I may be nuts but I think Charly Gehring told me the Mohawk Vallet name comes from "stein rabie" which means "stone turnips."

Philip Lord, Jr.
Director, Division of Museum Services
New York State Museum
Room CEC 3097 - Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
(518) 486-2037
Website: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/services.html

>>> [log in to unmask] 10/17/02 10:52AM >>>
I have been of the impression that Stone Arabia as a phrase has a an Old Testament origin. It's credible as such since there are or have been  several Stone Arabias. My Palatine relatives came from the one near Ephrata in the Mohawk Valley.

>>> [log in to unmask] 10/11/02 01:45PM >>>
John Vrooman's Book, "Forts and Firesides of the Mohawk Country" , says in
reference to the Lansing House in Troy:

          On August 21st, 1670, [Harmen] Vedder sold his
              Half of the land called Stone Arabia..."

     "The exact interpretation of the name 'Stone Arabia' is rather obscure.
Some have said it referred to the large stones found so abundantly in its
soil.  Yet another large and important tract of land in the Mahawk Valley,
near Canajoharie, was also know as the Stone Arabis Patent, and no mention
of stone is made on this tract."


-----Original Message-----
From: History and Archives [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, October 11, 2002 10:38 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Schoolhouse Preservation


I am curious about the Stone Arabia in Cicero since we have an area known as
Stone Arabia here in Montgomery County -- do you know how that came to be
known as the Stone Arabia Schoolhouse?  I know that there is a Stone Arabia
down by Troy or Albany, but I didn't know that there was another one.  We
get requests all of the time on how Stone Arabia got its name, so this is
just a curiosity.

Kelly A. Yacobucci Farquhar
County Historian/RMO
Montgomery Co. Dept. of History & Archives
Old Courthouse, P.O. Box 1500
Fonda, NY  12068-1500
518-853-8186
[log in to unmask]

-----Original Message-----
From: A LISTSERV list for discussions pertaining to New York State history.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Kent Lingenfelter
Sent: Friday, September 27, 2002 4:35 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Schoolhouse Preservation


There is also the Stone Arabia Schoolhouse in Cicero, NY, which is a museum
now.  http://www.cnyric.org/history/nsyr/allen/oconnor/site1.htm
<http://www.cnyric.org/history/nsyr/allen/oconnor/site1.htm>

Kent Lingenfelter