Ganondagan State Historic Site
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Boughton Hill
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Ganondagan Long House
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| Location | Victor, NY |
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| Coordinates | 42°57′40.16″N 77°24′45.85″W / 42.9611556°N 77.4127361°WCoordinates: 42°57′40.16″N 77°24′45.85″W / 42.9611556°N 77.4127361°W |
| Built | 1670 |
| NRHP Reference # | 66000559 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | July 19, 1964 |
Ganondagan State Historic Site, (pronounced ga·NON·da·gan) also known as Boughton Hill, is a Native American historic site in Ontario County, New York in the United States. Location of the largest Seneca village of the 17th century, the site is in the present-day Town of Victor, southwest of the Village of Victor. The village was also referred to as Gannagaro, Canagora, Gandagora, and Gandagaro. It consists of two areas: the 245-acre (99 ha) Boughton Hill portion, the area of longhouses and burials, is a National Historic Landmark, and has been identified as the location of the Jesuit Mission of St. Jacques (or St. James), mentioned in the Jesuit Relations. The Fort Hill portion was the location of a fortified granary and consists of 33 acres (13 ha); it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The complex is operated by the state of New York.
Like many indigenous peoples, the Seneca cultivated the Three Sisters: staple crops of corn, beans, and squash. Women bred and cultivated different varieties of each staple, experimenting with a range of seeds. These crops were typically grown near each other, so that beans could climb the cornstalks, and the typically large leaves of squashes would prevent weeds from growing.
Ganondagan was once the largest Seneca town; the Seneca nation was considered to occupy the western gateway of Haudenosaunee territory. This site is at the center of the story of the Peacemaker, who unified the five major peoples and created the Haudenosaunee confederacy. It survives to this day.
Seneca oral tradition tells of a Huron man who arrived among the Mohawk speaking of the Gayanesshagowa (aka The Great Law of Peace). This prophet is known today as The Great Peacemaker. The Mohawk, Oneida, and Cayuga pledged to join his proposed confederation and, following a dramatic interlude, the Seneca agreed also.
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