Two nonprofit organizations have recently been given grand funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities:

$199,300 award for the Fort Ticonderoga Association from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This grant will help increase access to Ticonderoga’s hidden collection to create public programs and exhibitions that will explore the Revolutionary War in New York.

A $50,000 award for Historic Saranac Lake from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This grant will help complement the Saranac Laboratory Museum’s Pandemic Perspectives exhibition and support a short film about Saranac Lake history.

“The humanities grants will underwrite expanded programs and support our general operations as we bounce back from the economic damage caused by the pandemic,” said Historic Saranac Lake Board President Amy Jones. “These grants will make it possible to continue to provide programs for local students, conduct oral histories, lead talks and tours, and plan events on the Cure Porch on Wheels, our mobile exhibit space.” 

A portion of the National Endowment for the Humanities grant of $50,000 will support the development of a new short film presenting the history of the Saranac Lake region for museum visitors. Executive Director Amy Catania said, “We are thrilled to launch this exciting project. The new film is an important first step in the project to expand our museum to tell a broader history of the Saranac Lake region.”

In addition, a Humanities NY grant of $20,000 will support general operations as well as online and in-person talks and public events exploring issues relating to HSL’s new exhibit, “Pandemic Perspectives.” The exhibit explores connections between Saranac Lake’s history as a community that responded to tuberculosis and the current-day Covid-19 pandemic. 

Historic Saranac Lake (HSL) opened the Saranac Laboratory Museum in 2009. Built in 1894 by Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau, the laboratory museum presents the history of tuberculosis research and patient care in the village of Saranac Lake. In 2019, HSL purchased Dr. Trudeau’s neighboring home and medical office for expansion of the museum. It is a $4.1 million project, which includes the cost of acquisition, substantial rehabilitation of the building, and museum exhibits. Over $2.2 million has been raised to-date. (Pictured above is an artistic rendering of what the building will look like once the projects are completed)