On Saturday, September 9 at 2 p.m., the John Brown Farm State Historic Site will present a living history performance based on the life of Harriet Tubman. This program offers a close look into the life and achievements of Harriet Tubman (known also as General Moses), whose life was a monument to courage and determination that continues to stand out in American history. This event is free and open to the public, and will take place outdoors under the tent in the picnic area.
Ticonderoga, NY– Fort Ticonderoga, surrounded by magnificent autumn backdrops of the Adirondacks and Green Mountains, will present the Annual Heritage, Harvest, & Horse Festival on Saturday, September 30, 2023. A full day of autumn fun will be set amidst the fall flowers of King’s Garden, a heritage apple orchard, and the beautiful landscape of the mountains and Lake Champlain. » Continue Reading.
A 1950s race boat returns to its home waters
To understand the history of outboard racing in Hague on northern Lake George, we need to go back to the early days of the Lake George Regatta Association (LGRA), an organization founded in Hague in 1880 and originally called the Hague Rowing Club. The name was a misnomer as they also hosted diving, swimming, and canoeing competitions, along with inboard regattas, attracting competitors mainly from Hague and Bolton.
My grandfather competed regularly in his inboard race boats as did his older son, my Uncle Bob. They both did well, but were no match for Count Casimir Mankowski, who won the Gold Cup in 1913 at Alexandria Bay in his boat Ankle Deep, earning the right for the LGRA to host the 1914 race on Lake George. In 1933, George Reis won the Gold Cup with his boat El Lagarto, returning the race to Lake George, where he also won the Cup in 1934 and 1935.
My dad, Jack Henry, was too young to race the powerful, expensive inboards during those early years. But with a father and older brother who spent their summers tuning, repairing, and racing boats, it was pretty much predestined that he would also develop a passion for boats and speed. But with the advent of the Depression, the LGRA disbanded, and Dad never got to race.
Keeseville, NY – The AARCH Preservation Awards program annually recognizes exemplary historic preservation work throughout the Adirondack region, including sensitive restoration, rehabilitation, adaptive use, long-term stewardship, and individual achievement by a wide range of individuals and organizations.
We are happy to announce this year’s AARCH Preservation Award winners! On Friday, September 22, we will honor the awardees below at our Preservation Awards ceremony. These seven recipients exemplify extraordinary stewardship or restoration of historic properties and individual achievements in preservation throughout the Adirondack region.
The recipients of the 2023 AARCH Preservation Awards are:
The Tahawus Cultural Center, for Ongoing Rehabilitation and Stewardship
» Continue Reading.
Not long ago, buildings were made to last. With care and a little luck, places were passed down to the next generation. And so it wasn’t uncommon to celebrate the birth of a new building.
During the booming years of Saranac Lake’s TB economy, cure cottages sprouted up all around town, and impressive commercial buildings went up at an astonishing rate downtown. New buildings were commemorated with special ceremonies and etched cornerstones, like the Masonic Temple on Broadway.
This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the Adirondack Park Agency, and it’s fair to ask: “Where Do We Go From Here?”
Join the debate: Thursday, July 27, at 7 pm at the Adirondack History Center Museum, Elizabethtown.
Leaders of the APA and the Local Government Review Board will be on hand to discuss the APA’s first half century and what’s likely to come next.
On Sunday, August 6, a new historical marker will be unveiled at Loon Lake, Franklin County, to honor the settlement of Blacksville and its founder, Virginia-born Brooklyn newsman and Black rights activist, Willis Hodges. The public is invited to attend.
Awarded by the Pomeroy Foundation at the request of educator Curt Stager, this marker honors a forgotten chapter of Adirondack history with ties to the Black suffrage movement and abolitionist John Brown.
In 1848, Hodges and other Brooklyn and Manhattan pioneers moved to remote Loon Lake in south Franklin County. Hodges and several in his party were among 3,000 poor Black New Yorkers who received forty-acre gift lots in Franklin and Essex Counties from the radical New York philanthropist, Gerrit Smith, in 1846 and ’47. Smith hoped to promote a Black migration out of cities, and to ease access to the ballot for voteless Black New Yorkers who could not meet a for-Blacks-only $250 property requirement. Most of Smith’s “grantees” would not migrate. Moving to the wilderness was impractical and unaffordable. But Willis Hodges and others in his party remained for several years in the vicinity of Loon Lake, where Hodges was said to have sheltered and guided self-freed enslaved people making for the north.
The eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) isn’t really a crop-bearing tree, but it has borne priceless “fruit” for American democracy. Physically as well as culturally massive, there are many accounts from the early 1800s of white pines over 200 feet tall being harvested. One credible report pegs a white pine at 247 feet, and unverified accounts have claimed that 300-foot-tall leviathans were cut back then. It’s a long-lived species, with 400 years considered a rough maximum. Working for a tree service in the Adirondacks in the early ‘90s, I once tallied 450 rings on a storm-thrown specimen.
The white pine is the official tree of Maine and Michigan, with the current U.S. champion standing at 180 feet, 10 inches in Cook Forest State Park in Pennsylvania. Sadly, one of New York State’s tallest white pines, which I visited several times, toppled in 2021. At 160 feet, 10 inches, it was in a stand of old-growth habitat near Paul Smith’s College. In today’s second- and third-growth forests, the average mature white pine is often between 100 and 130 feet tall, with diameters of 25-35 inches.
Blue Mountain Lake, NY – Adirondack Experience (ADKX) will hold a grand opening celebration for “Artists & Inspiration in the Wild” on Sat., July 1. This permanent exhibit, which showcases an inclusive and wide-reaching interpretation of Adirondack art, is the most comprehensive showing of the museum’s art and design collections in its history. In celebration of the exhibition unveiling, the day will be filled with art-related activities and programming, including artist demonstrations, live music, live muralling and screen-printing.
Several Adirondack-area towns have announced an array of family-friendly festivities to celebrate the Fourth of July, ranging from craft fairs to concerts, kids’ games, guided history hikes, and much more. Please see a roundup of a few of these events below.
Lake George, NY– Wiawaka is thrilled to announce they’ll be celebrating their 120th year this summer. The upcoming season is brimming with an array of enriching workshops, retreats, events, and programs.
“We take great pride in this historical milestone and express our deep gratitude to all our supporters who have been instrumental in helping us reach this significant achievement,” said Doreen Kelly, Wiawaka’s Executive Director.
Wiawaka’s co-founder, Mary Wiltsie Fuller, passed away on July 6th, 1943.
“We are immensely grateful to her, even 80 years later, for envisioning a sanctuary where women could find support during the times we needed it the most,” said Doreen.
Noteworthy highlights of our programming include our Georgia O’Keeffe Week, Artists in Residency Week, and SWIM Week honoring the remarkable women swimmers of Lake George, including Diane Struble, who made history as the first woman to complete the lake swim. Additionally, we have a captivating Storytelling weekend planned, along with many other exciting offerings.
Join us for our engaging Historical Tours, taking place every Monday at 5 p.m.
Ticonderoga, NY – Fort Ticonderoga opens a new exhibit for 2023, focusing on the dramatic and wide-ranging end of the global Seven Years’ War. This new exhibit Success: The End of the Seven Years’ War spans both sides of the Atlantic and is anchored by many never-before-seen artifacts.
This new exhibit features artifacts from the museum’s newly acquired Robert Nittolo Collection that complement pieces from Fort Ticonderoga’s existing collection, to visualize the final campaigns in North America, partly launched from Lake Champlain.
The Gloversville Theatre Corporation Board of Directors will host a ceremony to unveil an official NYS Historic Marker under the marquee of the historic Glove Theatre, 42 N. Main Street, Saturday, June 3 at 2 pm, prior to the Southern Adirondacks Food and Wine Festival and Glove Cities Arts Alliance 2023 Arts Walk.
At the unveiling, speakers include NYS Senator Mark Walczyk (SD 49), NYS Assemblymember Robert Smullen (AD 118), Fulton County Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman John Blackmon, City of Gloversville Mayor Vincent DeSantis, Executive Director of the Fulton County Historical Society & Fulton County Historian Samantha Hall-Saladino, and Glove Theatre Vice President Alex Miller.
The NYS Historic Marker was fully funded with a grant from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. The Pomeroy Foundation is committed to “supporting the celebration and preservation of community history by providing grants to obtain signage in the form of roadside markers and plaques”. While there are other markers in Fulton County, The Glove Theatre marker is only the Foundation’s second granted in Gloversville. The first was awarded in 2022 to Post 137 of the American Legion, of which Gloversville native and U.S. Congressman Lucius N. Littauer was the sole financial donor.
The Glove Theatre will be hosting Wonder Women, an evening music festival on Saturday, June 10th, which will feature a mix of local and regional musical talent and honor local females for their positive impact within the Fulton County community. The show will commence at 7 pm with tickets at $10. Musicians include JoAnn Sifo, Olivia Hanifan, Cosby Gibson, and Journey Blue Heaven. The honorees include Jennifer Donovan, Indiana Nash, and the late Barbara C. Henry. The evening will be hosted by WENT’s Patti Noble.
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Tales of the Adirondacks, Past & Present: The Ladies Climb by Jerilea Zempel
Our next OurStoryBridge Inc. story share is called The Ladies Climb by Jerilea Zempel. Her story is about a group of women who duplicated the clothing women wore in the 1800s and recreated an expedition. Jerilea put extensive research and planning into the trip in order to honor those women before her. To listen to this story in its entirety, please visit this link: https://app.memria.org/stories/public-story-view/c9a5d576bc9444a5b6faa02db7edaeba/
The Adirondack Almanack will share stories written by those who live, work, and play in the ADK, courtesy of OurStoryBridge Inc. These stories, which will be a combination of current and past events, people, outdoor activities and more, will be published on a weekly basis. The stories will focus on various locations situated in the Adirondack region, including the High Peaks, the town of Keene, and many other areas around the Park. Story topics include arts & culture, catastrophes, work, people, outdoor activities, daily life, community, and natural & man-made environments.
» Continue Reading.