Youth Mini-Camps at John Jay Homestead

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From Monday through Thursday, April 18th through 21st, John Jay Homestead State Historic Site will host Spring School Break Mini-Camps for children aged 5 to 10. Each day’s activities will be two hours long, and be operated as a drop-off program.

The first mini-camp, starting at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, April 18th, will be Here, There, and Everywhere! How did people get around 200 years ago? What types of transportation did they use? How did travel expose people to new and fascinating discoveries? Children will answer these questions while exploring the bedrooms of John Jay and his daughter, Nancy. They will then make a shell craft to take home.

Starting at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19th, the program will be The Artist in You! Do you like art? Do you know the difference between a painting and a print? Or how long it took to have your portrait painted 200 years ago? Children will explore the extensive art collection at the Homestead, and then try their hand at printmaking.

Beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 20th, the morning will be devoted to Birds of a Feather. Calling all birdwatchers! Come and explore the Homestead’s beautiful grounds and learn about the birds that live here. See how many different types of birds you can find. Children will then make something to help the birds that live in their own backyards.

Starting at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 21st, the program will be Clean As a Whistle. How did people keep clean, bathe, and do their laundry 200 years ago? How often did they take a bath? If there was no indoor plumbing, where was their bathroom? Children will tour William Jay’s bedroom and the cellar kitchen to learn about personal hygiene 200 years ago, and make their own soap.

The cost of the mini-camps is $15 per child per day- members of the Friends of John Jay Homestead will receive a $3.00 discount. Reservations are required, and can be made by phoning John Jay Homestead’s Education Department at (914) 232-5651 x101.

John Jay Homestead State Historic Site is located at 400 Route 22 in Katonah, N.Y. (Westchester County). It is one of six state historic sites and 13 parks administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation—Taconic Region. For more information about New York State Parks, log onto www.nysparks.com.

North Country Archival Conference Friday

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Anyone interested in learning more about conservation, archival security, digitizing photographs, the history of the Adirondacks, and a whole lot more is invited to come and spend a few hours of their time in return for a wealth of knowledge.

The Northern New York Library Network based in Potsdam is hosting its second Annual North Country Archives and Special Collections Conference: Efficiency, Effectiveness and Education on April 8, 2011 at the Crowne Plaza Resort, Lake Placid. The cost for all attendees is only $10.00. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. with the conference running from 9:00 a.m. &#8211 2:00 p.m.

Attendees of the North Country Archives and Special Collections Conference will have the opportunity to select from two of four morning sessions, then attend an afternoon presentation immediately following lunch, which is included in the price.

The first Session I choice will &#8220Large Conference Benefits and Highlights of the 2010 Society of American Archivists Annual Conference,&#8221 presented by Jane Subramanian, SUNY Potsdam. During this session, the benefits of attending the larger archival conferences and involvement with professional organizations for those working in smaller archives will be discussed. Conferences and professional organizations from the Society of American Archivists, Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference, New England Archivists, and New York Archives Conference will be examined. Educational and other opportunities will also be covered. News and highlights of the Society of American Archivists 2010 Annual Conference that are useful for all sizes of archives will also be presented.

The second Session I choice will be &#8220Conservation 101,&#8221 presented by Barbara Eden, Director, Department of Preservation and Collection Maintenance, Cornell University. As custodians of our cultural heritage, we have the responsibility to ensure the long-term survival of these resources. Participants will learn about the elements of a preservation program that can easily be implemented into their institutions. This session will provide a beginner’s course in conservation of archival materials. Students will learn how to get started, what planning must take place, policies and procedures, and care and handling of materials held in many archival collections.

The first Session II choice will be &#8220On Our Watch: Security in Archives and Special Collections,&#8221 presented by Nicolette A. Dobrowolski, Head of Public Services, Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Library. Archives and libraries with historical and special collections materials sometimes do not recognize how vulnerable their collections are to loss. That is, until you cannot find that one important book or folder for your researcher&#8230- The question on a lot of our minds today is &#8220How can we fulfill the need to provide access to our collections while simultaneously protecting them?&#8221

Collections have the potential to be threatened by theft, vandalism, natural disasters, and damage from careless handling or poor environmental conditions. Responsibility must be taken to protect collections today so they are available to future generations of researchers. This presentation will help participants gain the knowledge needed to start developing or revising strategies and policies with regards to security of archives and special collections materials. Topics will include overall security risk awareness, developing institutional policies, facility design, reading room management and design, staff hiring and training, collection management and record keeping and theft (including insider theft and responses to theft). Real life scenarios and practices will be used as examples.

The second Session II choice will be &#8220Digitizing Your Historical Photographs,&#8221 presented by Denis Meadows, Regional Advisory Officer, NYS Archives. Today many historical records repositories are looking at digitization for their collections, including their historical photographs. Digitization of these valuable historical photographs can be a great way to share history with a wider audience and, at the same time, save wear and tear on the original photographs. This session will look at what repositories can digitize and why they should consider digitization, as well as present an overview of the scanning and metadata development processes.

Following lunch, Caroline M. Welsh, Director Emerita of the Adirondack Museum, will present a lecture on &#8220From Axes to Zootropes: Museum Collections and Community History.&#8221

&#8220Within the walls of the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake are century-old tools that harvested trees and earth-bound minerals and ores- vehicles that transported people and goods on land and water- objects from camps and homes- and artifacts that picture the past &#8211 thousands of documents from the region, historic photographs, and works of art,&#8221 Ms. Welsh commented.

Objects document how people lived &#8212- elitist and non-elitist. An object tells us about the people who made and used it, and also about the people for whom it was made. Objects also document intangibles like attitudes, values, and ideas. All in all, the Adirondack Museum Collections number over 100,000 objects, pieces and parts. The late Arthur Schlesinger said, &#8220History is to a nation as memory is to the individual.&#8221

While this lecture is but a cursory overview of the complex history of the Adirondacks, it signals the importance of preserving the region’s material culture as a memory bank for the stories of the people who lived, worked, and played in the Adirondacks.

For more information or to sign-up, go online to www.nnyln.org and click on &#8220Classes,&#8221 or call 315-265-1119.

Troy Underground Railroad Conference This Weekend

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The annual Capital District Underground Railroad Conference will be held this weekend in Troy, NY on April 8, 9 and 10th at the Russell Sage Campus in celebration of the conference’s tenth year presenting workshops, music, and stories about the historic struggle to escape slavery.

In the words of the conference founders, Mary Liz and Paul Stewart, the conference activities are, “a fresh interpretation of an Old Story. “ This is the story of the heroic men, women and children who escaped from slavery and who traveled to new, free, lives along the Underground Railroad.

The international conference is titled, “Abolishing Slavery in the Atlantic World: the ‘Underground Railroad’ in the Americas, Africa and Europe, and its relationship with us today.” Several hundred attendees are expected at workshops, art exhibits, and musical events. The conference is organized by the Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc., (URHPCR) co-sponsored by Russell Sage College and the College’s Department of History and Society. Several non-profit groups are collaborating: Rensselaer County Historical Society, Museumwise, and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

On Friday April 8th, 2011 the Opening Address will be given by Dr. Robin Blackburn at 7:00 pm, Bush Memorial, Russell Sage College, Troy, NY, “The International Struggle to End Slavery and the Slave Trade and Its Ramifications Today.” Dr. Blackburn, Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex in England and Visiting Professor of Historical Studies at the New School for Social Research in New York, will describe the international slave trade which fueled the American Colonial economy and he will explore the ramifications for today of the struggle to end slavery. Performing are Kim and Reggie Harris.

Blackburn has taught in England at King’s College, Cambridge University, FLACSO (Latin American Social Science Faculty)- in Ecuador, and at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. He has studied and taught at the London School of Economics and Oxford University. He is the author of many books and scholarly articles on historical sociology and critical social theory. Two of his most important books are The Making of New World Slavery: from the Baroque to the Modern, 1492-1800, and The Overthrow of Colonial Slavery, 1776-1848. In recent years he has written several influential articles on slavery and resistance. He is the founding editor of The New Left Review and an editor at Verso Books. Blackburn’s Opening Address at the conference will bring a high level of scholarship and an international perspective to discussions about the historical struggle for freedom from slavery in the United States.

The Underground Railroad Conference in Troy is a venue for African American art exhibits, storytelling, history workshops, and programs for educators and people of all ages. A Workshop for Educators on Friday April 8th is followed on Saturday April 9th with speakers, workshops, a raffle, art exhibit, reception and evening award ceremony. Keynote speakers on Saturday are Dr. Franklin Knight, Stulman Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, speaking about slave societies. His talk opens the conference at 9:00 am and is titled, “Of Slavery and Abolitions: Perspectives from the World of Slaves.” After the morning workshops at 1:00 pm Tony Burroughs, internationally known lecturer on genealogy, a guest speaker on many television talk shows, will participate in a panel discussion called, “Heritage Preservation Through Genealogical Research, Song and Storytelling.” Joining him on the panel are singer, MaryNell Morgan and storyteller, Miki Conn. Saturday afternoon workshops conclude at 5:00 pm followed by an evening reception and art exhibit held at the Rensselaer County Historical Society located at 57 Second Street, Troy, NY.

The conference continues on Sunday April 10th at 2:00 pm in Russell Sage College’s Bush Memorial Hall with programs devoted to music and performance. There will be performances by the Hamilton Hill Dancers, Garland Nelson, MaryNell Morgan, Eshu Bumpus, Magpie, Sparky and Rhonda Rucker, Graham and Barbara Dean, the musical group Peter, Paul and George, the Hamilton Hill Dancers, and the Hamilton Hill Drummers.

The conference is possible thanks to leadership from co-founders Mary Liz and Paul Stewart, the contribution of volunteers with the URHPCR, Inc., and conference donors and supporters: M & T Bank, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, Russell Sage College, Kate Storms, The Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region’s Standish Family Fund, The Alice Moore Foundation, Museumwise, the Arts Center of the Capital Region, New York Council for the Humanities, Pioneer Bank and Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation.

Find conference information and register online at www.ugrworkshop.com. Contact Paul Stewart at (518) 432-4432.

Women’s Rights: Race, Class and Ethnicity

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This Saturday, April 9th, at 7:00 pm, Historic Huguenot Street will host another in its Second Saturdays Lecture Series. The featured speaker will be Harriet Davis-Kram, Professor of American History at Queens College in New York City. The title of her talk is “Women’s Rights: A Struggle of Race, Class and Ethnicity.”

The quest of American women for equal rights dates back to the 18th century. One need only read the letters Abigail Adams sent to her husband John at the Constitutional Convention, warning him, &#8220You’d better not forget the ladies.&#8221

By the early 19th century, women’s voices were often heard in the debate over the abolition of slavery, and a number of educated women began to see similarities between their own social, economic, and political status, and that of the slaves they were fighting to emancipate. A small group of abolitionists would go on to found the movement for women’s equality. Davis-Kram will explore this history and the internal tensions that were part of the fight for women’s equality.

New York women were very much a part of this movement. Sojourner Truth is well known for her leading role in advocating for the end of slavery. Less well known is the key role she played as an African-American woman in the later struggle for women’s rights. She was a contemporary of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, among others. So too was Lydia Sayer Hasbrouck, the Middletown woman who made her mark as a dress reformer and as the publisher of “The Sybil,” a 19th century women’s rights periodical. Saturday’s talk is a prelude to the reinterpretation of the Abraham Hasbrouck House at Historic Huguenot Street. When this house reopens in 2012, the story told will focus on the lives on women in early New Paltz.

Davis-Kram, who has been teaching for over 30 years, specializes in the areas of American Women’s History, American Labor History, Immigration, and New York City History. Dr. Davis-Kram also guides walking tours in New York City focusing mostly on the 19th-century up through 1920. Her talk is made possible through Speakers in the Humanities, a program of the New York Council for the Humanities. Speakers in the Humanities lectures are made possible with the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the New York State Legislature, and through funds from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.

The talk will be held in the LeFevre House, located at 54 Huguenot Street in downtown New Paltz. There is a suggested donation of $5. For more information, call 845.255.1660 or visit www.huguenotstreet.org.

The Conference on New York State History

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The Conference on New York State History is an annual meeting of historians, librarians, archivists, educators, and community members who are interested in the history, people, and culture of New York State and who want to share information and ideas about historical research and programming. Each year the Conference brings together several hundred interested scholars and students at locations across the state of New York.

The 32nd annual conference will be held in Cooperstown on June 2-4, 2011.

The New York State Historical Association and the New York State Archives Partnership Trust are sponsoring the Conference, with the support of the New York Council for the Humanities.

Registration is now online! Register at regonline.com/2011CNYSH. To register by mail, please email [email protected] or call (607) 547-1453 to request a hard copy registration form.

Registration fees:
NYSHA/APT Members: $70 through May 16, $95 after May 16
Non-Members: $90 through May 16, $115 after May 16

A limited number of scholarships are available to graduate and undergraduate students and officially-appointed municipal historians. To apply, please download the form at the bottom of this page.

2011 Conference Schedule

Lodging and Travel Information

Sponsor and Exhibitor Information

Adirondack Ingenuity at the Adirondack Museum

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What do a jitterbug, a car saw, and a water bicycle have in common &#8211 besides really strange names? Learn the answer when you join the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake, New York for the final program in the 2011 Cabin Fever Sunday series.

Associate Curator Laura Cotton will reveal the secrets of these and many other Rube Goldberg contraptions on Sunday, April 10, 2011 in a presentation entitled &#8220Adirondack Ingenuity&#8221as part of the museum’s Cabin Fever Sunday programs.

Historically, Adirondackers have been really good at re-inventing, re-using, and re-purposing. Ingeniously clever, local residents have made do with what they have, and made what they have do even more! A number of intriguing examples of North Country inventiveness are part of the Adirondack Museum’s permanent collections and will be at the heart of Cotton’s presentation.

From spruce gum pickers to the mysterious jitterbug, folks have created unique and useful items to make &#8220getting by&#8221 a bit easier and occasionally a lot more fun. The museum invites audience participation in the program. Do you have a unique Adirondack artifact? Bring your ingenious example on April 10, and share its clever story!

Held in the Auditorium, the program will begin promptly at 1:30 p.m. Cabin Fever Sundays are offered at no charge to museum members or children of elementary school age and younger. The fee for non-members is $5.00. Refreshments will be served. For additional information, please call the Education Department at (518) 352-7311, ext. 128 or visit the museum’s web site at www.adirondackmuseum.org.

The Museum Store and Visitor Center will be open from noon to 4 p.m.

Laura Cotton, both Associate Curator and Registrar, is a graduate of Whitworth College, Spokane, Washington with a BA in Art and Art Administration. She holds a MA from the University of Washington. She was a Curatorial Research Assistant at the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, N.Y. before joining the staff of the Adirondack Museum in 2008.

Photo: 1923 Chevrolet pick-up truck that was converted into a buzz saw in the late 1920&#8242-s to early 1930&#8242-s. Gift of Bradford McAdam in memory of Harold L. McAdam. Collection of the Adirondack Museum.

Fort Montgomery 2011 Special Events

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Fort Montgomery State Historic Site is located at 690 Route 9W, Fort Montgomery, NY, 1/2 mile north of the Bear Mountain Bridge Traffic Circle. The site is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9 AM – 5 PM. For more information, please call (845) 446-2134.

The site is part of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, which administers 28 parks, parkways, and historic sites for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in New York as well as the Palisades Interstate Park and parkway in New Jersey.

Fort Montgomery State Historic Site 2011 Special Events Calendar

Saturday, May 7th, 10 AM: Appalachian Trail History Hike

The Appalachian Trail is well known, but its history is not. Starting at the fort’s visitor center, participants will hike to the trail’s newly rerouted section on Bear Mountain, learning about its history, but stopping along the way to take in items of natural interest including indigenous plants, animals, trees, and geology. This is an intermediate/difficult hike, so bring your boots, water, and a snack.

Saturday, May 14th, 10 AM &#8211 4 PM: British Brigade Academy

British regulars, German mercenaries and Loyalist troops will be on site to give visitors a view of the non-rebellious side of the American Revolution.

Saturday, May 21st, 10 AM &#8211 4 PM: 5th New York Regiment Muster Day

Fort Montgomery’s own 5th NY Regiment will be garrisoning the fort and preparing for the campaign season by establishing a camp, conducting military drills and camp life activities, and firing the fort’s three cannons. Be prepared to be immersed in the action!

Saturday, June 4th, 10 AM – 4 PM: Colonial Trades and Skills Day

Trades people will be on hand demonstrating coopering, blacksmithing, broom-making, fishnet-weaving, hornsmithing, quilting, cider-making, Native-American skills and more! Try your own hand at one or more of these trades and help preserve history!

Sunday, June 5th, 9 AM: Birding at the Battlefield

Ever look out your back window and wonder to yourself “What kind of bird is that?” Find out once and for all by joining noted birder David Baker for a beginner bird walk through the ruins of Fort Montgomery. Discover which of our winged friends garrison themselves in the fort year-round and which ones are just on temporary posting.

Saturday, July 2nd, 12 PM: Declaration of Independence Day Cannon Firing Program

In 1776 John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail “The second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epocha in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more.” Join us as we celebrate in true John Adams fashion the actual date that American Independence was declared, by firing the fort’s artillery, including “George”, the 32-pounder cannon.

**Monday, July 4th: Fort Montgomery will be CLOSED for Independence Day**

Saturdays and Sundays in July and August: Musket Demonstrations at Noon and 3 PM, Artillery Demonstration at 1 PM**

**Monday, September 5th, Labor Day: Fort Montgomery will be CLOSED**

Saturday, October 1st, 10 AM – 5 PM: Twin Forts Day

Join us for the annual commemoration of the bloody October 6th 1777 assault on Forts Montgomery & Clinton with military drills, living history demonstrations, cannon firings and reenactment of the battle.

**Monday, October 10th, Columbus Day: Fort Montgomery will be CLOSED **

Saturday, October 29th, 6:30, 7 & 7:30 PM: Lantern Tour of Fort Montgomery

Tour the ruins of Fort Montgomery at night! Hear dramatic tales from the battle and bring yourself back to October 1777. Witness the fort come alive as re-enactors depict various scenes from the fort’s dark, dramatic history. Tours leaving from Fort Montgomery Visitor’s Center at 6:30 PM, 7:00 PM & 7:30 PM. Reservations required. Call 845-446-2134.

Skylar Fein Exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum

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A recent work by Skylar Fein titled Black Lincoln for Dooky Chase will be on view at the Brooklyn Museum through August 2011 as the centerpiece of an installation including related works from the permanent collection. In Fein’s 2010 work he overlays a silhouette portrait of Abraham Lincoln on a panel created to resemble an old wall menu from Dooky Chase, a well-known New Orleans Creole and soul food restaurant.

Painted in acrylic on plaster and wood, Fein’s portrait will be displayed alongside such works as an 1871 marble bas-relief profile of Lincoln, early nineteenth-century cut-paper silhouettes by French artist August Edouart, and Kara Walker’s 2005 Cotton Hoards in Southern Swamp (from Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War).

Skylar Fein, a resident of New Orleans since 2005, believes that Lincoln’s opposition to slavery was shaped by a trip that he took as a teenager to New Orleans, which was then the center of the slave trade. Fein’s use of the silhouette taps into a long visual tradition, examples of which are included in the installation.

The silhouette was popularized in eighteenth-century Europe and soon caught on in the United States. Figures and profile portrait heads were cut from black card and set against a white ground or, in some instances, painted on glass. Evocative of the antebellum period and offering a graphic contrast of black and white the silhouette has inspired explorations of racial issues by contemporary artists such as Fein and Kara Walker.

A native of New York, Skylar Fein (born 1968) was a participant in Prospect.1 New Orleans, the 2008 biennial curated by Dan Cameron. His Remember the Upstair Lounge, a multimedia installation about a disastrous 1973 New Orleans fire at a gay bar that killed thirty-two and injured dozens, received broad critical acclaim. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions, including the 2009 exhibition Skylar Fein: Youth Manifesto at New Orleans Museum of Art, and is represented in public and private collections.

Image: Skylar Fein (American, born 1968). Black Lincoln for Dooky Chase, 2010.

Essex County Historical Programs Announced

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The Wilmington Historical Society (Essex County) has announced its meeting dates and programs for the 2011 season. Regular meetings are held at 7 pm at the Wilmington Community Center. Open discussion on local historical topics are held from 7 pm-8pm prior to the regular business meeting. Refreshments are served and the public is invited to attend. The public is invited to attend. For further information, contact Karen Peters at 518-420-8370. Here is the full calendar of open discussion events:

Wednesday, April 6&#8212- “Wilmington Weather Events”

Wednesday, May 4 &#8212- “Wilmington Wood Products”

Wednesday, June 1&#8212- “Rocks & Minerals Heritage”

Wednesday, July 6&#8212- “Early Wilmington Settlers”

Wednesday, August 3&#8212- “Temperance Movement & Bootlegging”

Wednesday, September 7&#8212- “Wilmington Supervisors”

Wednesday, October 5 &#8212- “Celebrations is Wilmington”

Wednesday, November 2&#8212- “Fires in Wilmington”

This Weeks Top New York History News

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Each Friday morning New York History compiles for our readers the previous week’s top stories about New York’s state and local history. You can find all our weekly news round-ups here.

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