Historic Sites

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Block House Road Historic Marker

Historic Site #:03-078   (Exists)   Type: B2,I0 Town:Galen
Site Name:Block House Road Historic MarkerGPS Coordinates:43.079686, -76.868547
Address:13 Water Street Clyde NY
Description:

INSCRIPTION

BLOCK HOUSE ROAD
FOLLOWED NATIVE AMERICAN
TRAIL THAT ONCE CROSSED RIVER
NEAR HERE. NAMED CA. 1858
FOR 18TH C. FORTIFICATION
ON NORTH SIDE OF RIVER.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2018

 
Photo from William G. Pomeroy FoundationCourtesy of Hugh Miner
Courtesy of Tom Sawtelle
 
Historic narrative:
Later called Block House Road, this important former Native American trail leading from Sodus Bay once crossed the Clyde River near this site. About 1858, the road took its name from an 18th century block house fortification that stood on the north side of the river.

Travel on this north-south route through the Galen area was important for several reasons. Settlers and Native Americans were often heading toward Lake Ontario or the settlement at the site of Geneva, N.Y. then called Canadesaga. It was also an area  that overlapped the territories of the Seneca and Cayuga nations. It was also attractive because of the Clyde Blockhouse. 


References:

William G. Pomeroy Foundation