Caughnawaga, New York
Caughnawaga is a former town in then Tryon County, later Montgomery County New York, USA.
Caughnawaga is believed to be an Iroquois word meaning "at the rapids". It was applied to Indians from the Lachine Rapids on the St. Lawrence River. Caughnawagas, "Praying Indians" that had converted to Christianity, were present in the area when the Dutch formed an early settlement near the present village of Fonda, New York and called it Caughnawaga.
Before 1788, all land in the county north and south of the Mohawk River was the district or town of Mohawk. In 1788, the land north of the river became the town of Caughnawaga, named after the Dutch settlement.
Caughnawaga was divided in 1793 and no longer existed in name. The towns of Amsterdam, and the Fulton County towns of Broadalbin, Johnstown, and Mayfield were created from Caughnawaga.[1]
The Caughnawaga Indian Village Site, an archaeological site occupied from 1666 to 1693 is nearby.
References
- ^ Reid, W. Max (1902). The Mohawk Valley Its Legends and Its History. New York: The Knickerbocker Press.