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Introduction
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During the later part of the 17th
century pioneers began to move west along the Old Connecticut Path from
Boston, through Worcester and Springfield, Massachusetts while other groups
migrated from Hartford, CT, to Dutchess County, NY, then northwest to Albany
along the Greenwood Road. During this same time period the early
Hudson River settlements also reached north to Albany. By the early decades of the 18th
century the need for a road from the Hudson River to Lake Erie was
apparent. Settlers first used the Iroquois
Trail, an already
established Native-American path, to travel the Mohawk River Valley,
which is a natural route to the west from Albany to Lake Erie. By the 1750’s the path had grown into a
clearly defined wagon road called the Mohawk Trail. The Mohawk
Trail was the most northerly route through the Appalachian Mountains,
leading from New York's Hudson Valley along the Mohawk River to the Great Lakes. Soon the trail was extended to Lake
Ontario, where boats could be used to ferry wagons and families to other Lake
Ontario ports including Upper Canada. In
1793 the much-improved road from Albany to Utica became known as the Mohawk Turnpike. In 1794 Charles Williams, an agent for the Pulteney
Association persuaded the
State of New York to extend the Mohawk Turnpike through Geneva and
Canandaigua to the future site of Avon on the Genesee. The Great
Genesee Road, as it was called, gave the Pulteney lands direct access
to the Albany and New York city markets.
Today, Route 5 and its cousin, Route 5S, cross upstate New York and
are collectively and historically referred to as the Mohawk Turnpike. They
both parallel the New York Thruway (Interstate 90) and the Mohawk River. NY
Route 5 hugs the northern bank of the river while NY Route 5S hugs the
southern bank. |
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Map of entire
route
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The Mohawk
Turnpike |
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Driving Distance =
approx. 95 miles Driving Time = approximately 2 hours at 50 miles per hour |
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from the keyboard you can increase or decrease the zoom value in 10%
increments. To zoom |
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Road
Trip
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If you have traced your 18th or 19th century ancestors to any of the counties listed below it is quite possible that they traveled to that location along this migration route. Therefore you may find additional relevant information about your ancestral lineages by taking the following road trip through these localities. |
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COUNTY (Road Trip Segment) |
COUNTY (Road Trip Segment) |
COUNTY (Road Trip Segment) |
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Albany
County, NY (1) Fulton
County, NY (2) Herkimer
County, NY (2) |
Albany
County, NY (1) Fulton
County, NY (2) Herkimer
County, NY (2) |
Albany
County, NY (1) Fulton
County, NY (2) Herkimer
County, NY (2) |
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# = Counties where our direct ancestors were either, born, married, died or known to have resided. |
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This “Genealogy Road Trip” is divided into segments that require
between 1 and 2 hours of driving time.
Within each segment you will find links to resources* that will assist
you in planning a successful and enjoyable experience. The following maps are designed to show a
close-up view of the counties and communities along this migration
route. Relevant county seats are
designated with a SOURCES: (1) Wikipedia; (2) The USGenWeb Project; (3) National Register of Historical Places |
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Albany, NY to Fonda, NY |
Fonda, NY to Utica, NY |
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Albany, NY to Fonda, NY |
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Driving Distance = 45 miles;
Driving Time = approximately 1.00 hours |
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Click on the thumbnail map to view a full-sized image |
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General Profile |
Genealogy & History Resources |
Historical Sites |
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Fonda, NY to Utica, NY |
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Driving Distance = 55 miles;
Driving Time = approximately
1.00 hour |
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Click on the thumbnail map to view a full-sized image |
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General Profile |
Genealogy & History Resources |
Historical Sites |
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Internet Resources
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The Google search engine button
and following web sites
may provide you |
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with additional information to assist with your research about this
topic. |
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·
Ancestry.com - Message Boards - Migration |
·
Frontier Trails -
A Brief History · Familyworks American Migration · Historical American Migration & Settlement Patterns |
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·
Descriptions of Old Mohawk Turnpike ·
The Old Mohawk-Turnpike Book, Stone
Arabia Churches |
· The Old Mohawk-Turnpike Book |
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Download a free 2-page Fact Sheet |
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about American migration routes |
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The
following Link will
take you to our library of genealogy reference books. Here you will find books about historic American roads, trails, and
paths. In addition, there are texts that pertain
to ethnic and religion groups,
history,
geography
as well as other books that will assist you with your research. Research Library – Table of Contents |
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Image
Gallery
During our research we have collected images and
photographs that are of general interest to a variety of American migration
routes, roads and trails. Some of them
are presented on this website because we believe they tend to provide the
reader with additional information which may aid in the understanding of
this topic as well as our ancestors past lives. |
Mohawk Turnpike Toll Bridge over the West Canada Creek at Herkimer, New York, 1870 |
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If you
have any photographs or other images relating to American migration routes, roads, or
trails would greatly appreciate hearing from you. Use the following LINK to
view the various image galleries that pertain to this topic. American
Migration Routes, Roads & Trails |
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Use the power of Google™ to find more interesting images about
this topic. This button will link you to the Google Images Search
page. Enter the topic |
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you are
searching in the box and click “Search Images”. At the “Images” display
page you will see the image, as well as the website of which it is
associated. |
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Contact Information
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Snail
mail: Fred USA |
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Pony Express: Tom Sooke, BC
V9Z 0Y7 Canada |
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,
press 
,
press 
,
beginning and end points of each segment are noted with a 
.%20NORTHEASTERN%20US%20MAPS/MOHAWK%20TURNPIKE/MohawkTurnpike1.JPG)
%20NORTHEASTERN%20US%20MAPS/MOHAWK%20TURNPIKE/MohawkTurnpike2.JPG)
