Introduction

To the dedicated student of eighteenth century military history, or the intensely curious traveler, wandering the back roads of the Mohawk Valley in search of illusive fragments of local history, the blue and gold historic markers that crop up along the roadside, sometimes obscured by brush and more often rendered nearly illegible by rust and neglect, provide tantalizing clues to an invisible cultural landscape long forgotten.

In the northeastern corner of Herkimer County, where the Town of Danube breaks over onto the river plain along the south shore of the Mohawk River, two of the most provocative of these early monuments can be found. They appear to identify long lost remnants of two British forts, part of a string of outposts established in what was then Indian territory as a fragile defense against the impending French invasion from the West.

These singular signposts are located within three kilometers of each other, although few know that both exist. The first stands along the north edge of the old river road, near its intersection with Route 5S, just east of the bridge over Nowadaga Creek.

This bridge marks the focal point of the tiny hamlet of Indian Castle. The second marker stands along the south side of the old river road about three kilometers to the east, near where it dead ends at a long closed bridge over the Barge Canal.

This road used to serve as a through route to homes along the valley floor to the east but now provides access only to local residents. Therefore, this second marker is rarely seen and to most people remains entirely unknown.