's post office was established in 1872 and for a short time, the name of Mock was used for this small hamlet. (Copyright Paul McCarty, Town of Fort Edward © 2020- 2022; John Ferling; and Robert O. Bascom)
Durkeetown was positioned just east of Fort Edward and settled by Solomon Durkee. The Baptist Church was erected in 1832 located near by was the original structure. The post office here was created in 1872 and the name of Mock was used by its settlers. Susan B. Anthony was a teacher in a school here before becoming renowned as a women's rights activist and author. (Copyright Paul McCarty, Town of Fort Edward © 2020- 2022, and Robert O. Bascom)
In the Autumn of 1849, the Village was incorporated and the first village meeting was held in Gideon Carswell's house also called the Charter House. Frederick D. Hodgeman was voted in as first president (later Mayor) of the township. (Copyright Paul McCarty, Town of Fort Edward © 2020- 2022 All Rights Reserved, and Robert O. Bascom)
Defence against fires was a great concern of the town and for well over two decades the old hand-engine method was used. Later, fire companies were formed and included the John F. Harris Steamer Fire Company No. 1 in 1874, the George Satterlee Hose Company No. 2 in 1874, the John R. Durkee Hose Company No. 3 in 1877, and the Leonard Bibbey House Company No. 4 in 1899. (Copyright Paul McCarty, Town of Fort Edward © 2020- 2022, and Robert O. Bascom)
Right after the turn of 1800 a clothing factory was established by Timothy Eddy. Water power was furnished by stream which flowed down the hill and across McCrea Street. By 1850 Hodgeman and Palser created a paper mill nearby. The Fort Edward Blast Furnace was built and was operational four years later. Bessemer pig iron plant was created with iron being acquired from as far away as Essex County to the north almost 73 miles.(Copyright Paul McCarty, Town of Fort Edward © 2020- 2022 and Robert O. Bascom)
Roger's Island:
Fort Edward was at one point the third grandest "city" in North America during the 18th Century. Modren Special Forces deem this small island in close proximity to the Hudson River to be their sacred home. The various events that occurred here and the at the bend in the River within 1750s would establish foundations for our new county that was created 20 years later. (Rogers Island Visitors Center Fort Edward, NY, Home; and HMdb.org, THE HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE: Rogers Island -Fort Edward, NY Rogers' Rangers)
The historic marker placed at Rogers Island was dedicated to Major Robert Rogers along the Hudson River at Fort Edward. The marker commemorates the history of the site where Rogers wrote his Rules of Ranging in 1757.(Maury Thompson; HMdb.org, THE HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE: Rogers Island -- Fort Edward, NY Rogers' Rangers; and Rogers Island Visitors Center Fort Edward, NY)
3.) Fred Anderson, wrote "Robert Rogers,...Shown here in a Revolutionary-era engraving as the Loyalist...Rogers spent most of the Seven Years' War leading ranger units that were supposed to replace...Indian allies... He tried indefatigably or (tirelessly) to perfect the rangers' skill in woodland warfare....twice he and his men suffered terribly...at the hands of French marines and Indians whose expertise was of a markedly or (noticeably) higher order. His Journals, published in London in 1765, secured his reputation as the very model of the frontier guerrilla leader."(Anderson, Illustrations-Robert Rogers, xiv and 188, Courtesy of the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan)
During the French & Indian War, Fort Edward and Rogers Island became a strategic location and led to the construction of one of the largest British military complexes in North America. [On]...Rogers Island were additional barracks, storage buildings, hospitals and a blockhouse....Thousands of troops encamped in and around the fort, on the banks of the Hudson and on Rogers Island adjacent to the fort. The Fort eventually became the staging ground for invasions northward into French Canada by the British and provincial troops who would eventually drive the French out of New France. During the height of troop build up in 1757, when the population was estimated at 16,000,....Philip Schuyler, Israel Putnam and Paul Revere were all stationed at Fort Edward during the French & Indian War before becoming officers in the Revolutionary War. Although there was never a battle fought on Rogers Island, it was the largest hospital complex, supplies depot and training base....(Rogers Island Visitors Center Fort Edward, NY; David R. Starbuck; and HMdb.org, THE HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE: Rogers Island -Fort Edward, NY Rogers' Rangers)
Richard M. Ketchum wrote, "The fort seen by [Benjamin] Franklin's entourage was actually the third military establishment to be built...and had been a base for Robert Rogers Rangers In its heyday it was a log-and-earth...[fortification] [with] walls sixteen feet high and twenty-two feet thick, surrounded by a deep ditch, with barracks for about five hundred men....[which included]...nearby Rogers Island."(Ketchum, pgs. 26, Index-536, secret mission to Canada 3-39)
Later, the Island became the site for several private homes, a Civil War training and mustering grounds, a crossing point for railroads into Fort Edward, and a construction site for barges used in the war effort during World War I.(HMdb.org, THE HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE, Rogers Island - Fort Edward, NY A History of the Island; and HMdb.org, THE HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE: Rogers Island -Fort Edward, NY Rogers' Rangers; and Rogers Island Visitors Center Fort Edward, NY)
Historical Sources:
David R. Starbuck. The Great Warpath: British Military Sites from Albany to Crown Point. University Press of New England. Copyright 1999 by University Press of New England. 205 Pages.
Eric Hinderaker. The Two Hendricks: Unraveling a Mohawk Mystery. (Harvard Univerity Press, 2010). Copyright 2010 by Eric Hinderaker. 262 Pages
Fred Anderson. Crucible of War, (Vintage Books), Copyright 2000 by Fred Anderson. 862 Pages.
HMdb.org, THE HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE, Rogers Island - Fort Edward, NY A History of the Island. Fort Edward in Washington County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic). Inscription: "The Island has had many names – Great Island, Munro’s Island, Roger’s Island, Freeman’s Island and others.” Narratives of Old Fort Edward, Anne E. Brislin. Submitted on May 30, 2019, by Steve Stoessel. (Copyright © 2006–2022, Some rights reserved)
HMdb.org, THE HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE: Rogers Island -Fort Edward, NY Rogers' Rangers. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=134563
John Ferling, Almost A Miracle, (Oxford University Press), Copyright 2007 by John Ferling. 679 Pages.
Lakes to Locks Passage. 23. Old Fort House Museum: The Great Carrying Place. [Listen to the Turning Point Trail Site 23 Audio Narration]. Lakes to Locks Passage, Inc. Crown Point, NY.
Maury Thompson, (April 7, 2022). Fort Edward, Political Anecdotes from the Past.
Historic Marker Being Placed at Rogers Island, Fort Edward, Editorial Staff (October 3, 2019), Protecting and Defending the Adirondack Park and Forest Preserve. New York Almanack.
Paul McCarty, (Fort Edward Historian). Town of Fort Edward, Founded 1755. History of the Town of Fort Edward. (Town of Fort Edward © 2020- 2022)
Richard M. Ketchum. Saratoga, (A Holt Paperback, New York). Copyright 1997 by Richard M. Ketchum. 545 Pages.
Robert O. Bascom. The Fort Edward Book: Containing Some Historical Sketches, with Illustrations, and Family Records. (Published by James D. Keating, Fort Edward, NY: 1903). Internet Archive, 2010. Google Books.
Rogers Island Visitors Center Fort Edward, NY. The Gateway to American HIstory in Washington, County, NY, Learn. Website Built with WordPrss.com.
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