Introduction

Friend
On the hill between Potter and the Guyanoga Valley little evidence remains of an ancient fort and cemetery that was found by early settlers. Today this site is located in a part of Yates county know as Friend. This hidden valley holds a secret history that spans the pioneers, the Seneca, and the earlier Algonquin people that lived here. The site of the "Old Fort" was located near an excellent spring situated along an ancient trail that linked villages from Naples, Vine Valley, and points West with the villages near Branchport, near the current site of Keuka college, Indian Pines, and East to Geneva. The fort was probably originally built by the Algonquin people that lived here before the Seneca. It may have been inhabited continuously or just during times of warfare. Local Seneca probably occupied the fort when Denonville's forces attacked the Seneca and later when Clinton's revolutionary forces burned the Seneca villages and crops during the Revolutionary war. This blog documents the information that I have found while researching this site.