April/May Newsletter Extras

Here's a sample  - and extras - of some of the articles in the museum's newsletter that members can enjoy:

The Waterford Historical Museum’s collection includes items both historical and anthropological.  These items are examples of archaeological pieces of the Native American history of Waterford.

Items like these stone arrowheads
of varying styles are examples of
stone tools of native tribes

The Native American culture in Waterford that early settlers to the area came into contact with were the Mahican, an Algonquin-speaking tribe that had occupied the banks of the upper Hudson River, extending north almost to Lake Champlain. The Mahicans were bordered to the west by their Iroquois neighbors, the Mohawks, with whom they clashed periodically.  Like the waters, these tribes’ lands met at Waterford. As such, when Europeans made their way up to this area, both groups recognized potential allies as well as trading partners. The Dutch, wanting a sustainable trade environment, often were responsible for Mahican-Mohawk peace agreements.

The Mahican - one of the few tribes to side with the Americans during the Revolution and also acted as American negotiators with tribes in the west - became known as the Stockbridge tribe and sold their remaining lands in New York in 1822 to relocate to reservations in Wisconsin. The Mohawks were forced to give up their lands in New York following the Revolution, until the Treaty of Canandaiga in 1794 gave them rights to some land; today, the Mohawk live on reservations in southeastern Canada and northern New York.

Shawna's amazing photos
of our images include this piece -
read our newsletter to find out
what this quirky little item is!

The museum also wants to show off some of the great work our fantastic interns have been doing for us over the spring semester!

Thanks to Catherine Sharkey of SUNY Albany and to Shawna Fitzsimmons of Hudson Valley for making significant contributions to updating the museum's database records of its collection.

Become a member today to read more about the items featured in our "History Highlights"  and "From Our Interns" pieces!