Preserving Fort Johnson—the Montgomery County Historical Society
Bob Cudmore, Focus on History, 3-12-04
More than a century after the pro-British Johnson family fled the Mohawk Valley because of the American Revolution, a local organization took the lead in preserving Old Fort Johnson, a fortified home built by Sir William Johnson in 1749.
The Montgomery County Historical Society formed in 1904. The private, non profit group met regularly at the new Amsterdam Free Library, which charged the historical association five dollars a month. The original goal was to establish a museum in Amsterdam but Old Fort Johnson, a mile west of the city, soon became the focus.
In 1904, carpet maker Stephen Sanford purchased a collection of arrowheads, tools and other Native American artifacts from A.S. Richmond and Samuel Frey of Canajoharie. This collection is still on display at the fort.
At the time, farmer and lawyer Ethan Akin owned the historic building. Ethan’s son Theron, a dentist, led the drive to name the surrounding community the Village of Akin. Theron Akin was elected to Congress, moved to Amsterdam and spent four tumultuous years as mayor of the Carpet City. Later, the community around the fort was renamed Fort Johnson.
In 1905, the Society contracted to buy the fort from the Akin family for $5900. Amsterdam merchant W. Max Reid found a benefactor to put up the money, Major General John Watts DePeyster of Tivoli, New York. DePeyster was the grand nephew of Lady Mary Watts Johnson, wife of Sir John Johnson, Sir William’s son.
Stephen Sanford came up with a $15,000 endowment in 1906 and a committee of women furnished the fort. A 1770s era carriage house became the home of the first caretakers, Alpha and Helen Child.
In 1915, Mrs. Fred Greene was elected the Society’s first woman president, one of the first women in the state to head an historical society.
In 1919, $100 was spent on a pageant depicting the life of Sir William Johnson. The New York State Historical Association described it as “the most elaborate historical pageant ever seen in the Mohawk Valley.”
In 1937, the Society decided to charge a 25-cent adult admission; children got in for a dime. The fee was discontinued during World War Two and today a two-dollar donation is encouraged.
Charles E. French was a charter trustee of the Society in 1904, serving until his death in 1964 at the age of 93. French, president of Amsterdam Savings Bank, was the son of Samuel French, a Civil War Army surgeon from the Binghamton area who settled in Amsterdam. Samuel French was instrumental in securing $25,000 from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to build the city library in 1903
In 1965, Rebecca Morris Evans became Society president and, in the 1970s, restored the fort to reflect the period when Sir William Johnson lived there. Evans secured National Historic Landmark status for the building in 1974.
Samuel and Lily Canavan became caretakers in 1959. A native of Northern Ireland, Sam Canavan also worked as custodian at the savings bank, where his energy and style impressed bank president and Historical Society board member Charles French. Canavan’s daughter, Joan Canavan Los, said her father would sometimes break into poetry when leading tours of the fort. Lily Canavan died in 1980 and Sam Canavan moved back to Ireland in 1983 where he died in 1994.
The Old Fort opens for the season on May 15. Events are planned to mark the 100th anniversary of the Historical Society. On May 16th, Cecilia Brauer will present a program on a sweet sounding 18th century glass instrument that was invented and named by Benjamin Franklin, the armonica.
- 0 –
Information for this story was provided by Alessa Wylie and Scott Haefner of the Montgomery County Historical Society.
###
|
