From Shrines to Big Block Engines

Just off I-90 at Exit 29, less than an hour from Albany, you might find yourself driving down Rte. 5 behind a stately horse and wagon with a bearded Amish gentleman at the reins.  Montgomery County welcomes you to “experience the colors” of the Central Leatherstocking Region!  Fall foliage here is beautiful but so, too, is the kaleidoscope of colorful attractions, events and history that is evident everywhere you go.  This collage of cultures, from the Native American Mohawk Indians to the Amish, results in the production of high-quality produce, crafts and baked goods – don’t drive past a roadside stand here!

There are dozens of historic sites.  Architecture ranges from stately Victorians and Revolutionary-era homes to farmhouses and mills.  In the City of Amsterdam, visit the Noteworthy Indian Museum and their collection of over 60,000 artifacts.   While you’re there, stop at the Walter Elwood Museum for exhibits on life in the Mohawk Valley and Amsterdam's Industrial past.  Travel the Erie Canal by land or water at the Guy Park Manor/Lock 11 and visit its 1773 stone house.  In Fort Hunter, Schoharie Crossing is the only remaining site with visible remnants of all three stages of Erie Canal development.  The 1848 Fort Plain House Museum, which was the site of the Mohawk Valley Revolutionary War Headquarters, is open for tours.  View period furnishings, Native American artifacts, military collections and samples of Betsy Reynolds Voorhees needlework collection at Fort Johnson, the 1749 fortified stone home of Sir William Johnson.  Historic Fort Klock, in St. Johnsville, is a 1750 Native American trading post/farm house on a 30-acre complex that features colonial farm structures, a 19th-century schoolhouse, blacksmith's shop, a Dutch barn and herb garden.

Renew your spirit and enjoy the natural beauty at the National Shrine of North American Martyrs in Auriesville, birthplace of blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.  Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine is dedicated to the memory of the Martyred Jesuits and the Blessed Indian maiden who sanctified this hallowed place.  The Kateri Shrine in Fonda is the site of an excavated 17th-century Mohawk village of Caughnawaga.  The shrines open in mid-May and events are held throughout the summer.

Make a pit-stop at the Fonda Speedway with its exciting Sportsman, Pro Stock, Street Stock and IMCA racing events.  Cross over the Palatine Bridge (built in 1770) and relax at the El Rancho Drive-In Theater.

Racing & Shrines, History & More All in Montgomery County New York!