Schaunaughtada

Schaunaughtada stands on the Mohawk River, west of the Hudson, at the eastern approach to the Mohawk valley. This was Kanien'kehá:ka country and a route into the lands of the Haudenosaunee. Dutch settlers established a village on the river flats, where trade in furs drew them into the networks of the Indigenous peoples of the interior.

In 1661 Dutch traders obtained land from the Mohawk and founded the settlement that became Schenectady. Its exposed position made it a target during the wars between the English and French colonies. In 1690 a party of French and Indigenous allies attacked the village, killing and capturing inhabitants and burning many buildings. The settlement recovered, and during the American Revolution it became a place of refuge for Oneida people driven from their homes.