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James N.
Colonial Militia
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
October 24 2007
Status: offline
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 Posted - November 21 2009 : 8:28:29 PM
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Well, I tried to find another place to put this, since it's of more archetectural interest than the military or political that I usually consider to be "Historic"; but guess this will have to do! When I drove out the Mohawk Valley back in Sept '93, I breezed right past most urban areas like this heading farther west to Sir William Johnson sites or Revolutionary ones like Oriskany and Ft. Stanwix/Schuyler. But I'd read about this medium-sized city on the river, and decided this time to visit it on a rather overcast and chilly day on my way back south from the Lake George area. ( It helps that it's just off the I-87 and I-90 near Albany. ) It proved to be mostly another dirty and dismal industrial center suffering from our current economy, complete with winos literally puking on street corners.
But a short distance off the main streets going towards the Mohawk River, one enters a WONDERFUL accumulation of some of the finest Colonial and early Republic buildings I've ever seen! Fortunately I found the County Historical Society's headquarters in a deceptive 1920's Colonial Revival mansion and was able to get a guide to the walking tour. This approximately 3 -4 block rectangle against a curve of the river contains a very large collection of original 17th - 19th century houses, churches, and a few commercial buildings in remarkable well-cared for condition. For our purposes, the most interesting was the Abraham Yates house, "built in the early 18th century, and features Dutch archetecture with gable-end to street...It is said to be the only Dutch city house in this country still with its original facade". ( Think of the Albany set in Mohicans! ):
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This area is probably as close as one can come today to walking through an honest-to-goodness intact colonial town, other than Newport, R.I. or parts of Savannah or Charleston. ( I don't count Williamsburg - it's too commercial, and too much of it's rebuilt "restoration"! ) It's called the Stockade District because it was originally fenced-off for protection. That failed to prevent it being destroyed and burned by the French and Indians in Feb. 1690, though! When it was rebuilt, the stockade was enlarged and strengthened to enclose most of what now comprises the district.
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Here are a few other notable early structures:
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Schenectady Stockade District
