Month: September 2010

This Weeks New York History Web Highlights

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Each Friday afternoon New York History compiles for our readers a collection of the week’s top weblinks about New York’s state and local history. You can find all our weekly round-ups here.
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Fort Ti Holding Big Season Finale

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Vast British and American armies struggle for control of the Ticonderoga peninsula and the future of America at Fort Ticonderoga’s Revolutionary War Encampment, Saturday and Sunday, September 11th and 12th, from 9:30 am to 5 pm each day. More than 600 re-enactors bring the American Revolutionary War experience to life for visitors during the weekend, highlighting Fort Ticonderoga’s strategic role in the struggle for liberty. A battle takes place each day at 2 pm and is based on an encounter between advanced British and American forces during General John Burgoyne’s successful capture of the fort by the British in July 1777. Visitors will be able to purchase wares from period vendors, thrill at the pageantry of arms, enlist with the Continental soldiers for a bounty, and participate in a Sunday morning Anglican divine service in the fort at 10:30am.

Beth Hill, Executive Director of Fort Ticonderoga, said this event “will bring to life the hardship, hope, and victory that defined Fort Ticonderoga’s history in the American Revolution.” Highlighted programs throughout the weekend will include Potent Potables: Drink and Sutling in the American Revolution presentations, cooper demonstrations, building field fortifications, daily life of camp followers, field surgery and much more! According to Hill, the weekend “will be an unparalleled opportunity for visitors to be immersed in a place and time that defined America.”

The historic capture of Fort Ticonderoga on May 10th, 1775, by Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, and the Green Mountain Boys marked America’s first victory of the American Revolution. Fort Ticonderoga remained a strategic stronghold and key to the continent throughout the early years of the war. In 1777, British forces under General Burgoyne successfully recaptured Fort Ticonderoga, forcing American troops to abandon the fort and Mount Independence across Lake Champlain. During the 18th-century, Fort Ticonderoga was attacked six times in the span of twenty years, holding three times and falling three times.

Fort Ticonderoga is a private not-for-profit historical site that ensures that present and future generations learn from the struggle, sacrifices, and victories that shaped North America and changed world history. Fort Ticonderoga offers programs, tours, demonstrations and exhibits each day from 9:30am-5pm, May 20th- October 20th. A full schedule and information on events, including the upcoming Revolutionary War Encampment on September 11th and 12th, can be found at www.FortTiconderoga.org.

Buffalo and Eries 12th Annual Paint the Town

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The Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society has announced its 12th annual Paint the Town fundraising event, which takes place this year on Thursday, September 23, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. In an updated format, the fundraiser will feature both live and silent auctions, and include a wide range of artworks by almost 60 artists with strong ties to the Buffalo region.

Items in the auctions will include paintings by Peter Fowler, Mark Lavatelli, Nathan Naetzker, and Catherine Parker- prints by Sally Cook, Roycroft Renaissance Master Artisan Dorothy Markert, Julian Montague, and Michael Morgulis- photographs by Lukia Costello, Lesley Maia Horowitz and Gene Witkowski- mixed media works by Russell Ram and Gerald Mead- and glassworks by Marcelo Florencio and Jane Jacobson.

The auctions will also feature works by historically important artists, donated by local galleries, including the Benjaman Gallery, Meibohm Fine Arts, Muleskinner, Dana Tillou Fine Arts, 20th Century Finest, and Vern Stein Fine Arts. Those works include vintage pieces by painter Carlo Nisita (1895-1990) and printmaker Amos Sangster (1833-1904).

Subjects range from the Buffalo Zoo, to views of the harbor, train station, and grain elevators, to Niagara Falls, to a wildflower growing through a crack in a Buffalo pavement.

Starting at 5:30, a buffet of appetizers and small bites will be served, while the silent auction begins. Thom Diina will provide musical accompaniment to the evening, and food will be catered by Oliver’s- an open bar, offering wine, beer and soft drinks, is also included.

After the anticipation and excitement of the silent auction, at 8 p.m., auctioneer Kelly Schultz of Kelly Schultz Auctions and Antiques will rouse the crowd to a frenzy of bidding over the live portion of the auction.

Tickets are $50 for members of the Historical Society, $70 for non-members. Those who would like to make an additional donation with their ticket purchase may select patron level tickets, which are $150 each. Such support will be acknowledged in the event catalog. Tickets are available by calling (716) 873-9644 x318.

The event takes place at the Historical Society’s iconic 1901 building, with views overlooking Delaware Park. There is ample free parking. The event is supported by HSBC.

The Historical Society will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2012.

SAGE Publications Offers Free Access to Journals

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SAGE Publications is offering free trial access to their online journals through October 15 by going to this page and registering. The free trail include, among a lot of others, the following titles which historians in and of New York might find interesting:

Accounting History
Crime, Media, Culture
Critique of Anthropology
Cultural Geographies
Feminist Criminology
Feminist Theory
Games and Culture
History of Psychiatry
History of the Human Sciences
Journal of Consumer Culture
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography
Journal of Contemporary History
Journal of Family History
Journal of Material Culture
Journal of Peace Research
Journal of Planning History
Journal of Social Archaeology
Journal of Urban History
Labor Studies Journal
Law, Culture and the Humanities
Media, Culture & Society
Media, War & Conflict
New Media & Society
Race & Class
Studies in History
Television & New Media
Theory, Culture & Society
War in History

Finger Lakes Museum Annouces Agreement

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Finger Lakes Museum Board President John Adamski and Finger Lakes State Parks Regional Director Tim Joseph have announced that a ceremony has been scheduled to sign a Letter of Intent to start the process that will enable the Finger Lakes Museum to build its campus in Keuka Lake State Park. A joint Memorandum of Understanding listing the commitments of five other Keuka Lake State Park site sponsors, which were presented in the Site Sponsors’ Proposal last December, will also be signed at the same event. Those members include Yates County, the Town of Jerusalem, Finger Lakes Economic Development Center, Keuka College and the Finger Lakes Visitors Association. A separate agreement with the Yates County Chamber of Commerce will be signed in a few more weeks.

The affair will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 17 th at the lakeside
pavilion in Keuka Lake State Park and members of the News Media and the public
are invited to attend this unprecedented event.

The Finger Lakes Museum is an initiative to create a worldclass educational institution to showcase the cultural heritage and ecological evolution of the 9,000
squaremile Finger Lakes Region, since the last glacial recession began some 12,000 years ago. Last April, Keuka Lake State Park was selected as the preferred location to build the project after 19 sites were submitted for evaluation by 8 Finger Lakes counties and the City of Geneva in 2009.

Under the Letter of Intent, the Finger Lakes Museum and the New York State Office
of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will initiate a comprehensive planning
process for the Museum’s facilities at Keuka Lake State Park. The planning process,
which will include public input opportunities and a full environmental review, will
develop a detailed concept design and site building plans.

The Board of Trustees has approved the design of a new logo for the Finger Lakes
Museum, which was created by InHouse Graphics of Geneva and will be unveiled at the event.

Currier & Ives Prints Exhibition at Senate House

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The exhibit Currier & Ives: &#8220Cheap and Popular Pictures&#8221 is now open at the Senate House State Historic Site in Kingston. The prints of Currier & Ives—one of the most successful purveyors of lithographic prints in the 19th Century—are diverse, full of fascinating historical information and compelling imagery, perhaps despite their perennial appearance on calendars and cards. This new exhibit at Senate House State Historic Site, offers us forty of their prints focusing on the ideals, values, and innovations of the 19th Century.

While it’s better known for its buildings and collections representing colonial and Revolutionary history, Senate House State Historic Site, located in uptown Kingston, also has impressive collections of objects, documents, and art of the 19th Century, including over 200 Currier & Ives prints, given to the site by the late Rutgers Ives Hurry, a Saugerties resident whose passion was collecting images of the Hudson Valley made by the firm.

The Senate House exhibition focuses on three themes: the ideal of the 19th-century home, images of New York City, and Hudson River steamboats (both the luxury and potential dangers they represented). The exhibit is entitled &#8220Cheap and Popular Pictures,&#8221 a term touted by Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives, who shrewdly observed and marketed their images&#8211made by many different artists of the day—to the opinions, interests, and ideals of America’s growing middle class.

The Senate House is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm, and 1 – 5 pm on Sundays. The exhibit is free and open to the public. The exhibition runs through October 31 and is available by appointment and for school groups after that date. Senate House is located at 296 Fair Street, Kingston NY, 12401. For more information and other details, please call (845) 338-2786.

Illustration: Steamers Drew and St. John. Sketched and Drawn by C. R. Parsons.
Hand-colored lithograph published by Currier & Ives, New York. Courtesy of Senate House State Historic Site.

Guided Hike Of Historic VT Military Road

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Did you know that in 1776-77 there was a Revolutionary War military road between Mount Independence in Orwell, Vermont, and Hubbardton, Vermont? On Sunday, September 12, from 2:00 to 5:00 pm, you can explore part of this little known military road by going on a guided hike at the Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site with long-time site interpreter Carl Fuller.

Fuller will lead a vigorous hike, starting from the museum and following traces of the old military road that led from Mount Independence to the Hubbardton Battlefield.

Hikers will see the area where the first shots of the battle were fired on July 7, 1777, and get a taste of what it might have been like for the soldiers traveling over this varied terrain. The event is one of many being held during September’s Vermont Archaeology Month.

Be prepared for hills. Dress for the weather, wear sturdy shoes or boots, and bring water. Admission is $2.00 for adults and free for children under 15, and includes visiting the museum.

The Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site preserves the location of the only Revolutionary War battle in Vermont. Soldiers from Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire fought in a savage rear guard action to halt General John Burgoyne’s British army and allow the main American army under Arthur St. Clair to withdraw southward to safety from Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence.

While the battle ended with the British holding the field, they were too battered to continue their pursuit and the rest of the colonial army escaped, paving the way for later victories at Bennington and Saratoga that turned the tide of the war.

The site is on Monument Hill Road six miles off VT Route 30 in Hubbardton or seven miles off exit 5 on US Route 4 in Castleton.

The site is open Thursday through Sunday, 9:30 to 5:00 p.m., and on Monday holidays, and Columbus Day, October 12, the last day of the season.

For more information about the program, call (802) 273-2282 or visit www.historicvermont.org/sites.

Vandals Carve Swastika in Victory Woods Panel

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Officials from Saratoga National Historical Park promised quick action in the wake of Labor Day weekend vandalism in the Victory Woods section of the park. Vandals etched a swastika into an interpretive panel which featured a story about early Native Americans who once occupied the site. The recently installed panel is valued at $750.

Since the Victory Woods site was opened in June, park law enforcement rangers have encountered other minor acts of vandalism. Park Superintendent Joe Finan directed park law enforcement staff to increase patrols of the area. “This is not acceptable behavior in a national park—or any public place,” Finan said. We will take swift and sweeping action to prevent the area from future vandalism.”

The Friends of Saratoga Battlefield have put up a $300 reward for information leading to the arrest of the individual responsible for the act. To provide information about the vandalism, call Chief Ranger Greg Wozniak at 664.9821 ext. 214 or Superintendent Joe Finan at 664.9821 ext. 207.

Headquarters for Saratoga National Historical Park is located at 648 Route 32 in Stillwater, NY and the park’s website is www.nps.gov/sara

VT Names Native American Commission Members

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Governor Jim Douglas has appointed nine new members of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, the first step in establishing a program for state recognition of Native American tribes in Vermont.

A new law that set up the recognition process revised the makeup of the panel and increased the number of members on the commission from seven to nine, and also imposed a Vermont residency requirement for the first time.

“These new members of the Native American Commission represent a broad cross-section of Native American communities and geography, and will bring a fresh perspective to the task at hand,” said Giovanna Peebles, State Historic Preservation Officer and director of the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.

The new law, passed this spring by the Legislature, requires that eligible applicants must have lived in Vermont for a minimum of three years and said that appointments should “reflect a diversity of affiliations and geographic locations in Vermont.”

Governor Douglas appointed the following members:

* Melody Walker Brook, Jeffersonville
* Shirly Hook-Therrien, Braintree
* Dawn Macie, Rutland
* David Vanslette, Swanton
* Takara Matthews, Richmond
* Fred W. Wiseman, Newport
* Charlene McManis, Worcester
* Luke Willard, Brownington
* Nathan Pero, West Fairlee

The VCNAA will implement the new process for recognizing Native American tribes in Vermont that includes review by the commission, an independent review committee of experts, and approval by the legislature.

“In addition to acknowledging their heritage, state recognition will allow Native Americans in Vermont who make and sell traditional crafts to be labeled as Indian- or Native American-made, an important distinction for those who purchase such items,” Peebles said.

Under the new law, creation of the Commission, “helps recognize the historic and cultural contributions of Native Americans to Vermont, to protect and strengthen their heritage, and to address their needs in state policy, programs, and actions.”

To learn more, please visit the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation website at www.historicvermont.org or the VCNAA website at http://vcnaa.vermont.gov/

Market Basket Class at Adirondack Museum

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Learn the basics of basket making or refine your weaving skills in a one-day class at the Adirondack Museum, in Blue Mountain Lake, New York on Saturday, October 2, 2010. Shea Farrell Carr will lead a market basket class.

The market-style basket has a variety of household uses. It can be carried in the garden to gather flowers, but is also handy for storing towels and blankets. The base of the basket is 10&#8243- by 15&#8243- and finished dimensions are 21&#8243- long, 10&#8243- wide, and 14&#8243- tall. Participants will select material colors to create their own unique basket.

The cost will be $55 per participant, and includes all materials and instruction. The class will begin at 10:00 a.m. Pre-registration is required, space is limited. To register, call (518) 352-7311, ext. 115 or email [email protected] .

Born and raised in Long Lake, N.Y., Shea Farrell Carr has been making baskets since 1992. She took ownership of &#8220Adirondack Basket Case&#8221 from her mother, basket maker Patty Farrell, in 2009. She lives in Troy, N.Y. with her husband and two young children.

The Adirondack Museum tells stories of the people &#8211 past and present &#8212- who have lived, worked, and played in the unique place that is the Adirondack Park. History is in our nature. The museum is supported in part by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency. For information about all that the museum has to offer, please call (518) 352-7311, or visit www.adirondackmuseum.org.

Photo courtesy Shea Farrell Carr.

@adkmuseum.org>