The Susquehanna and Chemung Rivers are major players in shaping New York and US history. For thousands of years, these vital sources of food, transportation and, later, irrigation, sustained nomads and later, native peoples.
By the 1400s, the Iroquois and their descendants, the Susquehannocks, were settled in the Susquehanna River valley. Later, the Munsee of the Len’api (Delaware tribe), under control of the Five (later six) Nations of the Iroquois, occupied the area.
Era of European Exploration
While there is speculation that Spanish pirates may have traveled the Susquehanna in the 16th century in search of gold, Captain John Smith is the first recorded European explorer on the river. He found the lower portion of the river unnavigable, but by 1614, Dutch traders reached the Susquehanna and a year later, Etienne Brune, of France, traveled the full length.
For about 100 years, the area grew with increased trade between Europeans and Native Americans. The river served as a natural boundary, limiting western expansion. Over time, tribes were conquered, wiped out or moved to other areas by European settlers who used the river to move timber, coal, ice and farm produce to growing communities.
Role in the American Revolution
During the American Revolutionary War, General James Clinton led a 1779 expedition down the Susquehanna by damming Otsego Lake in Cooperstown. Destroying the dam flooded the river to accommodate his flotilla.
In Tioga, NY, he met up with General John Sullivan, whose forces were marching from Pennsylvania. At the Battle of Newtown (located near Elmira), they successfully defeated the British and Native Americans what is known as the “Sullivan-Clinton Campaign.”
By its end, dozens of villages and hundreds of thousands of bushels of corn and other crops were destroyed. Tribes continued to fight alongside the British until the end of the war, when the area was largely resettled.
Canals Cause Rise in Water Travel
The early 1800s saw water travel rise as the primary mode of transportation. The Erie Canal famously opened the America West and resulting demand for more goods and raw materials spurred additional waterways and the growth of river communities.
In 1833, the Chemung Canal opened, linking the Chemung River in Elmira to Seneca Lake in Watkins Glen. At the lake, large steamboats towed canal vessels north to the Cayuga and Seneca Canals where they connected with the Erie Canal.
At the same time, a separate canal system was built to extend the Chenango River. This afforded a connection between the Susquehanna River and Erie Canal in Utica, NY. At this time Corning Glassworks was founded, and Elmira grew quickly as a regional manufacturing hub.
Railroads replaced rivers by the 1840s, rendering the waters a convenient dumping ground for commercial waste as industry continued to grow.
River Revitalization
Today, renewed efforts, including the New York Susquehanna Basin Water Trail, recognize the value of the Susquehanna River Basin, seeking to revitalize the waters and surrounding communities. Through responsible recreation, including paddling, fishing, boating and other outdoor activities, the historic Susquehanna and Chemung Rivers are becoming popular destinations once again.
FUN FACT
Mark Twain wrote many of his famous novels in his summer home along the Chemung River.
