Old Stone Fort History Fair this Weekend

The Old Stone Fort Museum’s History Fair is a two-day trip through time, featuring programs and exhibits spanning the centuries from ancient Rome to the 1960s.  Military and civilian re-enactors and living history impersonators will help visitors discover what life was like by interacting with adults and children of all ages.

• For fans of the iconic BBC TV series Doctor Who, a T.A.R.D.I.S. “time machine” will enhance the illusion of time travel by appearing in various historical settings during the event
• Native American educator Mike Tarbell of the Mohawk nation will describe the tools of his ancestors
• J.D. Winslow demonstrates Roman horseback riding of the Circus Maximus
• There will be 18th century toys, games and educational puzzles for children and families to try out
• For the mechanically-minded, pioneer gasoline engines
• Visitors can examine restored cars and military vehicles
• A World War I aeroplane will also be on static display from the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum
• Music by 77th NY Regimental Balladeers, the Esperance Band and Patty & the Migraines
• The Golden Fleece Spinners and Weaverswill demonstrate textile arts
• Local historical society displays
• Traditional food, including colonial chocolate-making demonstrations

The History Fair is:

• Saturday, October 1 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM,
• Sunday, October 2, from Noon to 5. 
• Admission is $10 for adults and anyone 17 and under is admitted free when accompanied by an adult.  On-site parking is also free.  The Old Stone Fort Museum Complex is located at 145 Fort Road, Schoharie, NY 12157, about halfway between Albany and Cooperstown, just off Interstate 88.  There are many other museums, antique shops and farm stands along the way.  For information, contact the museum at (518) 295-7192 or on the internet atwww.theOldStoneFort.org orFacebook.com/oldstonefort.

This Weekend: Old Stone Fort 125th Anniversary History Fair

The Schoharie County Historical Society’s 125^thAnniversary History Fair celebrates history enthusiasts of all time periods and interest areas.  On October 11th and 12, at the Old Stone Fort Museum visitors can interact with historians from Roman times to the 1960s.  Not just living history military re-enactors, but also musicians, textile artists, restorers, authors and collectors covering more than three centuries.  Kids – admitted free – will also enjoy trying out colonial toys and games. 

The highlight of the History Fair weekend is a spectacular outdoor concert, “From Big Bang to Big Band: 125 Years of Music.”  Beginning at 5pm Friday Skip Parsons’ Riverboat Jazz Band will play popular tunes from the early 20^th century.  Then the Schoharie Valley Concert Band will play Tchaikovsky’s “1812" Overture in quite possibly the world’s first performance to feature cannons from three centuries (Revolutionary War, Civil War WWII and Korean War), plus historic bells ringing at the finale.  As if that isn’t enough, the concert continues with big band music for dancing by the Burnt Hills Melody Makers.  This free four-hour concert event is made possible in part with public funds from the Decentralization Program of the New York Council on the Arts, administered through the Community Arts Grants Program by the Greene County Council on the Arts.

Concert-goers are encouraged to arrive early to catch shuttle buses from parking lots and bring lawn seating.  All parking on Saturday is off site in nearby village lots, with continuous shuttle buses running to the Fort.

All weekend long, craftsmen and living historians will talk with visitors demonstrate skills from the past.  J.R. Winslow will demonstrate Roman horseback riding.  The military timeline includes the colonial 3^rd Tryon County Militia, Civil War soldiers, sailors and Zouaves, Irish Fenian Raiders, World War I doughboys, World War II G.I.s, and restored military vehicles and tanks from World War II to Viet Nam. Other presentations include an Iroquois warrior and a colonial doctor.  

The Golden Fleece Spinners and Weavers will demonstrate textile arts and natural dying.  Pioneer engines from the “Gas Up” event will be chugging and puffing as they pump water and press cider.  Barry Keegan will demonstrate the art of knapping flint to make stone tools, and Tinker Cross will discuss “1778, Inside and Out.”  Displays by local historical societies, museums and authors will round out the weekend’s offerings.

On Saturday, Cliff Oliver will speak as Solomon Northup, the nineteenth century author of Twelve Years a Slave(recently made into a movie), and there will be two performances of  “Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier, 1776-1976” a wartime music tribute by the 77^th NY Regimental Balladeers.

Sunday features traditional brass band music by the Chatham Cornet Band performing on antique instruments, and 18^th century popular music by Rural Felicity.

Major underwriters of the Stone Fort History Fair are the New York Council for the Humanities, the Schoharie County Occupancy Tax Board; the Donna M. Lavigne Agency and Fenimore Asset Management.  Other sponsors include the Bank of Richmondville, Ralph and Irmgard Buess, Kintz Plastics, Lavelle & Finn, LLP; Little Italy and Schoharie Valley Wine & Liquor, MDRM Industries, NBT Bank, Price Chopper, Sterling Insurance, and Stewart’s Shops.

See our website or our Facebook page for more details.

Old Stone Fort to Host 'War of 1812' Lecturer

On Thursday,  July 24 at 7:00 PM,  the Schoharie County Historical Society presents the second program in its free Summer Lecture Series at the Old Stone Fort Museum complex.  John Osinski will discuss the role played by Schoharie County is the War of 1812, as part of the Bicentennial observance of that conflict.

War of 1812 is perhaps best remembered for the British attack on Fort McHenry, that inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star Spangled Banner.”  Some may remember that the British burned Washington, D.C. or the victories of the tiny United States Navy over ships of the world-dominating Royal Navy.  But little is generally known of the land battles that occurred along New York’s border with Canada.

John Osinski is one of the founders of the recreated Kellogg’s Artillery, a reenactment group portraying a militia company from Cobleskill that fought in the St. Lawrence/Lake Champlain campaign of 1813.  He will describe this action and other stories of Schoharie County volunteers.  The museum holds several significant artifacts from the War of 1812, including three militia artillery sabers that probably belonged to members of Kellogg’s, a collection of Giles Kellogg’s papers and a drum used by the Schoharie Militia.

The free lecture is open to the public and will be held in the Badgley Museum Annex, just across the street from the Old Stone Fort itself.  The museum is located in the village of Schoharie at 145 Fort Road, off NY State Rt.30, 2.5 miles south of Interstate 88 Exit 23.   The museum is open daily from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and from Noon to 5 on Sundays.  For information, contact the museum at (518) 295-7192 or on the internet at theOldStoneFort.org.

Old Stone Fort Presents, Debates History on Fourth

Decorated with American flags and ribbons, Schoharie's Old Stone Fort hosted dozens of area residents Friday morning into the afternoon as re-enactors presented history buffs, both young and old, with readings of the founding documents that led to American Independence and debates over their actions in 1776 that still effect us to this day. 

Re-Enactors listen to one of many questions
brought forth over the afternoon

With members of the Tyron County Militia and other volunteers dressed in period clothing, the stage was set for light hearted yet serious debate with attendees over a wide array of issues, including the makeup of America as a Democratic-Republic and the status of the arcane Electoral College, which has been challenged in recent years. 

Additionally, the Old Stone Fort welcomed visitors to take a tour of its outside exhibits, including the recently introduced Founders Exhibit that offered residents an in-depth look at the men who founded the Schoharie County Historical Society, and who worked to preserve the museum we have today that once served as a church and encampment. 

Old Stone Fort Set for Independence Day Celebration

Attacked by a myriad of hostile forces during the Revolutionary War - British, Native American, and Tory- Schoharie's Old Stone Fort withstood them all, and today the museum serves as a vessel to modern Americans on the amazing history of America's "Breadbasket of the American Revolution."

This Friday will be no different. 

The Old Stone Fort Museum will be holding its annual Independence Day celebration from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Readings of the Declaration of Independence and other documents of the period will take place at 11:00 and 2:00.

Members of the Tryon County Militia and other re-enactors will engage in "living history,' and visitor interactive debates on the issues of taxation, self government, and armed militias rebelling against the government," according to the Old Stone Fort's events webpage. 

All outdoor activities will be admission free to guests, while regular museum admission rates apply to indoor exhibits. The event is co-produced by the Schoharie County Historical Society and the Burning of the Valleys Military Association. 

Old Stone Fort to Host Founders Day Picnic

The Schoharie County Historical Society is continuing to celebrate its 125th Anniversary with a Founders Day Picnic and outdoor concert scheduled on Wednesday, July 2, from 5:00 until 8:00 p.m. Music will be provided by Patty and the Mygrains performing an eclectic mix of folk, county, jazz, blues, and salsa.

Additionally, the museum's recently introduced Founders Exhibit will be open with guest exhibit curator Peter Lindemann on hand to discuss his own research into the men responsible for making the Old Stone Fort into what it is today.

The general public is invited to attend this fund-raising event with their own picnic food for $7.00 admission, but a special Picnic Dinner Box prepared by Chef Ralph Buess, owner of the George Mann Tory Tavern, is available for $25 per person which includes admission.

For more information on the Old Stone Fort's upcoming Founders Day Picnic, please visit the events page of the museum's website here. 

Old Stone Fort Set for Busy Weekend

Schoharie County's historic Old Stone Fort is set for a busy weekend beginning this Friday, when the museum will introduce its latest exhibit featuring the founders of the Schoharie County Historical Society with a free public reception from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m that evening.

The historical society, which has been in existence for one hundred and twenty five years now, was founded by thirty-seven mostly ordinary citizens in 1889. They included a State Assemblyman from Conesville, a Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors, and a highly regarded educator in Schoharie. 

To learn more about all of these men and their lasting mission, the Founders Exhibit is located in the Badgley Museum Annex, across the street from the Old Stone Fort itself, and will run through the end of October. Additionally, a Founders Day picnic and concert is scheduled for July 2nd.

Furthermore, on Saturday and Sunday the Fort will be hosting an encampment and interactive program on the post-Civil War Fenian Raids, which was a series of attacks by Irish-American militants on Canada in hopes of sparking greater conflict against the British Empire to free Ireland from English rule. 

Living historians will be dressed in period uniforms, and will partake in various activities (drilling, playing music, etc.) to recreate the sense of the little known Fenian Brotherhood at the Old Stone Fort, which will be open 10:00 to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and 12:00 to 5:00 Sunday at normal pricing.

Video: The Old Stone Fort Days are Coming Up!

Old Stone Fort Prepares July 4th Celebration

The Old Stone Fort is preparing its annual Independence Day event for this Thursday. The museum is holding an event that is intended to draw parallels between the Patriots' fight for independence and modern day events. The event will take place between 10 am and 5 pm with documents being read at 11 am and 2pm.

Photo credit: Old Stone Fort Facebook

Editorial: Support The Old Stone Fort

July 1st, 2013
Timothy Knight

With dark clouds looming in the distance, as is the case with most of our late spring/early summer days thus far this year, me and my girlfriend decided to take a nice drive and visit Schoharie's Old Stone Fort as part of Howe Cavern's neighbor-to-neighbor program, where employees can visit other tourist locations in the county for free.

We stepped out of the twenty first century confines of her car and into a pillar of early Schoharie County and American history from the late eighteenth century, when our home was besieged in brutal fighting between Patriots, Loyalists, Indians and German mercenaries during the American Revolution.

 

 And right in the middle of it all was what we call today the Old Stone Fort and two hundred thirty years ago was known as the lower of three forts constructed in Schoharie County to defend settlers from loyalist and Indian raids, and when not in use as a militia outpost, a house of worship for the Dutch Reformed.

 

 As we approached the entrance a kindly gentlemen who volunteers his time when the Fort has no one else to keep shop greeted us and led us through the giant wooden door that stands between the outside world and the county's finest collection of 18th and 19th century war, tool and historical memorabilia.

 

 And immediately I was impressed by a new display showcasing rarely seen memorabilia from the 134th New York Regiment, which was trained and housed at the Fort during the Civil War. Apparently the regiment was routed in their campaigns and few artifacts survived their trials, but a Southern gentlemen rediscovered a collection of what remained in garage stores across Florida and donated them to the Fort.

 

 Completing a one-hundred fifty year journey, I'm sure, for some of the artifacts from date of use until their long delayed return to home.

 

 We didn't traverse to the outer buildings, as the kindly gentlemen already closed them down for the day as storm clouds were fast approaching and the likelihood of more visitors was low, so we talked with him for a while about different tourist locations and about the Fort itself, and in that I found the inspiration for this, and I apologize, long editorial.

 

 Apparently the Old Stone Fort is suffering from a lack of funding and is having a hard time affording even basic help, relying almost entirely on volunteers to staff the museum in their spare time for what few guests are making the journey, which is an absolute shame and something must be done about this within our county.

 

 The history and heritage of the Fort doesn't belong just to the men and women of the late seventeenth and early eighteen centuries who helped build and defend this county, but to all of us. Every Schoharie County resident has a stake in the pride of that Fort that stood strong against the British forces and trained Union soldiers.

 

 We all have a piece of that can do colonial spirit in our bones, and if not for those who came before us, we would not be who we are today. And seeing as such, we need to do our part in preserving our heritage and supporting our Fort.

 

 So with that in mind, if you're looking for something to do Independence Day with the kids, or any other day for that matter, where you will learn about your past and take a fascinating journey in time, head on down to our Fort which proudly stands just off of Route 30 in beautiful Schoharie.

 

 There are always kind individuals keeping the Fort open every day for interested individuals and our history is just waiting to be explored and enjoyed, and with every dime going towards a good cause, why not contribute to the up keeping of Schoharie County's finest historical treasure.

 

 Head on down to the Fort today! History is just a short drive away...