The Mohawk River follows an ancient pathway connecting two prehistoric lakes. Created by glaciers, carved out by melting ice water, this valley once drained the entire Great Lakes region. The western counties, Oneida and Herkimer, form the edge of the glacial lake Iroquois that then covered all of western New York. In Fulton and Montgomery Counties, the river valley runs between parallel ridges of rock rising to the Adirondacks in the north, and up through Schoharie County into the Catskills to the south. Further east the river flows through the broud valley created by glacial Lake Albany-today Schenectady, Saratoga, and Albany counties-and into the Hudson River.

The eight counties of the Mohawk River Region, Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga, Schoharie, Fulton, Montgomery, Herkimer and Oneida, share a cohesive, distinctive landscape shaped by the region's ancient geography. What was created in the crucible of the Valley was the heart of the Empire State and the foundation of the United States:  political and military triumphs, an economic infrastructure fueling national growth, and a cultural mosaic that exemplifies the American identity.

The story is one of both achievement and hardship, of nations waxing and waning. It is a rich story of progress set amongst chapters of conflict and strife. Today these historic, cultural, and scenic resources play a new role in the regional economy.

A Valley of Stories

The history of the Mohawk Valley captures the essence of the American experience. Nowhere else exists a mosaic of cultures that speaks more eloquently to the struggles and triumphs of building an American nation. For thousands of years, the Valley has been a passage for people, ideas and goods, and it has shaped and solidified an American nation. This history is marked by cultural conflict and community building, by innovation and invention, and struggles for freedom along a moving frontier. The result today is a heritage of diverse cultures, a broad commercial and industrial base, and a deep attachment to this unique land.

The peculiar geography of North America made the Mohawk River Valley a place of enormous strategic importance. Native Americans were the first to live in the river corridor. European and Yankee settlers traveled here to make new homes, with devastating consequences for the Oneida, the Mohawk and other Iroquois nations.

The struggles of the American Revolution were played out in this Valley, pitting neighbor against neighbor and fracturing the Iroquois Confederacy. The Erie Canal began here, opening the midwest to settlement. The waves of commerce and industry that followed its route made New York truly "The Empire State" and enabled the U.S. to become a continental nation.