Designing the Old Fort

Event is first of its kind at fort

By MICHAEL ANICH, The Leader-Herald
FORT JOHNSON — Perhaps only the most influential person in the settlement of the Mohawk Valley knew exactly what went into building Old Fort Johnson, which was finished in 1749.

Sir William Johnson may have taken much knowledge of the construction of the Georgian-style national historic landmark, which used to be his home, with him.

According to a first-ever architectural tour of the grounds Saturday conducted by the Montgomery County Historical Society, the place is somewhat mysterious.

“You can’t take these early engravings [of the fort] for gospel truth,” said Ronald J. Burch, curator of art and architecture for the New York State Museum.

Burch led about 35 tour-goers through the facilities at Fort Johnson, which Johnson once called home before he was knighted.

Johnson’s relationship with the Indians largely influenced England’s victory in the Anglo-French struggle for control of North America.

People from throughout the region flocked down Route 5 (what formerly was called King’s Road) to take the tour.

Fort Johnson Site Manager Scott Haefner said only two people had signed up three days ago.

“We read about [the architectural tour] in the paper and wanted to do something different,” said Kathy Mocko of Little Falls, accompanied by husband, Ron. “It looked interesting.”

This time, the tour focus was on the building itself, not the artifacts inside.

The home’s Web site states that “the fortified limestone home of Sir William Johnson is representative of the best of Colonial architecture.

No other home of a prominent New York citizen of the Colonial period has survived so untouched by the changes of style and time.”

Burch told the tour group that early engravings of scenes such as Fort Johnson were sometimes based on watercolors and left up to the interpretation of the engraver in England. He said the engravings might not be “exactly” what people like Guy Johnson drew in the 1700s.

“Not every inclusion and line may be exactly right,” Burch said, leading the tour outside and then inside the fort buildings.

Curiously, Burch pointed to early drawings of the back of the main home that “does not show a back door,” although there is one now. The two existing windows are on the early drawings, he said.

The main building at Fort Johnson, Burch said, was built as a “fortified castle” and the present-day doorway may not have been there originally.

The fort’s Visitor Center structure, he said, postdates an early image of the fort grounds he found and might even postdate the American Revolution.

Burch said Fort Johnson was built by Johnson when he was an “up and coming entrepreneur.”

“He was making his fortune in the frontier,” Burch said.

Showing off the stone front, he mentioned that the grounds of the fort were about 18-inches lower in Colonial times than they are now.

Burch said some parts of the old fort have a definite Renaissance feel, and the neoclassical portico could date to the early 1770s. But, he said most the architecture definitely had an early pre-American flavor.

“This is a 17th Century house built in the mid-18th Century,” Burch said.

The home at Fort Johnson eventually became the home of Johnson’s son, John, and he lived there through his 20s until he married his wife, Mary Watts of New York City, in 1773.

The tour group stood in a courtyard in front of the main building, but Burch said there were several buildings in early drawings at that spot. He said someone needs to do “archeological trenching” to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Throughout the tour, other mysterious facts came into play, such as the stairs that lead upward into a low landing that the 6-foot, 2-inch Sir William Johnson surely would have bumped his head on.

“This stairway has been reworked at least a couple times,” Burch said. “The stairways continue to baffle people ... Trying to figure out this house is like trying to peek under a petticoat. You can only discover so much.”

The type of limestone used to construct the fort buildings was a different than the limestone used at Fort Klock and Fort Wagner, Burch said.

Other upcoming events at Fort Johnson this summer include:

• Old Fort Johnson Family Field Day from 1 to 5 p.m., July 26: It will be a day of old-fashioned summer time fun. There will be 18th century games for you to try your hand at.

• Old Fort Johnson Movie Night, Aug. 16: Watch the classic movie “Drums Along the Mohawk” under the stars. There will be an introduction to the movie at 7:30 p.m., followed by the movie at approximately 8 p.m. Bring a picnic and enjoy the grounds of the old fort before the movie. This event is free and open to all. Typical movie refreshments will be available for purchase.

• Afternoon Tea in the Garden, July 9, Aug. 6 and Sept. 10: From 1 to 3 p.m. Enjoy a relaxing cup of tea while relaxing on the grounds of Old Fort Johnson. Now in its third season, Afternoon Tea in the Garden has become a summer tradition. The cost will be $8 per person and will include tea, savory tea sandwiches, assorted sweets and fresh fruit.



Michael Anich covers Fulton County and Johnstown. He can be reached at johnstown@leaderherald.com.