One reason I started this website was to help spread the word about the Clyde Blockhouse. It's amazing how very little information is available online or anywhere else for that matter. The reasons for this are several:
1. The location was far removed from settled areas.
2. No major battles took place in the area.
3. The 1911 State Capitol Fire destroyed many of New York's colonial records.
4. In about 1848, James Barton, Esq. of Buffalo gave a lecture before the Young Men's Association of that city, in which he shared several stories of the settlement of western New York. One of these was the account of John Fellows' 1789 trading expedition to Canada. In his recounting of this historical event, Mr. Barton erroneously stated that Fellows' cabin at Clyde was "long known as the block house". This story was repeated thereafter in numerous books and newspapers. Fellows' cabin, though important in its own right, was not the Blockhouse. Unfortunately, Barton's factually incorrect information is the only widely published reference to the Blockhouse.
5. Historians have long misidentified the Iroquois village of Sodoms, shown on maps, as a "misprint of Sodus Bay".
The local history tells an important story that is virtually unknown outside of Wayne County. Edgar Welch's information about the 1722 Blockhouse, published in a local history of Clyde, is found nowhere else. It represents the only known account of any part of the 1721-1722 expedition, and is the only information that exists concerning an English post at Sodus Bay.
Likewise, the history of the Blockhouse reveals the location of Sir William Johnson's fort built for the Cayuga Indians, in 1756. Despite there being several written references to a fort built for the Cayugas, some historians have claimed that no such fort existed. I believe this may be in large part due to the lack of written instructions for the fort. I've discovered that the last forts for the Iroquois were ordered to be built to a plan prepared by Captain James Montresor of the British Army. Several of the forts had already been started by Sir William Johnson, in accordance with written instructions issued by him, when Johnson received Montresor's plan and orders to execute it, from General William Shirley in May (1756). The Cayugas requested their fort in June, and there was no need for Sir William to issue written instructions. Montresor's plan was brought to Onondaga by Johnson himself in June, where he had his workmen execute it. He clearly sent the plan on to the workmen at Canadesaga, with orders to execute it, since that fort deviated substantially from his written instructions. At the same time, having received the Cayuga's request, he had their fort built to the same plan. The Clyde Blockhouse was exactly that fort, built in 1756, for the protection of the Cayugas. This is known because the Cayuga's fort was not built at their chief village of Cayuga - it was built elsewhere. We also know that the old trappers in the Clyde River valley said the Clyde Blockhouse was originally a fort built in 1756 for the protection of the inhabitants. It served as a trading post during the war, but less frequently thereafter.
The notion that it was a fort to protect inhabitants at Clyde has been dismissed by historians, based on the fact that the first settlers didn't arrive until 1789. The truth is, the fort was one of several specifically built for the Iroquois' defence, in 1756. A location called "Sodoms" first began appearing on maps from 1756, and is clearly shown at what is today the Village of Clyde. The map keys show it to be an "Indian village or fort". Regardless of the contention that there were no Native American villages in Wayne County during the 18th Century, the historic description of Sodoms, first published in 1786 (before settlement of the area), removes any doubt that that there was indeed an Iroquois village and an British fort / trading post at Clyde:
“Sodoms. A settlement of Indians of the province and country of the Iroquees; where the English have a fort and establishment, between the lake Ontario and the river Seneca.”
(From the Geographical and Historical Dictionary of America and the West Indies.)
Remnants of the old fort are what gave Clyde the original name "Block House". The old trappers were telling the truth.
The fort's role in the Revolutionary War is also lost upon those not familiar with the local history. It has always been known that it was a Loyalist supply depot, and the story of the Sullivan Campaign and the abandoned cannon must be reevaluated in light of the knowledge that the old fort actually existed. Lt. Erkuries Beatty's September 20, 1779 journal entry (see Sullivan Campaign) must also be considered. A single historian once claimed that Beatty was mentioning an "ancient Indian palisade" on Flint Creek, but I don't believe that for a minute. No one else mentions a fort on Flint Creek, and Beatty is more ambiguous as to the fort's location. He had already crossed Flint Creek , known by that name, twice without saying anything about it. Additionally, Beatty is pretty clear that he is talking about a large stockade fort from the French & Indian War. His mention of the fort being between Canadesaga (Geneva) and Canandaigua is, I believe, in regard to the circuitous route said to have been taken by the scouts between September 10 and September 20, 1779. The story of the Sullivan Expedition's trek through Clyde makes absolutely no sense as a made-up story. It would have been much more believable to just say that scouts followed the Indian trail north from Canadesaga to the Blockhouse.
It was the old trappers who first spoke of the Sullivan Expedition and Butler's Cannon. The abandoned cannon story was corroborated by many local residents, and considered a "known fact". I have found no reason to doubt the old trappers' information. Finding the cannon would put the matter to rest once and for all, and it's on my bucket list.
Hopefully, we'll one day know more details about these fascinating events. Until then, I'll continue to try getting the word out.
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