Take a trip with me to Old Fort Johnson

Take a Trip back in time to 

                 New York's Colonial Past!

Old Fort Johnson located on Route 5 near Amsterdam, New York

A writer for the Rome Daily Sentinel in 1930 wrote that people in their automobiles are traveling miles to see and visit historic sites of the American Revolution such as Valley Forge, Lake George etc. when all they have to do is take a ride down old Route 5 from Utica to Albany. Today that statement is as true.

For a wonderful history lessen a trip down old route 5 today will bring you to historic sites including Fort Stanwix, (Schyuler), Fort Klock, Fort Hunter, and Old Fort Johnson.

Damaged by a flood the National Historic Site reopened on August 11, 2012 and greets visitors with a history that spans time from 1743 to today.

The Fort was built by Sir William Johnson who came to America to help his Uncle Peter Warren with his land dealings eventually becoming the “Superintendent of all the affairs of the Six Nations and other Northern Indians.” Johnson occupied the Fort until he built Johnson Hall. The Fort was the site of Indian treaties; it saw the meetings of the great tribes and Sachems of the Iroquois Nations. it is the home that he occupied with Molly Brandt and the place that Joseph Brandt would left to go to the white man’s school.

The block style home has a history as varied as from William Johnson it passed to his son Sir John Johnson. John Johnson had married Mary) Polly Watts who came from a distinguished family of Colonial times. It had a progression of owners until in 1905 the home was purchased by Mary’s relative General John Watts de Peyster and was presented as a gift to the Montgomery Historical Society who still own it today.

A French spy traveling the area in the 1750’s gives us a wonderful description of the old fort. “Col. Johnson’s mansion is situated on the border of the left bank of the River Mohawk; it is three stories high; built of stone, with port holes (crenelees) and a parapet and flanked with four bastions on which are some small guns”.

Today the Fort still has its colonial nature and still stands as a reminder of our colonial past. Its shining demeanor invites us to “step back in time” with a special grace that few spots and do today, and a visit is a great way to learn about a man who worked tirelessly to keep upstate and the Mohawk Valley in the hands of the British.