In 1609 Englishman Henry Hudson exploring trade routes for the Dutch East India Company sailed into New York Bay and up the river that would later bear his name.
His encounters, some peaceful and some not, with Native Americans offering valuable furs in exchange for European goods led to a bustling fur trade and the development of the colony of New Netherlands.
Settlers arrived ...such as Daniel Janse VanAntwerpen who in 1670 built a fur trading post near Schenectady that was later sold to the Mabee family….and Hendrick Van Rensselaer who in the vast Patroonship of Rensselaerswyck established Crailo farm named for his family’s estate in the Netherlands.
The Mabee Farm and Crailo State Historic Site are places to explore the rich and complex story of cultural exchange that propelled the Dutch settlement of the Capital Region.
Two more places to encounter real moments, real life and real stories on New York’s Path Through History.
