Johnson Hall ‘reinvigoration’ planned
Site will be used to tell story of people native to region
New York state is planning a major effort to boost the homestead of a 1700s colonial authority, with an emphasis on the role played by native peoples in the Mohawk Valley.
The focus of the longterm plan by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is on the 33-acre Johnson Hall State Historic Site in this Fulton County city. A “cultural reinvigoration” will target the former residence of Sir William Johnson, the British official who mediated relations with the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) Confederacy. It became a historic site in 1906.
“State Parks is committed to including more of the untold stories in our shared history, including those of the Native American and indigenous peoples,” Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid said. “For too long, their role has been relegated to a backdrop in the Colonial narrative, and our plans for changes at Johnson Hall will help remedy that.”
According to the state, Johnson was critical in getting tribal support for Great Britain during the French and Indian War of the 1750s. Johnson was married to Molly Brant, a Mohawk woman, with whom he had eight children. Brant ran the household and was an intermediary between the Mohawk and British officials during the Revolution.
The state recently acquired a 3.4-acre parcel at 137 Hall Ave. to add to the site, which once covered about 700 acres. The extra room allows for replacing a small visitors center with a modern center to include restrooms, historical exhibits, a gift shop, staff offices and a kitchenette, as well as expanding the trail network. A nonperiod barn on the parcel will be removed and an existing structure may be renovated for staff/intern housing.
Other enhancements under the plan, according to the state, include building a Mohawk longhouse and a trade house, and more programs to represent the contributions of enslaved people who worked at the estate.