The Mohawk Valley was once the home of the Mohawks, one of the main tribes of the powerful six-nation Iroquois Confederacy, and as the main gateway between the Adirondack Mountains and the Allegheny Plateau it became a route used by French-Catholic missionaries, settlers moving west, foreign travelers, French and Indian raiders, British tory, and American troops. During the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, it was a vital center of action, the main highway for east-west communication and a major point of contact between contending armies. Later, the Erie Canal and the New York Central Railroad followed the valley route, giving a new direction to its history as internal improvements led to intensive settlement and industrial growth, while the valley still retained its incomparable beauty.