Old Fort Johnson
Description
Old Fort Johnson is located at the center of the village of Fort Johnson, on the north side of NY Route 5 overlooking the Mohawk River just west of NY Route 67. The property, about 1 acre (0.40 ha) in size, is fringed on the front and east side by a low stone retaining wall. The house is a 2+1⁄2-story structure, built out of limestone and topped by a hip roof. Brick chimneys are located in the side walls, and the front face of the roof is pierced by three gabled dormers. The front facade is five bays wide, with a center entrance sheltered by a gabled portico supported by Doric columns. The interior follows a central hall plan, with a parlor and study on the left, and a large dining room and serving chamber on the right; the kitchen is located in the basement.
William Johnson came to what is now Upstate New York in 1738, establishing a sawmill nearby and engaging in trade with the local Iroquois. Johnson built this house about 1749, after King George's War ended. The house was surrounded by a wooden palisade during the French and Indian War. Johnson was influential in relations between the colonial government and the local Mohawk people, and was named the crown Superintendent of Indian Affairs in 1756. He moved further west, establishing Johnson Hall as his seat in 1763. This house became the home of his son John, who was a leading Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War. Both Fort Johnson and Johnson Hall were seized by the state and auctioned off due to the Johnson's opposition to independence. After passing through many owners, Fort Johnson was purchased in the 1920s by John Watts DePeyster and given to the Montgomery County Historical Society, which now operates it as a museum.
See also
References
Notes
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ "Fort Johnson". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. 2007-09-15. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05.
- ^ "Fort Johnson" by Timothy J. Shannon in Peter Eisenstadt (editor) The Encyclopedia of New York State (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, c.2005), page 589.
- ^ Snell, Charles W. (April 19, 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Fort Johnson" (pdf). National Park Service.
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Fort Johnson—Accompanying photos" (pdf). National Park Service. 1983.
Bibliography
- Mendel, Mesick, Cohen, Architects, Fort Johnson Historical Structure Report (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, 1978)
External links
- Old Fort Johnson official site
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. NY-391, "Sir William Johnson House, State Routes 5 & 67, Fort Johnson, Montgomery County, NY", 23 photos, 28 measured drawings, 7 data pages
- Sir William Johnson
- W. Max Reid, The Story of Old Fort Johnson, 1906