Fort Plain
New York
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Village Of Fort Plain
History:
The first settlers to the region were the Ganegaono, a tribe of Mohawk Indians. The Ganegaono settlers founded nine towns within four miles of present day Fort Plains. Tionnontogen, one of the nine towns, was the site of a large battle during the Mohawk-Mohican War of 1626, which ultimately forced the Mohicans out of the Hudson area and into preset day Conneticut. In 1667, the Jesuit Mission of St. Mary was founded in Tionnontogen. The Jesuits later wrote a unique Mohawk Dictionary entitled "Racines Agnieres" to document the language and grammar of the Mohawk Indians. The French-Indian war caused many casualties to the Mohawk warriors and in 1775 most Mohawks left the area to fight alongside the British Forces in Canada.
On August 22, 1776 the Tryon County Brigade of Militia was organized. Nicholas Herkimer was named Brigadier General. The construction of Fort Plain and the ten surrounding forts began shortly after. The Mohawk Valley saw its first hostilities in 1777 at the Battle of Oriskany. General Herkimer began his march of 850 men on Fort Stanwix August 4, 1777.
During the battle, Herkimer was wounded by a bullet in the leg, and his horse was killed. While wounded, Herkimer still managed to direct the battle and force the enemy to retreat. Because of the Heroism of Nicholas Herkimer as well as his men the Americans were able to prevent the enemy from meeting General Burgoyne's army as it neared Albany. In 1780 Fort Plain was raided by Mohawk Indian chiefs.
With all the able-bodied men protecting a convoy, Fort Plain was left with no defenders except Women, Children and Old Men. The women were able to deter raiders from attacking Fort Plains by putting on men's hats and walked the walls in large numbers to make the fort look like it was heavily guarded.
The Erie canal was constructed from 1817 to 1825. With it's completion in 1825, Governor Clinton stopped in Fort Plain on October 31st on his Journey from Buffalo to Albany throughout what was referred to as the "Grand Canal".
In 1832 Fort Plain was incorporated as a village, William A. Haslett was named the first president of the village. The Fort Plain High School was founded also in 1832 and in 1836 a Railroad was built connecting Fort Plain to Utica and Schenectady. With all creation of Fort Plain National Bank in 1839 Commerce was ready to boom. A furniture factory was founded in 1852 and later a bag factory was built. The Fort Plain Spring and Axle Works was founded in 1874 and various textile mills were founded shortly later. All of these industries made their own impact on making Fort Plain what it is today.
The first settlers to the region were the Ganegaono, a tribe of Mohawk Indians. The Ganegaono settlers founded nine towns within four miles of present day Fort Plains. Tionnontogen, one of the nine towns, was the site of a large battle during the Mohawk-Mohican War of 1626, which ultimately forced the Mohicans out of the Hudson area and into preset day Conneticut. In 1667, the Jesuit Mission of St. Mary was founded in Tionnontogen. The Jesuits later wrote a unique Mohawk Dictionary entitled "Racines Agnieres" to document the language and grammar of the Mohawk Indians. The French-Indian war caused many casualties to the Mohawk warriors and in 1775 most Mohawks left the area to fight alongside the British Forces in Canada.
On August 22, 1776 the Tryon County Brigade of Militia was organized. Nicholas Herkimer was named Brigadier General. The construction of Fort Plain and the ten surrounding forts began shortly after. The Mohawk Valley saw its first hostilities in 1777 at the Battle of Oriskany. General Herkimer began his march of 850 men on Fort Stanwix August 4, 1777.
During the battle, Herkimer was wounded by a bullet in the leg, and his horse was killed. While wounded, Herkimer still managed to direct the battle and force the enemy to retreat. Because of the Heroism of Nicholas Herkimer as well as his men the Americans were able to prevent the enemy from meeting General Burgoyne's army as it neared Albany. In 1780 Fort Plain was raided by Mohawk Indian chiefs.
With all the able-bodied men protecting a convoy, Fort Plain was left with no defenders except Women, Children and Old Men. The women were able to deter raiders from attacking Fort Plains by putting on men's hats and walked the walls in large numbers to make the fort look like it was heavily guarded.
The Erie canal was constructed from 1817 to 1825. With it's completion in 1825, Governor Clinton stopped in Fort Plain on October 31st on his Journey from Buffalo to Albany throughout what was referred to as the "Grand Canal".
In 1832 Fort Plain was incorporated as a village, William A. Haslett was named the first president of the village. The Fort Plain High School was founded also in 1832 and in 1836 a Railroad was built connecting Fort Plain to Utica and Schenectady. With all creation of Fort Plain National Bank in 1839 Commerce was ready to boom. A furniture factory was founded in 1852 and later a bag factory was built. The Fort Plain Spring and Axle Works was founded in 1874 and various textile mills were founded shortly later. All of these industries made their own impact on making Fort Plain what it is today.