Land Heist in the Highlands: Chief Daniel Nimham and the Wappinger Fight for Homeland

Researched and written by Peter Cutul, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation or the Hudson Highlands Land Trust.

Although many residents of the Highlands are familiar with Last of the Mohicans, surprisingly few have heard of Chief Daniel Nimham. Nimham has been described "as the most prominent American Indian associated with the Hudson Valley in the second half of the 18th century." 1 A member of the Wappinger tribe residing in what today would be Putnam and Dutchess counties, according to American Indian scholar, Larry Hauptman, Nimham was a "diplomat, soldier, and sachem" who chose diplomacy over the sword in an age when his white counterparts rebelled violently against overreaching and overbearing landlords.

Daniel Nimham is believed to have born in 1726 and reportedly was baptized in 1745 when he likely received his Christian name Daniel. 2 One of his allies was a pioneering and intrepid woman named Catheryna Brett, who, as a widow, ran a mill, managed thousands of acres of land in Fishkill, and set up the first produce cooperative in the Hudson River Highlands. 3 Catheryna was friends with Nimham's grandfather and may have taught Daniel how to speak English. Her boys and the chief may have even grown up playing together. 4