Auriesville, New York facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Auriesville, New York
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 Auriesville, New York
Location in New York
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| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Montgomery |
| Town | Glen |
| Elevation | 312 ft (95 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code |
12016
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| Area code(s) | 518 |
| GNIS feature ID | 942705 |
Auriesville is a small village, called a hamlet, in the northern part of New York state. It is located west of the city of Albany. This area was once home to Ossernenon, a village of the Mohawk people. French Jesuits, who were Catholic missionaries, built a mission here in 1667. However, the Mohawk destroyed it in 1684 due to ongoing conflicts with French settlers.
The name Auries is believed to come from the last Mohawk person known to have lived there. Later settlers named the village after him. Since the late 1800s, many Catholics have believed Auriesville was the exact spot of Ossernenon. They thought it was where Jesuit missionaries were killed in 1642 and 1646. The National Shrine of the North American Martyrs was built here in 1930.
However, modern archaeologists, like Dean R. Snow, say that Ossernenon was actually about 9 miles (14 km) west of Auriesville. This true site is known as the Bauder site. So, the idea that Auriesville is Ossernenon is not supported by archaeological discoveries.
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History of Auriesville
Auriesville is located in Montgomery County. For a long time, people thought it was built on the site of the old Mohawk village called Ossernenon. But, as archaeologist Dean R. Snow explains, this idea only became popular in the late 1800s.
Archaeological evidence found by Snow and others shows that Ossernenon was actually about nine miles (14 km) west of Auriesville. It was located on a small river that flows into the Mohawk River from the south. This archaeological site is now called the Bauder site.
Why Auriesville Became Important
Catholic historians wanted to find the exact place where three Jesuit Catholics were killed in the 1640s by the Mohawk. These men were considered martyrs. Ossernenon was also known as the birthplace of Kateri Tekakwitha. Her reputation as a holy Mohawk woman grew after the 1600s. In 2012, she became the first Native American to be recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church. More than 2,000 Native Americans, mostly Mohawk, traveled to Rome for her special ceremony.
Mohawk Village Moves
Archaeologists have also identified another Mohawk village called Caughnawaga (also spelled Gandawaga). This is where Kateri Tekakwitha lived as a child. This village was founded in 1659 on the north side of the Mohawk River. Archaeologists call this the Freeman site.
The Mohawk people often moved their villages. When they moved Caughnawaga to a new spot nearby, they kept the same name. This new site is now known as the Fox Farm site. Both the Freeman and Fox Farm sites are west of the modern-day town of Fonda.
Later, the Jesuits in New France (Canada) created a mission village called Caughnawaga, spelled Kahnawake. This name sounds more like the Mohawk language. The Jesuits started this mission south of Montreal in 1718. It was for Mohawk and other Iroquois people who became Catholic. Today, Kahnawake is a recognized Mohawk Indian reserve in Quebec, Canada.
The Mohawk Village of Ossernenon
The original Mohawk village of Ossernenon was destroyed around 1666. This happened during a French military action. The French were seeking revenge for the killing of French missionaries. After this, the exact location of Ossernenon was lost for a long time.
French Jesuit missionaries Saint René Goupil, Saint Isaac Jogues, and Saint Jean de Lalande were killed by the Mohawk at Ossernenon. Goupil was killed in 1642, and Jogues and Lalande in 1646. As mentioned, Ossernenon was located south of the Mohawk River, about nine miles (14 km) west of today's Auriesville.
In 1642, Jogues and Goupil were captured by Mohawk warriors in Canada. They were brought as prisoners to Ossernenon. They were treated very harshly and then made slaves by the Mohawk. Goupil was killed later that year. After several months, Jogues was rescued by Dutch traders from Fort Orange (now Albany). A Protestant minister, Johannes Megapolensis, who had good relations with the Mohawk, helped with the rescue. Jogues then traveled down the Hudson River and sailed to France.
In 1644, François-Joseph Bressani was also captured and treated harshly by the Mohawk at Ossernenon. Later, Joseph Poncet suffered a similar fate. Jogues returned to Quebec as a missionary. In late September 1646, he went back to Ossernenon on a peace mission with Lalande, a young Jesuit helper. Jogues was killed on October 18, 1646. Lalande was killed the next day while trying to get Jogues' body.
From 1655 to 1658, Father Simon Le Moyne visited Ossernenon many times from Quebec. He acted as an ambassador to try and make peace with the Mohawk. Many Mohawk people left Ossernenon around 1659. They started a new village called Caughnawaga on the north side of the Mohawk River. Archaeologists have found evidence of this at the Freeman and Fox Farm sites.
In 1666, the Marquis de Tracy led a French attack against the Mohawk. He destroyed Ossernenon and two other Mohawk villages south of the river. The French forced the Mohawk to agree to accept Jesuit missionaries. In the following years, the French set up a permanent Jesuit mission at what became Auriesville. Many priests worked here until 1684, when the Mohawk destroyed the mission.
The Debate Over Location
The exact location of Ossernenon, which is important to the history of Catholicism in New York, was debated by historians. After it was destroyed in the 1660s, its precise site was forgotten.
In the 1800s, historians like John Gilmary Shea and Gen. J. S. Clarke disagreed about the location. They believed that present-day Auriesville was where Father Jogues and his friends were killed in the 1640s. They based this on old documents that described Ossernenon as being south of the Mohawk River and west of Schoharie Creek, just like Auriesville. They also used old maps and letters from Jogues and others.
Joliet had placed Ossernenon where the Schoharie Creek meets the Mohawk River. Jogues described a ravine where Goupil's body was found, and people in the 1800s thought they recognized these features. Jogues also gave distances from other Mohawk villages, which historians used to guess the site.
However, as mentioned, archaeologists and historians in the late 1900s disagreed with this. Based on extensive archaeological work and careful study of historical papers, they have shown that Ossernenon was nine miles (14 km) west of Auriesville. This site is now known as the Bauder site.
Commemoration
In 1884, Joseph Loyzance, a priest from Troy, New York, bought 10 acres (40,000 m²) of land on a hill in Auriesville. He was very interested in the early missionaries' lives. Loyzance built a small shrine there dedicated to Our Lady of Martyrs. He led the first group of pilgrims to the site on August 15 of that year. This date was the Feast of the Assumption and also the anniversary of when Isaac Jogues was first taken captive by the Mohawk in 1642. Four thousand people made a pilgrimage from Albany and Troy to Auriesville that day.
Other Catholic churches soon started visiting Auriesville in the summer. Often, as many as 4,000 to 5,000 people would gather there. Many pilgrims would fast during their journey, pray, and receive Holy Communion at the site. The Catholic Church bought more land to protect the area from unwanted buildings.
After Jogues was made a saint in 1930, the church built the National Shrine of the North American Martyrs at this site. This shrine honors Jogues and other Jesuit martyrs from the French colonial period. They built a large coliseum-like sanctuary on the grounds, which can seat up to 6,000 worshipers. The property now covers more than 400 acres (1.6 km²).
While people in the 1800s thought Ossernenon was at Auriesville, research in the 1900s showed it was about nine miles (14 km) west of the current hamlet.
