Fertile Land

In the camps on Nutten Island, the Palatines began the process of reestablishing their families, as well as their churches.  They were grouped together by the ships they had arrived on, so that the Listmasters, who kept records of the provisions each family received during the voyage, could continue this work on land. 

Governor Hunter had been advised by the Board of Trade in England to look into land along the Schoharie River for the project.  This land belonged to the Mohawk Indians, but they had previously offered it to the Queen.  Her Majesty’s surveyor general was sent to assess the land, and he reported back to Governor Hunter that the land was too fertile.  The tar and pitch project required pine forests which grew on poor and rocky soil.  So instead, Hunter purchased 6,000 acres of land along the Hudson River from Robert Livingston, as well as another 6,300 acres across the river.

Land “too fertile” is an oxymoron to a farmer, and the Palatines were not pleased when they heard it.  Forgetting the need to pay back 18 months of support, they balked at the notion that their labors were better suited in pine forests. 

Today the Schoharie Valley remains an amazingly fertile land.  Nothing compares to this area in early summer when the crops are growing in the fields.  Farm stands overflow with abundance.  We eat vegetables until we can’t eat any more, and then we start canning.  The Palatines were absolutely right, fertile land is good land.  However, they had a debt to repay.

 

Reference:  “Becoming German” by Phillip Otterness