Goiogouen
Encyclopedia
Goiogouen was a major village of the Cayuga nation of Iroquois
Indians in west-central New York State. It was located on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake
on the north side of the Great Gully Brook, about 10 miles (16.1 km) south of the large 17th-century Cayuga town of Tiohero; and approximately along the southern line of the modern-day township of Springport, New York
. It was located about four miles (6 km) north from Chonodote
, the present-day location of the village of Aurora, New York
and about two miles (3 km) south of the village of Union Springs, New York
.
Goiogouen was established at least as early as 1656 when the French mission of St. Joseph was founded nearby. It remained occupied through the late 17th century and most of the 18th century. It was abandoned after being destroyed by US forces in 1779, but was reoccupied until 1784.
In 1656, Jesuit missionaries Joseph Chaumanot and René Menard
came to the area from Onondaga
territory, said to be invited by the Cayuga chief Saonchiogwa. They were followed later by Étienne de Carheil
and Pierre Raffeix
. The Jesuits built there apparently the first Christian church west of Onondaga territory. Their mission at Goiogouen was named St. Joseph.
At the first visit of the Jesuits, Goioguen was described as "a village [of] long houses with ridge-pole roofs covered with elm bark... in the midst of fields of corn which extended to the edge of the forest." In 1671, Raffeix described the country surrounding Goiogouen as follows:
Goiogouen is the fairest country I have seen in America. It is a tract between two lakes and not exceeding four leagues in width, consisting of almost uninterrupted plains, the woods bordering it are extremely beautiful. Around Goiogouen there are killed more than a thousand deer annually. Fish, salmon, as well as eels and other fish are plentiful. Four leagues from here I saw by the side of a river (Seneca) ten extremely fine salt springs.
At the time of the American Revolution, Goiogouen consisted of "fifteen very large square log houses" (longhouses
), deemed to be very well built by the scouting parties of the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign
; and "in the vicinity...were one hundred and 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) of corn; besides apples, peaches, potatoes, turnips, onions, pumpkins, squashes and other vegetables in abundance." The village was destroyed by these American troops on September 23, 1779.
A monument erected in 1929 by New York State stands near the location of Goiogouen.
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
Indians in west-central New York State. It was located on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake
Cayuga Lake
Cayuga Lake is the longest of central New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the second largest in surface area and second largest in volume. It is just under 40 miles long. Its average width is 1.7 miles , and it is at its widest point near Aurora...
on the north side of the Great Gully Brook, about 10 miles (16.1 km) south of the large 17th-century Cayuga town of Tiohero; and approximately along the southern line of the modern-day township of Springport, New York
Springport, New York
Springport is a town in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was 2,367 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from the local springs and lakeports....
. It was located about four miles (6 km) north from Chonodote
Chonodote
Chonodote was an 18th-century village of the Cayuga nation of Iroquois Indians in what is now upstate New York, USA. It was located about four and a half miles south of Goiogouen, on the east side of Cayuga Lake...
, the present-day location of the village of Aurora, New York
Aurora, Cayuga County, New York
Aurora is a village and college town in Cayuga County, in the Town of Ledyard, north of Ithaca, New York, United States. The village had a population of 720 at the 2000 census, of which more than 400 were college students....
and about two miles (3 km) south of the village of Union Springs, New York
Union Springs, New York
Union Springs is a village in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was at 1,074 people at the 2000 census. The name is derived from the mineral springs near the village....
.
Goiogouen was established at least as early as 1656 when the French mission of St. Joseph was founded nearby. It remained occupied through the late 17th century and most of the 18th century. It was abandoned after being destroyed by US forces in 1779, but was reoccupied until 1784.
In 1656, Jesuit missionaries Joseph Chaumanot and René Menard
René Menard
René Menard was a French Jesuit missionary explorer who traveled to Canada in 1641, learned the language of the Wyandot, and was soon in charge of many of the satellite missions around Sainte-Marie among the Hurons...
came to the area from Onondaga
Onondaga (tribe)
The Onondaga are one of the original five constituent nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Their traditional homeland is in and around Onondaga County, New York...
territory, said to be invited by the Cayuga chief Saonchiogwa. They were followed later by Étienne de Carheil
Étienne de Carheil
Étienne de Carheil was a French Jesuit priest who became a missionary to the Iroquois and Huron Indians in the New World. He served as the chief Jesuit missionary to the Native Americans of the Straits of Mackinac area from 1686 until about 1702...
and Pierre Raffeix
Pierre Raffeix
Pierre Raffeix was a French Jesuit missionary in Canada.He was born at Clermont-Ferrand, entered the Society of Jesus in 1653, and came to Canada in 1663...
. The Jesuits built there apparently the first Christian church west of Onondaga territory. Their mission at Goiogouen was named St. Joseph.
At the first visit of the Jesuits, Goioguen was described as "a village [of] long houses with ridge-pole roofs covered with elm bark... in the midst of fields of corn which extended to the edge of the forest." In 1671, Raffeix described the country surrounding Goiogouen as follows:
Goiogouen is the fairest country I have seen in America. It is a tract between two lakes and not exceeding four leagues in width, consisting of almost uninterrupted plains, the woods bordering it are extremely beautiful. Around Goiogouen there are killed more than a thousand deer annually. Fish, salmon, as well as eels and other fish are plentiful. Four leagues from here I saw by the side of a river (Seneca) ten extremely fine salt springs.
At the time of the American Revolution, Goiogouen consisted of "fifteen very large square log houses" (longhouses
Native American long house
Longhouses were built by native peoples in various parts of North America, sometimes reaching over but generally around wide. The dominant theory is that walls were made of sharpened and fire-hardened poles driven into the ground and the roof consisted of leaves and grass...
), deemed to be very well built by the scouting parties of the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign
Sullivan Expedition
The Sullivan Expedition, also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, was an American campaign led by Major General John Sullivan and Brigadier General James Clinton against Loyalists and the four nations of the Iroquois who had sided with the British in the American Revolutionary War.The...
; and "in the vicinity...were one hundred and 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) of corn; besides apples, peaches, potatoes, turnips, onions, pumpkins, squashes and other vegetables in abundance." The village was destroyed by these American troops on September 23, 1779.
A monument erected in 1929 by New York State stands near the location of Goiogouen.