This post concerns the importance of the Indian trail from Sodus Bay.
The importance of the Indian trail from Sodus Bay to Clyde (and beyond) cannot be overstated. The trail shifted to the Clyde River in 1688, following the establishment of the Seneca town of Ganechstage near Seneca Lake. Prior to this, the main rail from Lake Ontario seems to have led from Little Sodus Bay to the Cayuga town of Onontare (Savannah, NY). Though not certain, it appears from maps that Onontare was removed about the same time that the Senecas relocated, possibly as a defensive measure.
From 1688 until 1724, the trail appears to have been a primary route leading from Lake Ontario to Albany. Even after the trade route shifted to Oswego, the trail continued to be important. It was the path along which Native Americans hunted, traders trekked through the wilderness, Tories brought supplies from (and escaped to) Canada, and Sullivan's troops may have marched. Smugglers used it after the Revolution to bring alcohol and trinkets to the Indians. John Fellows used it to haul the first American craft into the Great Lakes. The link between Clyde and Sodus Bay was important even after settlement, with the Port Glasgow & Blockhouse Turnpike used to haul salt and other goods to the lake for shipping. Later, the Sodus Canal (Adams Ditch) was begun to connect the Erie Canal and Sodus Bay.
Clyde's location was important not just because of its link to Sodus Bay, but because it lay on the boundary of the Seneca and Cayuga territories, and at the junction of important trails / waterways.
The Clyde River was an important thoroughfare for both Native Americans as well as fur traders and early pioneers and businesses. So too were the Canandaigua Outlet and the Ganargua Creek, the main tributaries of the Clyde. At Clyde, travelers also had the option of following the trail south-southwest to Canadesaga (Geneva) or south-southeast to Cayuga.
Below is a map circa 1750, showing the trail from the Bay of Sodoms (Sodus Bay) to Theunheron Creek (Clyde River). The trail crosses an accurate depiction of the Clyde River, exactly at the blockhouse site, where there is still today a stub of "Block House Road".
From NW Parts of New York, No. 156 (Library of Congress)
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