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Adirondack History Ski Tour of Great Camp Santanoni

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Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) is kicking-off their 2010 educational series with an interpretive cross-country ski into the 19th-century, Adirondack Great Camp, Camp Santanoni, located in the New York State Forest Preserve. Participants will learn about the camp’s history and architectural significance that make it. The 10-mile round trip ski, along the preserve’s gently sloping historic carriage road, leads into the majestic wilderness estate and a National Historic Landmark. Participants will be able to visit the camp’s three complexes- the Gate Lodge, the Farm, and view the massive log retreat at the Main Camp, the work of architect Robert Robertson. They will also see the authentic Adirondack rustic interiors and learn about the restoration of the camp.

The tour will be led by AARCH staff including John Friauf, a former AARCH Board Member. The group will depart Santanoni Preserve parking area, off Route 28N in the hamlet of Newcomb at 10AM, returning around 3 PM. This is a remote site. Participants are encouraged to bring a trail lunch and plenty of hydration. The fee is $20 for members and $30 for non-members. Advance registration is required by calling AARCH at (518) 834-9328.

Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) is the private, non-profit, historic preservation organization for the Adirondack Park region. AARCH works in partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Town of Newcomb to preserve and interpret Camp Santanoni. This tour is one of over fifty events in our annual series highlighting the region’s vast architectural legacy. For more information on AARCH including membership and a complete 2010 program schedule contact AARCH at (518) 834-9328 or visit our website at www.aarch.org.

Finger Lakes Boating Museum Moves Forward With Site

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The Board of Directors of the Finger Lakes Boating Museum in Geneva, NY has established a Site Development Committee and are moving forward with ambitous plans for a facility to research, document, preserve, and share the boating history of the Finger Lakes region. The Museum reached agreement with the City of Geneva last fall to establish a permanent home on the Geneva waterfront in association with the Visitor Center. The facility will be located on the current Chamber of Commerce site. The Museum anticipates occupying approximately 20,000 square feet of space initially, with future expansion on the lakefront and off-site eventually growing to approximately 60,000 square feet of space.

Newly elected board president Bill Oben said the Museum has assembled a collection of more than 90 wooden boats built in the Finger Lakes over the past 100 years, as well as numerous related artifacts and extensive reference material. Portions of the collection will be displayed on a rotating basis within the new facility. Also planned are interactive workshops and displays to engage visitors in the design, construction and use of the boats and an active on-water program including sailing and small boat handling.

The board also elected a new slate of officers and appointed four new directors at its January 4th. The officers for 2010 are Bill Oben as President, Ed Wightman as Vice President, Bill Smith as Secretary and Dennis Karalow as Treasurer. The new directors are Chrissy Bennett-West, Dave Bunnell, Vince Scalise and Bruce Tuxill.

Bennett-West is a Geneva native and a graduate of William Smith College. A long-time member of the Seneca Yacht Club, she sails Thistles and serves on the Executive Board as Vice Commodore. She and her husband live in Canandaigua where she is employed as a Special Education teacher in the Canandaigua School System.

Dave Bunnell relocated to Geneva following a 40-year career in law and business. He has practiced law with two commercial law firms in Dallas, Texas, served in senior management positions with international food companies, and engaged in various entrepreneurial activities. He is currently involved with others in efforts to accelerate the revitalization of downtown Geneva. He serves on the Boards of Geneva Growth, the Finger Lakes Regional Arts Council and the Business Improvement District.

Vince Scalise, a Geneva native and Korean War veteran, retired as Superintendent of the Geneva City School System. He has served on numerous boards including Cayuga-Seneca Canalway Trail Association, YMCA, Geneva Growth, Geneva Historical Society, United Way of Rochester and Ontario County, the Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce, and the FL Cultural & Natural History Museum. He has also served on the Geneva City Council.

Bruce Tuxill returned to his native Geneva in 2008 following a 40-year career in the Air Force and Air National Guard. At the time of his retirement he was serving as the Adjutant General of the Maryland National Guard. He is currently the President of the Tuxill Group, which provides consulting service for federal, state and local officials in the areas of national defense and homeland security. He currently serves on the Board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Geneva and the Vestry of Trinity Episcopal Church.

Bill Oben, is a founding trustee who has served as president of the 300-member Museum since 2007, commented that the organization is “excited about establishing a permanent home for the museum on the Geneva waterfront. We intend to create a world class facility highlighting the boating heritage of the Finger Lakes region,” Oben said.

US Cultural History Fellowships Announced

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The Library Company of Philadelphia and Historical Society of Pennsylvania have announced research fellowships in Colonial and U.S. History and Culture for 2010-2011. The fellowships, outlined below, include generally orientated one-month visiting fellowships, and long term dissertation fellowships, and a dissertation fellowship for the study of Early American Literature and Material Texts.

One-Month Visiting Research Fellowships

These two independent research libraries will jointly award approximately thirty one-month fellowships for research in residence in either or both collections during 2010-2011. The two institutions, adjacent to each other in Center City Philadelphia, have complementary collections capable of supporting research in a variety of fields and disciplines relating to the history of America and the Atlantic world from the 17th through the 19th centuries, as well as Mid-Atlantic regional history to the present. For information on the collections, visit www.hsp.org and www.librarycompany.org.

One-month fellowships carry a stipend of $2,000 and are tenable for any one-month period between June 2010-May 2011. Two Barra Foundation International Fellowships, each for $2,500 plus a travel allowance, are reserved for foreign national scholars resident outside the U. S. Some of the short-term fellowships provide for study in specific fields, such as ethnic and immigrant history- history of the book- African American History- visual culture- and economic history (through the Library Company’s Program in Early American Economy and Society). For more detailed information about all of these fellowships, go to www.librarycompany.org/fellowships. We invite inquiries about the appropriateness of proposed topics to [email protected]. The Library Company’s Cassatt House fellows’ residence offers rooms at reasonable rates.

The deadline for receipt of one-month fellowship applications is March 1, 2010, with a decision to be made by April 15. To apply, visit www.librarycompany.org/fellowships, fill out an electronic cover sheet, and submit one portable document format (PDF) containing a resume and a 2-4 page description of the proposed research. One letter of recommendation should arrive under separate cover in PDF format as well. Please email materials to [email protected]. If you wish you apply for more than one fellowship, simply check more than one box on your electronic cover sheet.

Library Company Long-term Dissertation Fellowships

The Library Company also supports dissertation research in residence through the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation Fellowship (on any subject relevant to its collections) and the Program in Early American Economy and Society Fellowship (for research in economic history). The term of these fellowships is from September 2010 to May 2011, with a stipend of $20,000. The awards may be divided between two applicants, each of whom would spend a semester in residence. The application deadline and procedures are the same as for the one-month fellowships as described above, with the addition of a second letter of reference and a writing sample of about 25 pages.

Dissertation Fellowships in Early American Literature and Material Texts

The McNeil Center for Early American Studies, in collaboration with the Library Company, offers two dissertation fellowships in early American literature and material texts, supported by a new grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Fellows will be in residence from July 2010 through July 2011. The stipend for a 13-month term will be at least $28,000. To apply go to www.mceas.org. Deadline, March 1, 2010.

Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition Post-Doc Fellowship

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The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University invites applications for its 2010-2011 Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. The Center seeks to promote a better understanding of all aspects of the institution of slavery from the earliest times to the present. The Center especially welcomes proposals that will utilize the special collections of the Yale University Libraries or other research collections of the New England area, and explicitly engage issues of slavery, resistance, abolition, and their legacies.

Scholars from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. The GLC offers one-month and four-month residential fellowships to support both established and younger scholars in researching projects that can be linked to the aims of the Center.

For more information visit http://www.yale.edu/glc/info/fellowship.htm.

The application deadline is April 2, 2010.

The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition
Yale University
PO Box 208206
New Haven, CT 06520-8206
www.yale.edu/glc
[email protected]
Phone: 203-432-3339 ~ Fax: 203-432-6943

This Weeks New York History Web Highlights

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This Weeks Top New York History News

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West Park Presbyterian Church Designated Landmark

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On Tuesday, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the West Park Presbyterian Church at 165 West 86th Street on the corner of Amsterdam Avenue as an individual New York City landmark. This move to protect this late 19th-century chapel and church came after decades of activism by concerned neighbors. Originally included in the proposal for the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District, the church was left out of the 1990 district designation after opposition from church representatives. Since then, neighbors have had to stave off development proposals and demolition permits, most recently observing workers last year removing pieces of West-Park’s interior (it was reported that church was cleaning up from a burst pipe).

For more information, read Historic District Council’s statement on the building and visit Landmark West’s website.

B&Bs With Underground Railroad Connections

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Throughout January and February, Americans celebrate the history and accomplishments of African-Americans with Martin Luther King’s birthday in January and Black History Month in February. In recognition, BedandBreakfast.com has described Bed & Breakfasts that were once associated with the Underground Railroad, the informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by slaves to escape to free states, Canada, Mexico, and other countries with the aid of abolitionists.

Here’s a list of those in New York State:

Escape Guest House, Brooklyn, NY: This B&B is just a short stroll from Plymouth Church, the “Grand Central Depot” of New York’s Underground Railroad. According to church history, slaves traveling to Canada were hidden in the tunnel-like basement beneath the church sanctuary- you can still visit there today. The church’s first pastor, Henry Ward Beecher, was a dedicated abolitionist and younger brother to Harriet Beecher Stowe, famous author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Merritt Hill Manor, Penn Yan, NY: One of the first houses built in Jerusalem Township, the land where this B&B sits now was deeded from the Seneca Indians in the Gorham/Phelps purchase. It was once used as a stop on the Underground Railroad for escaped slaves, heading north to freedom in Canada.

Saratoga Farmstead, Saratoga Springs, NY: Former owners and abolitionists Clarissa and Benjamin Dyer used the farmstead to connect to the Underground Railroad. According to some, a young black boy and his enslaved mother died while hiding in the attic. Legend tells that for many years thereafter, each time someone tried to climb the attic stairs, the boy’s ghost put an arm out, tripping the intruder and protecting his mother. During a session with a visiting expert on the paranormal, these ghosts were released to &#8220the next level,&#8221 and visitors can now navigate the stairs safely.

Vermont Ranks 1st In Federal Historic Tax Credits

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A recent federal report ranks Vermont the top state in per capita use of Federal Historic Tax Credits to rehabilitate historic buildings and 10th in the nation overall – rising from 12th overall last year. A total of 34 rehabilitation projects with a total construction value of more than $23 million received $4.6 million in federal tax credits in the last fiscal year.

State officials credit the decision several years ago to require those seeking state historic Downtown Tax Credits to first get Federal Historic Tax Credits with putting Vermont to consistently within or just outside the top ten states nationally for use of the credits, despite its small size.

“This linkage allows building owners to layer the state and federal credits on a single project,” said Commerce and Community Development Secretary Kevin Dorn, “There is always risk in the rehabilitation of an older building because you never know what you will find when peeling back the layers.”

“Combining the programs not only leverages the economic impact of the state’s investment, it helps mitigate this risk and convinces more property owners to undertake historic rehabilitation projects in our downtowns and villages,” Dorn said.

In the past ten years, the program has leveraged over $38 million dollars in federal funds and $190 million in private capital to revitalize historic commercial buildings, most of them in Vermont’s downtowns and village centers.

Projects have ranged from small village storefronts in Hardwick to multi-million dollar downtown redevelopments like the Fellows Gear Shaper plant in Springfield.

The federal program returns 20 percent of eligible expenses for the rehabilitation of income producing historic buildings listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in the form of federal tax credits.

The state credit adds another 10 percent, and other state credits for facade improvement or installing elevators, sprinklers, or other code improvements can be added as well. Over 10,000 buildings in Vermont are pre-qualified for tax credits.

The program has played an important role in the downtown and village revitalization evident across the state and is now a key component the state’s efforts to promote smart growth and sustainable development.

Renovating historic buildings for higher and better uses reduces the loss of open space and farm lands to development and makes use of existing infrastructure, eliminating the need for taxpayer dollars to construct new sewer or water services.

Finally, by concentrating business, commercial, and residential uses in downtown or village center areas, redevelopment projects reduce dependence on automobiles, thereby conserving energy resources, enhancing air quality, and improving quality of life for local residents.

Vermont’s ongoing commitment to investing in downtowns and villages has not gone unnoticed – these programs played an important part in the National Geographic Society’s Center for Sustainable Destinations ranking Vermont fifth in the world and first in the United States for stewardship and authenticity.

“But more important is the fact that Vermont wins when these buildings are rehabilitated,” said Tayt Brooks, Commissioner of Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development.

“Property values increase, fire and safety risks are reduced, and new jobs and tax revenues are generated when and where we need them most,” Brooks said. “It’s especially important to capitalize on this opportunity as we work to create new jobs and stimulate Vermont’s economy.”

The programs are administered by the Division for Community Planning and Revitalization, in partnership with local communities. Additional details and application guidelines are available at www.HistoricVermont.org