To the Editor:

The town of Knox will dedicate a new historic marker on Saturday, June 20.  The event will begin with an examination of historic maps at the Saddlemire Homestead Museum in front of the Knox Town Hall on Route 156 at 11:30 a.m.; we will then carpool to the Knox-Gallupville Road for the unveiling of the historic marker.

In 1712, Palatine Germans were given permission by the local Indians to settle in Schoharie.  To get to Schoharie, the Indians showed the Palatines a footpath from Altamont, through Knox and Gallupville, to Schoharie.

The Palatines got to work and in two weeks cleared a 15-mile long trail so they could transport their belongings to Schoharie.  That trail was the first road through Knox.

The Bleeker “Map of Manor Renselaerwick” shows that, even in 1767, that was the only road through Knox.  With small modifications, that trail is now Route 156 and the Knox-Gallupville Road.

In Schoharie, the Palatines were treated poorly by the British governor of New York, Gov. Robert Hunter, so, in the late 1700s, many Palatines settled along the Palatine Trail in areas we now call the towns of Wright and Knox.  These were some of the first settlers in Knox, and the reason why so many of our residents have German names.

In fact, four Knox families with German names, who settled during the late 1700s — Knieskem, 1750; Zandt, 1787; Wm. Shultes, 1792; and Jacob Sholtes, c. 1800 — are memorialized by their own historic markers.

To obtain the new historic marker, the town of Knox applied for, and was given, a grant by the Wm. G. Pomeroy Foundation (www.wgpfoundation.org).

Daniel A. Driscoll

Knox Historical Society