History at the Old Stone Fort - The Fort and the Schoolhouse

Written By The Mountain Eagle on 10/3/25 | 10/3/25

The Old Stone Fort

This building has become a staple of Schoharie County. It was built as a church in 1772 and was fortified just 5 years later during the American Revolution. It famously kept people safe during the 1780 Johnson Raid when much of the Schoharie Valley was burned to the ground. After the war ended, it went back to being a church and then became an armory owned by New York State from 1857-1873. Eventually the State gave this building to the county to preserve in 1873 and it opened as a museum with collections to the general public in 1889.

The Oliver Schoolhouse

This schoolhouse was built in 1863 between Summit and Charlotteville. It was in use until 1942 but is set up to resemble what it would have looked like between 1890-1914. This schoolhouse was purchased by Dr. Ward Oliver in 1963 who opened it as a museum. In 1984 he and his wife

Dr. Virginia Oliver donated this building to the Schoharie County Historical Society."

Both buildings will be open during our Fall Festival on Saturday, October 4th and are regularly open during the museum season! Special thanks to Clay Edmunds for the information.