Category: History

Happenings, History

Columbia County Historical Society Candlelight Night at James Vanderpoel House, Dec 9

The Columbia County Historical Society is hosting a Candlelight Night at the James Vanderpoel House on December 9th. The CCHS will be hosting activities all day starting at 2:00pm, see the schedule below:

  • 2-8pm: Museum Shop is open! Come get your books, gifts, and ornaments at, a 20% discount to all CCHS Members.
  • 5-8pm: Apple Cider provided by Samascott’s
  • 5-7pm: Broad Street Trio playing live music
  • 6-7pm: Meet Belsnickel! Learn about this historic Palantine Christmas tradition from the 18th and 19th centuries. Belsnickel will be handing out candy canes!

The entire Kinderhook village will be decorated and festive with local merchants, live animals, spirit tastings, and much more!

20% Discount for CCHS Members in the Shop

DATE/TIME: Friday, December 9, 2022  / 2pm – 8pm

LOCATION: James Vanderpoel House
16 Broad St.,
Kinderhook, NY 12106

MORE:
www.cchsny.org
facebook.com/cchsny
twitter.com/cchs_ny

For more local happenings, news, and events, follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent
on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter

Happenings, History

Clermont’s Legends by Candlelight Ghost Encounters Tour 2022

Clermont’s annual Legends by Candlelight Ghost Encounters Tour returns with two weekends of fun. In this annual event visitors will meet a horde of “ghosts” from Clermont’s past as they tell their stories of glory, loss, success, and failure. Some ghosts may be scary, some may be funny but all the stories they tell are true!

On Friday October 21st and Saturday October 22nd, visitors will be seated on the lawn of Clermont surrounded by the flickering specters of Jack-o’-lanterns; hand carved by the museum’s staff. Visitors for the ghost encounter should bring their own chair or blanket as none will be provided. This program will begin at the Visitor Center.

On Saturday October 29th and Sunday October 30th, visitors will begin their night of spooky entertainment enjoying a bonfire with marshmallows, then be whisked off on a walking tour to meet the ghosts of Clermont. Visitors for the ghost encounter should wear comfortable shoes and be ready for an adventure!

As all events are outside it is suggested everyone dress for the weather.

DATES/TIMES: Fridays and Saturdays, October, 2022 / 6pm, 7pm, 8pm

ADMISSION: $12 (Adults) / $5 (Children, 5 – 12)
Advanced tickets required, no walk-ins will be allowed.
To reserve your tickets or for more information please call (518)537-4240

LOCATION: The Clermont Mansion
87 Clermont Avenue,
Germantown, NY 12526

MORE:
friendsofclermont.org 
facebook.com/friendsofclermont
instagram.com/clermontfriends

 

For more local happenings, news, and events, follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent
on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter

Happenings, History

Hudson Area Library Presents Tales from Hudson’s Crypts: Tour w/ Kelley Drahushuk, Oct 23

The Hudson Area Library presents the fifth anniversary tour of Cedar Park Cemetery, Tales from
Hudson’s Crypts: The Tour on Sunday, October 23.

Kelley Drahushuk’s talk at the library, Raising the Dead: Tales from Hudson’s Crypts, was so
popular that this tour was created and it has become an annual event. Kelley once again acts as tour
guide.

Long-touted as “a virtual treasure trove for historians and enthusiasts of American funerary art”,
the Hudson Cemetery includes over 10,000 grave sites for a wide range of interesting and
notable individuals, including the Proprietors and their ancestors, war heroes, famous artists,
paragons of industry, disaster survivors and much more. Learn about the history of the original
cemetery, more recent history and discoveries as well as its current layout.

Kelley Drahushuk is a long-time resident of Hudson, NY with family history in the city dating
back to the 1800s. She, along with her husband Alan, own The Spotty Dog Books and Ale, now
in its 17 th year of operation on Hudson’s Warren Street in the former CH Evans Hook & Ladder
building. She has served on the board of the Hudson Area Library and continues as a member of
the History Room Committee. She earned a BS from Rochester Institute of Technology in
Industrial Engineering. Two adorable children, a very chill cat, and two bossy guinea pigs keep
her quite busy.

Donations are appreciated but not required and they will support the archiving of the library’s
History Room collection based on the history of Hudson, Greenport and Stockport.

As this is a walking tour, wear appropriate footwear & dress for the weather & conditions. We may encounter uneven ground, semi-steep hills, and mud and will not always be sticking to the paved pathways. Attendees will meet in the cemetery office parking lot promptly at 12pm.

DATE/TIME: Sunday, October 23, 2022 / 12 – 1:30pm
Rain Date: Sunday, October 30 / 12pm

LOCATION: Cedar Park Cemetery
Cemetery Office Parking Lot
20 Columbia Turnpike
Hudson, NY 12534

REGISTRATION: Required and limited to 45 participants
Register by emailing brenda.shufelt@hudsonarealibrary.org

LOCATION: The Greenport Conservation Area
319 Joslen Blvd,
Hudson, NY 12534

MORE:
HudsonAreaLibrary.org
facebook.com/HudsonAreaLibraryNY
instagram.com/hudsonarealibraryny

 

For more local happenings, news, and events, follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent
on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter

Happenings, History

New Lebanon Guided Walk at Ruins of Sassafras Farm, Oct 14

The Town of New Lebanon Recreation Commission and The Ruins at Sassafras have scheduled a third Community Walk for Friday, October 14th.

Spend time in nature on a guided walk, past the Shaker Chair Factory and the foundations of various Shaker buildings. We’ll be traversing beautiful fields experiencing a part of town you might not know. Walk with friends or meet new ones. The walk will be an hour in length, rain or shine and is suitable for most fitness levels.

This walk is over uneven ground, so may not be for everyone. Wear good walking shoes (no flip flops) and bring water. Sunscreen, insect repellent and a hat are recommended.

If there is enough interest, the commission will continue to plan future walks at nearby locations.

DATE/TIME: Friday, October 14, 2022 / 8:30 – 9:30am

LOCATION: The Ruins at Sassafras Farm
194 Darrow Road, New Lebanon
Directions will be given after Registering

REGISTRATION: RSVP to Abbie at nlrecreation03@gmail.com
She can also answer questions you may have about the walks.

MORE:
townofnewlebanon.com
facebook.com/TheRuinsatSassafrasFarm

For more local happenings, news, and events, follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent
on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter

Happenings, History

Austerlitz History Center Salutes “Pop” Sweet w/ New Exhibit

The Austerlitz History Center in Spencertown has a new exhibit on the life and career of George R. “Pop” Sweet, the Famed Fiddler of Fog Hill. The Sweet exhibit will remain on view for the remainder of 2022.

In 1930, from the remote Fog Hill section of Austerlitz, Pop Sweet launched a career as an old-time fiddler and square dance caller that brought him wide renown in Columbia, Dutchess and Berkshire counties. There was hardly a hamlet where Pop Sweet and his Huckleberry Pickers did not play during the 1930s into the 1950s. Granges, fraternal lodges, dance halls, restaurants, taverns, campgrounds and even barns all resonated with the joyful sounds of Pop’s fiddling and calling.

Sweet’s fame extended beyond the local region. He was called by the founder of the National Folk Festival “the best caller in the United States,” a title he earned at the Philadelphia Festival in 1943 when he was selected as the best square dance caller out of a nationwide field of more than 130.

The Austerlitz History Center’s exhibit traces Sweet’s musical career and features a soundtrack that includes recordings of Pop’s fiddling and calling from 1947 that are now housed in the Library of Congress. Explored as well is Sweet’s colorful persona as a genuine backwoods character: a hunter and trapper, pursuer of the “Black Beast of the Berkshires,” and long-time Groundhog Day forecaster.

Accompanying the exhibit is a richly researched book on Sweet’s life written by Tom Moreland, Austerlitz Town Historian. It includes a detailed chronological review of Pop’s square dances, listing more than 300 appearances in more than 150 venues scattered among some 70 localities.

The Austerlitz History Center, 812 Route 203 in Spencertown, will be open on Saturdays from 9-11 am, or at other times as arranged with the Town Historian (tmoreland@austerlitzny.com). The Center’s permanent exhibits cover the history of the Austerlitz area from its settlement in the 1750s to the 21st century.

DATES/TIMES: Saturdays / 9 – 11am for the remainder of 2022

LOCATION: The Austerlitz History Center
812 Route 203
Spencertown, NY 12165

MORE:
https://austerlitzny.com

For more local happenings, news, and events, follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent
on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter