Indian Castle Church is a historic mission

Mission (station)

A religious mission or mission station is a location for missionary work.While primarily a Christian term, the concept of the religious "mission" is also used prominently by the Church of Scientology and their Scientology Missions International....

 church at Indian Castle

Danube, New York

Danube is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 1,098 at the 2000 census. Early Palatine German immigrants in the eighteenth century named the town after the Danube River in Europe....

 in Herkimer County, New York

Herkimer County, New York

Herkimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. As of the 2010 census, the population was 64,519. It is named after General Nicholas Herkimer, who died from battle wounds in 1777 after taking part...

. The church is located on NYS Route 5S

New York State Route 5S

New York State Route 5S is an east–west state highway located in the Mohawk Valley of New York in the United States. It extends for from an interchange with NY 5, NY 5A, NY 8, and NY 12 in Utica to a smaller interchange with NY 890 in Rotterdam...

 near Danube. It is a one-story, rectangular wood frame structure, clad in clapboard

Clapboard (architecture)

Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...

 with a gable roof and steeple. To the rear of the church is a burial ground containing the remains of both Mohawk and white men. It was erected in 1769 as an Indian mission church.

The land was donated by Joseph Brant

Joseph Brant

Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. He was perhaps the most well-known American Indian of his generation...

 and Molly Brant, two prominent Canajoharie

Canajoharie

Canajoharie was the name of a Mohawk village.It may also refer to:* Canajoharie , New York* Canajoharie , New York* Canajoharie Central School District* Canajoharie and Catskill Railroad...

 Mohawks. Construction was done under the direction and at the expense of Sir William Johnson

Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet

Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet was an Anglo-Irish official of the British Empire. As a young man, Johnson came to the Province of New York to manage an estate purchased by his uncle, Admiral Peter Warren, which was located amidst the Mohawk, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois League...

, Superintendent of Indian Affairs. It is located within the Mohawk Upper Castle Historic District

Mohawk Upper Castle Historic District

Mohawk Upper Castle Historic District is a historic district in Herkimer County, New York that was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993...

, which is a National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

. It is the only colonial Indian missionary church surviving in New York State.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1971.

External links

• Indian Castle Church: 4 photos and 2 data pages, at Historic American Building Survey
• Dean R. Snow and David B. Guldenzopf, "Indian Castle Church, the Mohawk Upper Castle Historic District National Historic Landmark", Indian Castle Church Website
• Indian Castle Church website