Athens, New York

Loonenburg

Caniskek, Loonenburg, Athens…. Sitting on the west bank of the Hudson, Athens was called Loonenburg until 1805. Before either name, on 20 April 1665, five men — Sachamoes, Mawinata, Keesie Wey, Papeuna and Masseha — sold this ground they called Caniskek to Dutch settlers. This site is about that stretch of river and the people on it now: the early Dutch and the farms and homes they lived in behind the landing, the sloops and the ferry, the brickyards and the ice houses, the ironworks and the shipyards, the flora, the fauna, the geology and geography underneath all of it, and the houses, barns and stonework still standing. If you know something, own something, or want to help preserve something, the form is below.