With the removal of the French threat from the Mohawk Valley, Sir William began plans for a house that would reflect his new position, and contracted with the noted Boston-trained carpenter Samuel Fuller on February 24, 1763. A Georgian house of wood made to look like stone, Johnson Hall became the nucleus of a working estate designed to encourage settlement and further Johnson's control of his lands. Sir William ordered the latest books, acquired fine furnishings, and established formal gardens. A mill, blacksmith shop, Indian store, barn, and other necessary buildings were added, as well as housing for servants. Stone houses flanked the mansion. For more than a decade Johnson Hall bustled with activity as Sir William's home and business headquarters.
An early visitor to Johnson's baronial estate wrote, "Off the river about 14 miles back, Sir William Johnson has, made a new Settlement and has built a very comfortable house, having a Good Garden and field, all cleared in an Absolute Forest ... At this place he is generally crowded with Indians, mostly of the 5 Nations......
As Superintendent, Johnson's job became increasingly difficult as white settlers pushed westward onto Indian lands. In 1774, during a tense conference with 600 Indians at Johnson Hall on offenses committed against the Shawnee, Sir William collapsed. He died shortly after at age fifty-nine.
Upon Sir William's death, Johnson Hall and baronetcy passed to his son, John, who planned to continue his father's policies. T'he American Revolution radically altered the life of the Johnson family, however. By 1774 the Revolutionary movement had begun to affect the Mohawk Valley. Many residents opposed the aristocratic and conservative establishments Sir John represented. He chose to remain loyal to the Crown and fled to Canada. There he raised the King's Royal Regiment of New York, known as Johnson's "Royal Greens," and participated in raids against the inhabitants of the Mohawk Valley.
Johnson Hall was confiscated in 1779 by the State of New York as Loyalist property and was subsequently sold at auction. The house remained a private residence until 1906, when New York State acquired it as a historic site.
Electronic text and graphics prepared by Martha Morris
Map of Archaeological Excavations
Archaeological Excavations - Interesting report on line - Excavations at Johnson National Historic site
About this Painting of Johnson Hall by ....