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Arent Van Curler

Schenectady’s Relationship to Native America

July 7, 2022 by Guest Contributor 2 Comments

Mohawk “squaw,” watercolorFor many people, “American” history begins with European exploration of the continent. From there, the narrative invariably centers on the colonial perspective and, after 1776, the perspective of the United States.

Consequently, the general public is generally uninformed about the history of Indigenous People that both predates New Netherland and the Pilgrims and persists to the present. And this article is by no means capable of addressing this broad historical issue. So let’s turn from this historical macrocosm to the microcosm of one city, Schenectady. [Read more…] about Schenectady’s Relationship to Native America

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Algonquin, American Revolution, Arent Van Curler, French And Indian War, French History, fur trade, Haudenosaunee, Hudson River, Indigenous History, Iroquois, King William’s War, Military History, Mohawk, Mohawk River, New France, Oneida Carrying Place, Oneida Indian Nation, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society, Seneca Nation, Sullivan_Clinton Expedition

A Brief History of the Mohawk River

June 20, 2022 by Guest Contributor 3 Comments

painting of Mohawk RiverImagine the Mohawk River flowing with more force than Niagara Falls. Around 22,000 years ago, that’s exactly how it was. During the last ice age, the Laurentide Glacier began to melt, forming a large lake atop the glacier. As the glacier receded north, it opened access to the Mohawk River, which for thousands of years had been buried beneath the two-mile thick block of ice. Suddenly, all that lake water had somewhere to go.

The deluge of water that was released was so great that it carved an entirely new riverbed. It was so great in fact, that geologists gave the river a new name; the Iromohawk. Water rushed down the valley, carving away the cliffs of Clifton Park, the gorge at Cohoes, and the channel at Rexford. The river also curved back onto itself, creating the bend around Schenectady that the Mohawk follows today. [Read more…] about A Brief History of the Mohawk River

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley, Nature, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: Arent Van Curler, Barge Canal, Clifton Park, Cohoes, Engineering History, Environmental History, Erie Canal, Geology, Mohawk River, nature, Rexford, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society, Transportation History

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