View of Van Schaick Island

At the northern tip of Van Schaick Island, the Hudson River lies to the east and the third and fourth branches of the Mohawk River surround the rest of the rocky island. Dutch merchants Philip Pietersen Schuyler and Goosen Gerritsen van Schaick bought Van Schaick Island and what is now called Peebles Island in 1664 from the Indians to keep the British from controlling the trade route north. In the 18th century, a trail used by English armies attacking French Canada during the French and Indian War crossed both islands. During the Revolutionary War, soldiers in the American army camped on Peebles and Van Schaick Islands and called the area a barren wilderness. The thirty-seven acres at the north end of Van Schaick Island are part of Peebles Island State Park and include the former Matton Shipyard, where barges and tugboats were built and boats that traveled the Erie and Champlain Canals were repaired.

Waterford, New York · United States