block trans-Appalachian settlements before the opening of the American Revolution, one of the lesser known grievances of many held by the settlers. During the Revolution, farms in the valley acted as a breadbasket providing important food supplies to the Colonial forces. The lower Mohawk valley was a scene of uneasy native Amerindian–Colonial Settler contention throughout most of the 18th century until after the American Revolutionary War's Sullivan Expedition pacified the region by permanently weakening the Six Nations of the Iroquois. That campaign was a direct result of two atrocities in the region: The May 1778 Battle of Cobleskill (or Cobleskill Creek Massacre) signaled a new guerrilla war offensive by mixed troops of Loyalists and members of the four Iroquois tribes allied to the British in 1778. The incursions resulted in three major raids with major loss of life ranging from Southern New York to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. New York State Thruway bridge collapse On the morning of April 5, 1987, after 30 years of service, two spans of the New York State Thruway bridge over Schoharie Creek near Fort Hunter collapsed. Five vehicles fell into the flooded river, resulting in ten deaths. A subsequent investigation of the collapse determined the cause to be scour. At the time, the creek was higher and flowing faster than normal due to excessive rains in the area. Twelve hours before the Schoharie Creek Bridge collapsed due to heavy rainfall, the rush of water through the Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project upstream hit a historic high. To cope with the overload, the dam released water into the Schoharie Creek according to the rate at which it was entering the reservoir from upstream, adding to the load in the creek. The segment of NY 5S near Fort Hunter was reconfigured to carry westbound Thruway traffic while the bridge was rebuilt. The eastbound replacement bridge was completed and fully open to traffic on December 7, 1987, and the westbound replacement bridge was opened on May 21, 1988. Old Blenheim Bridge The Old Blenheim Bridge, one of the longest and oldest single-span covered bridges in the world, formerly spanned the creek. The bridge was destroyed on August 28, 2011 by flooding resulting from Hurricane Irene. See also List of rivers in New York References External links The Collapse of the Schoharie Creek Bridge Rivers of New York (state) Schoharie, New York Tributaries of the Hudson River Rivers of Greene