Autumn Walking Tour – NYS History Month
Tuesday, October 12th at 1pm
From the Visitor Center
FREE, donations accepted
Join us for a free walking tour* at Schoharie Crossing along the
historic towpaths of the Erie Canal. We'll be celebrating NYS History Month,
discussing the construction of the canal and our great pre-canal history as
well.
*Weather Permitting. Please wear appropriate shoes for grass trail.
Approx. 1-mile loop with interpretation.
COVID protocols apply when not able to socially distance.
“The Ballads of the Schoharie Creek Drownings, a Series of UnfortunateEvents.”
With Ken Jones
Tuesday, October 12th at 6:30pm via Webex
Free, donations accepted during program
In the 1970’s Ken Jones came across two poems that had been donated to
the Esperance Historical Society entitled “Two Poems by J. & A.” The story
they told was of a disaster that occurred to the Newkirk Family of the Town of
Florida who lived along the Schoharie Creek south of Fort Hunter where the
creek empties into the Mohawk River and feeds the Erie Canal. Many years after
reading the two poems Jones was astonished to see an original broadside of the
“Two Poems” on eBay and was outbid in an attempt to acquire it. Later, he
acquired a copy through the State Library Manuscripts and Special Collections
department and while researching this broadside, uncovered a series of
unfortunate events.
“Who is Saint Isaac Joques? And Why Does He Matter?”
With Sean Kelleher
Thursday, October 14th at 6:30pm via Webex
Free, donations accepted during program
Historian Sean Kelleher will explore how in this region of spectacular
natural landscapes became the central scene in the 17th Century for the life
and martyr of Saint Isaac Joques.
Joques's life inspired many people, including pilgrims to discover,
honor, celebrate, and share the heritage and stories of this region.
Sean Kelleher is the historian for the town of Saratoga, NY and the
Vice President of the Saratoga County History Center. He is one of the authors
of Saratoga County Stories (released this month), a collection of essays and
articles from local historians which provides a veritable
who-what-where-when-and-why of Saratoga County history.
“Iron-Hearted: The 115th NYSV inthe Civil War”
With David Brooks
Tuesday, October 19th at 6:30pm via Webex
Free, donations accepted during program
This program covers the service of the 115 NYS Vol. Regiment during the
American Civil War. Journey along with
them from Upstate NY to the Deep South and back. Discover the battles they faced on the front
line and those experienced from within.
“The Wild Women of Rensselaer County”
With Kathy Sheehan
Thursday, October 21st at 6:30pm via Webex
Free, donations accepted during program
Join Rensselaer County & Troy City Historian Kathy Sheehan for this
illustrated lecture on the Wild Women of Rensselaer County. Suffrage, anti-suffrage, education, labor and
temperance are but a few of the historic subjects associated with famous women
like Emma Willard and not so famous women like Julia Blanche Stover Clum and
Evanetta Hare. These "wild women" made an impact on our county, state
and nation and their legacy is still in evidence today.
“Mohawks and the Dutch in the Mohawk Valley”
With Paul Gorgen
Tuesday, October 26th at 6:30pm via Webex
Free, donations accepted during program
This talk takes a close look at relations between the Mohawk People and
the Dutch settlers who arrived at their borders in the early 1600’s. Focusing
on experiences in the Mohawk Valley, it
looks at Mohawk and Dutch trade relations, their alliance in war and
peacemaking, some family connections and other lasting impacts of their
partnership. We will also discuss the ongoing legacy of those relations beyond
the end of the Dutch colonial era, and the Mohawks’ return to the Valley today.
Paul Gorgen is a writer and researcher from the Mohawk Valley. Recently
retired from IBM, he is currently writing about Colonial and Indigenous history
in the Valley, drawing on his own family history back to the Mohawk people and
the early Dutch and German immigrants to the region. He is studying the Mohawk Language and serves
on the board of directors at Kanatsiohareke Mohawk Community in Fonda NY,
currently as board Secretary. Recent publications include several articles on
the Mohawks and the Palatine Germans, including one in Plotzlich Da, a book on
German emigration history published by the Deutches Auswanderhaus Museum in
Bremerhaven, Germany. His article on
Clarissa Putman and Molly Brant appeared in the journal Iroquoia in 2017, and
his paper on Mohawk relations with the Dutch in the Mohawk Valley, the subject
of this talk, was published this year as a chapter in the book Dutch and
Indigenous Communities in Seventeenth-Century Northeastern North America by
SUNY Press.
“Memory and Celebration:
Examining the 1929 Sesquicentennial of the Sullivan Clinton Campaign”
With Mary Alexander
Thursday, October 28th at 6:30pm via Webex
Free, donations accepted during program
Join Mary Alexander, Curator of Education at the Arkell Museum at
Canajoharie as she discusses the 1929 sesquicentennial celebration of the
Sullivan Clinton Campaign.
The Sullivan Clinton Campaign was a major Revolutionary War event in
which thousands of troops were sent by General George Washington to central and
western New York. The troops were sent with the express purpose of wiping out
the villages, homes, and crops of the Haudenosaunee "Iroquois"
Confederacy. This scorched earth campaign wrought havoc on the land and people;
complicating an already difficult set of circumstances in the region.
We will examine how the original historical event was viewed 150 years
later, in 1929, when the Village of Canajoharie, and much of central and
western New York, set about on a series of commemorations of the military
event. To better understand this, we will look at materials from the Arkell
Museum and Canajoharie Library's permanent collection including artwork,
newspaper articles, and photography.
We will look at the legacy of the 150th celebration and the impact of
this celebration - that is still visible throughout the built landscape of our
region.
Autumn Bike Tour – NYS History Month
Saturday, October 30th at 1pm
From the Visitor Center
Free, donations accepted
Wrap up NYS History Month with Katy from Schoharie Crossing. She will
lead a bike ride along the historic towpath along "Clinton's Ditch"
and then the enlarged canal from the Visitor Center to Yankee Hill Lock, with a
return on the Empire State Trail.
Ride will include 3 miles on grass towpath and 2 miles on paved
biketrail. That's 5 miles to add to your Canalway Challenge goal!
While the grass towpath is well maintained and mostly flat, there are
sections that include bumps and small ups or downs. We recommend a mountain
bike or road bike with tires for such terrain. Narrow wheels and slicks will
make this trek not so much fun. Please dress for the weather and bring an
appropriate bike so that you are comfortable enough to enjoy this tour with us!
COVID protocols apply when not able to socially distance.
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