In the Mid-Eighteen Century New York’s cultural and social life made a complete change. Houses became larger and more luxurious. Cynthia G. Falk states that, just a couple of years after the Seven Year’s War, Nicholas Herkimer and his first wife, built a house in the south bank of the Mohawk River. The house consisted of four stories, all of the livable. In addition, it stood out from the other houses of the region. This new change in architecture did not only mean a cultural change in the colony, it also had a significant economic impact in New York.[1] The Herkimers, according to Falk, made their fortune “by taking advantage of natural resources, geography, contacts, and human labor, [2]which I find not to be very different from how most people make their fortunes in this modern society. Nicholas also continued some of his father unfinished business, portaging goods, leading money, renting real estate, gridding grain, and selling liquor. This made him a prominent citizen and a leader of his community. He, like other few families from New York (very few families) had everything money and power. [3]
According to Cynthia Falk, Nicholas’ father fortune can be considered as a major turning point in New York’s economy and its urban planning. His control of the land also made a significant impact to the success of the Herkimers in the Mohawk River valley and this success was transferred to his son. The amount of property that Nicholas controlled, gave him the necessary tools to be an influencial political figure in the colony. Due to the large control of property, used to generate income to other citizens, many of his workers had a complete dependency on Nicholas Herkimer economic success. [4]
However, this was not the most common economic conditions of the residents of New York at the time. During the Seven Year’s War it was accounted that only twenty houses existed along the Mohawk River, yet only three were significant enough.[5]
To be continued…
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