built the Fulton County Court House with its jail
(1772), used during the Revolutionary War as a civil and military
prison. A free school, probably the first in N.Y. State, was established
at Johnstown by Sir William Johnson in 1764 in his residence. In 1766 he
organized a Masonic Lodge, one of the oldest in the U.S. In 1781, during
the War of Independence, Col. Marinus Willett defeated here a force of
British and Indians. The city is one of the principal glove making
centers in the U.S. The total products are valued at about $3,000,000
annually. The manufacture of gloves in commercial quantities was
introduced into the U.S. at Johnstown in 1809 by Talmadge Edwards, who
was buried here in the Colonial Cemetery.

[Illustration: Old Ft. Van Rensselaer at Canajoharie (Built 1749)

This building had originally been the home of Martin Janse Van
Alstyn, and was so well built that it had withstood the attacks of
the Indians under Brant in 1780. It was therefore appropriated in
1781 by the American government, adopted as a fort, and placed under
the control of Col. Marinus Willet, a competent officer chosen by
Washington to handle the district in which Ft. Van Rensselaer and
Ft. Plain were the military headquarters. (Still standing.)]

197 M. CANAJOHARIE (Palatine Bridge), Pop. 2,415. (Train 51 passes
12:40p; No. 3, 1:39p; No. 41, 5:55p; No. 25, 7:43p; No. 19, 10:20p.
Eastbound: No. 6 passes 4:42a; No. 26, 5:45a; No. 16, 10:44a; No. 22
12:36p.)

Passing the villages of Yosts and Sprakers we arrive in the town of
Canajoharie, which in early days was the site of the upper Mohawk
castle.

The upper Mohawk castle, sometimes called Ft. Canajoharie, was
described by an early writer as consisting of "a square of 4
bastions of upright pickets joined with lintels 15 ft. high and
about 1 ft. square, with port-holes, and a stage all around to
fire from. The fort was 100 paces on each side, had small cannon
in its bastions, and houses to serve as a store and barracks.
Five or 6 families of Mohawks reside outside the pickets. From
Ft. Canajoharie to Ft. Hunter (the lower Mohawk castle) is about
twelve league, with a good carriage road along the bank of the
river."

In 1749 a fortified dwelling was built here known as Ft. Rensselaer,
which was utilized as a place of defence during the Revolutionary War.
Canajoharie was the home of the famous Indian leader, Jose