The Massachusetts-New York Border Wars

The Boston-New York rivalry is just part of life in this region. Until recently, I thought it was mostly about chowder and baseball. But as it turns out, in the decades before the Revolution, the enmity ran much deeper. Despite researching New England history for years, I only recently learned that, in the mid-18th century, the frontier lands between Massachusetts and New York were the stage for a saga of land disputes, political intrigue, and bloody raids.

A few years ago, I took up hiking. Since then, I’ve trekked many hills and mountains in the Berkshires and Taconics. Being a historian, I enjoy digging into the history of the places I hike—especially their names. Not long after hiking Mount Race in southwestern Massachusetts, I was surprised to discover it was named for William Race, killed during the Massachusetts-New York Border Wars. That revelation sent me down a historical rabbit hole into this forgotten frontier conflict.[1]

This story pits two rival factions against each other—the Massachusetts settlers led by ambitious men like David Ingersoll of Sheffield, Massachusetts, and the entrenched New York landowners, notably Robert Livingston and the Van Rensselaers. The tale is one of power struggles that escalated into violent skirmishes, transforming the borderland between New York’s Hudson River and the Housatonic River in Massachusetts into a region fractured by ambition and lawlessness.

On the New York side, was “Livingston Manor,” a vast 160,000-acre land grant in what is now Columbia County, New York. Granted to Robert Livingston in 1715 by King George I, this tract effectively established a fiefdom spanning the area between the Hudson River and what’s now the Massachusetts border. This vast estate, along with others like it, was built on dubious treaties and outright land grabs from the indigenous Mahicans. Livingston’s descendants zealously defended their claims, setting the stage for conflict when Massachusetts settlers began encroaching on their lands.

Massachusetts authorities encouraged settlement in disputed territories to assert their westward claims. They issued land grants to settlers, often ignoring existing New York titles. Tensions increased in 1752, when 68 Massachusetts settlers petitioned for land west of Sheffield, squarely within Livingston Manor. Despite protests from Robert Livingston, Jr., proprietor of the manor, Massachusetts settlers pressed on, clearing land and establishing farms, and the Massachusetts General Court asserted that these claims were justifiable.

The settlers had a champion in David Ingersoll, a justice of the peace from Sheffield, who worked behind the scenes to orchestrate the settlers’ actions and undermine New York’s authority. In Pope’s account of all this, Ingersoll does not come off well. He exploited confusion over land titles and boundaries, often presenting himself as acting under Massachusetts’s authority. He also collaborated with powerful figures in Massachusetts to secure deeds from Native Americans and reallocate lands to New England settlers. According to Pope, he acquired valuable properties in New York, such as mill sites, under questionable claims.

Tensions boiled over when Livingston ordered the arrest of settler George Robinson for trespassing and had Robinson’s house burned. Massachusetts authorities backed Robinson, signaling their willingness to escalate. Encouraged by figures like Josiah Loomis, settlers openly defied Livingston, claiming Massachusetts support.

The land disputes soon turned violent. In June 1753, Livingston and 60 armed retainers confiscated Loomis’s crops as punishment for defiance. Massachusetts retaliated, with Hampshire County authorities arresting and imprisoning two of Livingston’s men. This prompted New York Governor Clinton to issue a proclamation for the arrest of anyone entering the contested lands under Massachusetts’ authority.

By 1754, the frontier resembled a war zone. Armed settlers, backed by Massachusetts officials, resisted New York’s claims and became known as the “anti-renters.” Livingston’s men were frequently ambushed, and Massachusetts surveyors continued plotting out new townships west of the agreed boundary. As the conflict spread, it reached the lands of the powerful Van Rensselaer family. In 1755, Robert Noble, an aggressive Massachusetts settler, led a group of armed men to attack a mill in Claverack Manor. When the New York sheriff attempted arrests, Noble and his men captured the sheriff himself, taking him to Sheffield to face trial under Massachusetts law.

Governor James De Lancey of New York responded with force. He dispatched armed posses to suppress the rebellion, capturing several Massachusetts insurgents. However, Noble and his co-conspirators, including Loomis, evaded capture, regrouping to lead further resistance.

In April 1755, one of the most infamous confrontations occurred at the home of settler Jonathan Darby, located somewhere in what’s now Mount Washington, Massachusetts in the southwest corner of the state. A New York posse attacked the house, capturing Josiah Loomis and destroying property. Days later, another attack in the same area led to the death of William Race of Sheffield, who was shot during an altercation with New York authorities. This, of course, is the man after whom Mount Race is named (what got me going on all this). Massachusetts issued proclamations branding New York’s actions as murder, further inflaming the settlers.

And now we come to the height of the conflict. Massachusetts rabblerouser, Robert Noble, planned a bold night assault against a site vital to the area’s economy and the Livingston’s power—his ironworks in Ancram, New York. Angry settlers from Massachusetts stormed the ironworks, smashing equipment and arresting Livingston’s workers, intending to strike a blow against New York’s control of the territory. But the plan backfired as it sent shockwaves through the region and was widely condemned. The ironworks were essential to the war effort against the French. The anti-renters had gone too far.

The tide continued to turn against Massachusetts settlers when David Ingersoll was stripped of his offices due to allegations of fraud, abuse of power, and corrupt dealings. His removal signaled a shift in the stance of Massachusetts authorities. Recognizing the damage caused by Ingersoll’s ambition, Massachusetts began distancing itself from the settlers’ actions. Without official support, the anti-rent resistance began to crumble.

Still, sporadic violence continued. In 1757, a bloody riot broke out at Darby’s home, resulting in multiple deaths. New York authorities cracked down, arresting key leaders and suppressing the rebellion. By the late 1760s, the British Crown intervened, urging Massachusetts and New York to settle their differences. In 1767, an agreement established the border roughly 20 miles east of the Hudson River, echoing a century-old recommendation. While this ended the violence, the finer points of the border and land rights lingered unresolved until the Treaty of Hartford in 1786.

The entire saga revealed how ambition, local grievances, and weak governance can ignite chaos. Though diplomacy eventually prevailed, the scars ran deep, leaving a legacy of mistrust for years to come.

Today, hiking the peaceful trails of the Taconics, it’s hard to imagine the blood and strife that once defined this serene landscape.

[1] My main source for this article is a paper written by Franklin Leonard Pope, The Western Boundary of Massachusetts, Pittsfield, MA: Privately printed, 1886. In many ways, this blog entry is a precis of part of his paper.