Fort Hill - Granary Trail Traditional Cache
HFJohn: Surprised my cache lasted this long since they put in mountain bike trails right next to my hide since I first placed the cache. It is no more.
John in Honeoye Falls, NY
Fort Hill - Granary Trail
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Fort Hill is part of the Ganondagan State Historic site in Victor, NY, the location of a major 17th century Seneca town. Cache is a 50mm ammo container complete with all the goodies.
Parking at N42 57.678, W77 25.924 (Boughton Hill Road, County Road 41) is HIGHLY recommended. This location provides for an informational display, free pamphlets, trail maps, and the most rewarding hike complete with historical signs along the way. A picnic table with a wonderful view is located at N42 57.800, W77 26.074. The Granary Trail entails a 120 ft elevation change through woods and open fields marked with orange colored streamers. When approaching the cache area it is not necessary to cross the ravine, unless you wish to. For an easier walk just stay on the path until reaching an open field and then follow the edge of the woods towards the cache.
Historical Info:
The Ganondagan Sites and its associated burial grounds on Boughton Hill were designated Historic Landmarks in 1964. Fort Hill, the site of the granary, was included in 1966 because it was part of the French campaign of destruction in 1687. The Marquis de Denonville, Governor General of New France, led an army from Canada against the Seneca Nation in July 1687. It was an effort to annihilate the Seneca and eliminate them as competitors in the international fur trade.
The Seneca call this site Gah-a-yan-duk -- meaning "a fort was there" -- and early European settlers named it Fort Hill. By any name, the picketed granary which topped this thirty-acre mesa has a fascinating history.
The Seneca could use Gah-a-yan-duk as a refuge in the event of enemy attack. A spring was located within reach of the fortifications to provide water during a lengthy siege. No spring is evident near the top today and historians speculate the spring may have migrated down the hill over the centuries.
The fortifications were made of oak logs, perhaps thirteen feet long, sunk three feet into the ground. Large posts alternated with smaller ones, all set close enough so that a man could not squeeze through. The palisade ran for 800 paces in a rough oval. At the northwest corner of the mesa we find a natural entrance, a gradual slope which connects the crest to the low land. Tradition has it that lacrosse was played with the walls of the fort.
French officers and clergy who were with Governor Denonville in 1687 wrote that a very great amount of corn was stored there. According to one account, the fort was filled knee-deep with dried corn. Denonville estimated his soldiers destroyed from one half to one million bushels of green and dry corn in all the Seneca towns. Gah-a-yan-duk was the largest of the Seneca.
Gah-a-yan-duk is interesting for a number of reasons. It is the site of a fortification which was not primarily a dwelling place but a granary. The amount of corn discovered there speaks to the complexity and development of the Seneca economy. It is clear from descriptions of the granary that this was a major depository of corn and that from here grain was transported to towns within the Iroquois Confederacy and, quite possibly, to those of other Indian Nations.
The exact consideration for which corn was exchanged is open to speculation. No one knows exactly how much corn was produced in the land of the Seneca in 1687, but there is little question that there was much more than the Seneca needed, that the corn was a major product, and that significant amounts were produced for export.
The Seneca built a picketed granary atop Fort Hill to protect two things they valued most: their lives and their corn. They location of Gah-a-yan-duk is significant to the Seneca. From this hill, looking south on a clear day, the observer can see Bare Hill, the legendary birthplace of the Seneca Nation.
Visitor Center:
The Ganondagan State Historic Site Visitor Center is located one mile East of the parking area. Be sure to visit for more information and displays.
My brother and I really enjoyed not only hiding this cache, but also the lands and information around it. Hope you do too!
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