Mohawk Upper Castle Historic District
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Mohawk Upper Castle Historic District
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Indian Castle Church viewed from Route 5S, December 2007
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| Nearest city | Danube, New York |
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| Built | 1693 |
| NRHP reference # | 93001621 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 4, 1993 |
| Designated NHLD | November 4, 1993 |
Mohawk Upper Castle Historic District is a historic district in Herkimer County, New York that was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993. Located south of the Mohawk River, it includes the Indian Castle Church, built in 1769 by Sir William Johnson, British Superintendent of Indian Affairs, as a missionary church for the Mohawk in the western part of their territory; the Brant Family Barn, a rare surviving example of Dutch colonial barns in the Mohawk Valley; as well as important archaeological site areas revealing life in Nowadaga, as the western part of the Mohawk village of Canajoharie was known. The fortified village was called the Upper Castle by European colonists.
Its name differentiates it from Lower Castle to the east, another fortified Mohawk village, known as Tionondoroge, near the confluence of Schoharie Creek and the Mohawk River. Fort Hunter was built here in 1712. The Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site, containing remains of a navigable aqueduct, is near the former village location.
The Mohawk concentrated their town life in the villages known as "castles" following the destructive raids by French Canadians and their Indian allies during King William's War of 1693. They reestablished their settlements in both areas, which were located south of the Mohawk River.
Indian Castle Church was built in 1769 as a missionary church to the Mohawk in this western settlement known as Canajoharie, by Sir William Johnson, British Superintendent of Indian Affairs, on land donated by Mary (Molly) Brant, his , and her younger brother Joseph Brant, both Mohawk leaders allied with Johnson. It has a nearby Mohawk cemetery, a contributing site. Following the Revolutionary War and the exodus of most Mohawk from New York to Canada, under pressure as allies of the defeated British, the church was used by a variety of Protestant congregations in the area. Dutch Reformed (1800–1820), an interdenominational Union Congregation, a "short-lived" Presbyterian congregation, and Lutherans from 1838-1855.
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