Fort Hunter (3)

 (1711-1820) - A Queen Anne's War Fort established in 1711 in the town of Fort Hunter, Montgomery County, New York. Named Fort Hunter after then Governor Robert Hunter. Destroyed about 1820 by Erie Canal construction.

History of Fort Hunter
Established in 1711 at the junction of the Mohawk River and the Schoharie Creek as the first English settlement among the Iroquois Indians.

The idea for the fort was carried back to England in 1709 by the mayor of Albany, Peter Schuyler, and several Mohawk Indian chiefs who petitioned Queen Anne for permission to build a fort. The Queen agreed and the Mohawk provided an offer of land to house some 3,000 Palatine refugees then in England. The Palatines came to America to settle in the Mohawk Valley and the fort was constructed.

The fort was enclosed by a 150 foot square, 12-foot-high palisade. A blockhouse was built at each of the four corners. Each of the blockhouses was built as a two-story, 24-foot-square structure armed with seven and nine-pounder cannon.

At the center of the compound was the 1713 Queen Anne's Chapel, ordered by Queen Anne for her Mohawk Indians subjects. The chapel was a one-story, 24 foot square limestone building with an attic and a sturdy 15-foot-square cellar lined with logs. The cellar was possibly used as a powder magazine.

In 1734 a two-story stone parsonage, 25 by 35 feet, was built nearby. During the Revolutionary War this parsonage was fortified, palisaded, and garrisoned. The old fort itself was torn down at the beginning of the Revolution. During the war the new fort served as a garrison for Patriot soldiers and their Indian allies.

The old fort remains and the central chapel were destroyed to make way for Erie Canal in 1820. The parsonage was not destroyed and still exists and is one of the oldest buildings in the Mohawk Valley.

Current Status
Markers only, structures destroyed by construction for the Erie Canal except for the parsonage.

See Also:
 * Mohawk Valley Forts

Sources:
 * , page 560.

Links:
 * North American Forts - Fort Hunter
 * Wikipedia - Fort Hunter
 * HMDB - Fort Hunter
 * Roots Web - Fort Hunter
 * Three Rivers - Queen Anne's Chapel Parsonage