We left Amsterdam and continued our journey west on the Mohawk River. We soon encountered Lock 12, rising 11 feet. The land levels out near the river and much of this land is farmed. We saw lots of corn, some hay, a vineyard on the hillside and the remains of blueberries and strawberries.
We encountered sea gulls which seemed to like to sit on the navigational cans in the canal. Was surprised to see gulls this far inland! And, of course, we continue to see trains on a regular basis.
At Lock 13 we rose 8 feet and we begin to see hills rising up to 800 feet directly off the river.
At Lock 14, we rose another 8 feet at the town of Canajoharie, which means boiling water in the Iroquois language. The town is famous for its small art museum that features close to 120 oil and watercolor paintings of Winslow Homer and it’s waterfall- thus the town name boiling water. We had planned to stop there, but the town dock was washed away two winters ago and it has not been replaced.
Next came Lock 15 which took us up another 8 feet and we tied to the free dock wall for the night. The dock was at the lock park with lots of shade trees and picnic tables and even a peacock! Quite a few people were taking advantage of the beautiful day to have a picnic lunch. Once we are settled, we will explore the town of Fort Plain.
Our total miles of lift on the Erie Canal so far is 302 feet.
Fort Plain was settled near the Revolutionary War fort which was built where the Otsquago Creek and Mohawk River met. The log stockade fort is long gone but we got the chance to visit the museum and learn how and when the fort was built and used during the Revolutionary War period. The museum explained the Mohawk valley series of forts and fortified homes during the lead up to and during the Revolutionary War. On display were artifacts from the Native Indians( beads, arrowheads, tools and pottery); artifacts from the war ( shot pellets, buttons, coins, buckles bayonets, rifles, powder horns and tools) and artifacts of the farmers, families and tradesmen that settled in this area( axes, shovels, rakes, children’s toys, blacksmith anvils and hammers). The museum also had documents from Ft Plain residents and accounts of battles and correspondence.
Rendering of original fort.
Rendering of Block House added to fort
Museum entrance in 1848 home of Daniel Lipe
Site of the original fort on the hilltop.
As we biked through the village of 2,200 residents you got the feeling that everyone knows everyone else and many of the residents can trace their history back to the Revolutionary War period.
We had a visitor come check us out while I was cooking dinner. Thought he might come aboard, but he did not.
Day 87 July 12. On to Frankfort NY. 24.2nm. Total 1893
Leaving Fort Plain, we soon encountered Lock 17 with a 20 foot lift.
At this point the Erie Canal leaves the Mohawk River proper and is a much straighter and narrower and also more heavily wooded. The train tracks also veer off, so we don’t see or hear the trains. The canal was dug to avoid the rapids in this section of the river.
As we headed past the lock we saw a grand house with lots of property on the canal. A little searching found out that the property was called Herkimer House, the home of Revolutionary War General Nicholas Herkimer. The Georgian manor house was completed either in 1764 or 1767.
General Herkimer was a farmer and trader who led the decisive battle of Oriskany on August 6, 1777. The battle against the Loyalist and the Mohawk Indians was part of the larger British plan to conquer New York. One British General was to start in New York and move up the Hudson, another was to come from Canada and move through the Mohawk valley to attack Fort Ticonderoga. At Oriskany Creek, General Herkimer enagaged the Loyalist and Indians in battle. Although shot in the leg, the General continued to command his militia, until soldiers from Fort Stanwix assisted by pillaging the Loyalist camp causing them to retreat. Thus began a string of victories for the colonists in the Mohawk Valley.
Been learning a lot about the Revolutionary War I did not know before.
Our progress came to a halt as we waited for a dredging operation to finish up some work just past Guard Gate 3. The guard gates are lowered to control water level in the river. After a 30 minute hiatus, we continued on our journey.
We next came to the town of Little Falls which is the highest lift lock on the Erie Canal, rising 40 feet. The entrance gate is lifted up so the boats go under the gate to enter the lock. The rest of the locks open their gates by swinging like barn doors for the boats to enter.
The city of Little Falls is located in the gorge of the Mohawk Valley where there were once a series of rapids in the river. These rapids were tamed for commercial and pleasure traffic by the 40 foot lock and dam. The city grew up around the water, using it as a resource to power their stone and textile mills. Many of the buildings still remain right on the river today.
After we passed through Little Falls, we went past a very old church and cemetery. With some searching I found it is the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church built in 1767 from the limestone of the Mohawk valley. The church is the oldest building in this area and it is still in use today.
Further down the canal we locked through Lock number 18, rising 20 feet, for a total of 80 feet today. A little ways further we pulled off to a lock wall in the small town of Frankfort, NY.
After a short nap, we will explore the town if it doesn’t rain on us!
Well it only sprinkled a little so after dinner we walked thru the Main Street area and splurged and bought some ice cream. Frankfort is a small town that supports the farms in the surrounding area. Going to relax and get to bed early tonight.
