Canawaugus, New York
Canawaugus (or Conawagus, or Ca-noh-wa-gas, or Conewaugus) (pronounced [kan-ɘ-wô′-gɘs]) was a Seneca Indian village.[1]: p.46 The village was located on the west side of the Genesee River, "about a mile above the ford",[2]: p.59 on the western edge of Avon. It was nearly opposite the Avon sulphur springs. The name (translated as "Cattaraugus" in other Iroquoian languages) means "stinking waters" because of the sulphur.[3]
Canawaugus was one of the most populous of the Seneca villages, with a population approaching 1000 people.[4]: p.166
The Seneca religious leader Handsome Lake was born here about 1735. Governor Blacksnake moved here shortly after his birth.[1]: p.46 Cornplanter was born here around 1750.
It is unclear whether or not the village was destroyed in the Sullivan Expedition of 1779.[4]: p.166
References
- ^ a b Governor Blacksnake (July 1, 2005). Chainbreaker: The Revolutionary War Memoirs of Governor Blacksnake as Told to Benjamin Williams. U of Nebraska Press. p. 46. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
- ^ Doty, Edward L. (1876). A History of Livingston County, New York. Livingston County. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
- ^ Czamota, Lorna (2014). Native American & Pioneer Sites of Upstate New York. The History Press. p. 140. ISBN 9781626192904.
- ^ a b Norton, A. Tiffany (1879). History of Sullivan's Campaign Against the Iroquois. A.T. Norton. Retrieved May 26, 2015.