Events will be held at the Pittstown Town Offices in Tomhannock
Lectures will be preceded by a brief meeting of the Pittstown Historical Society  Refreshments will be served following each lecture.
Meetings are free and open to the public. 
97 Tomhannock Road, Valley Falls, NY 12185
For further information about the meetings contact:
Connie Kheel (518) 686-7514 or email: pittstownhs@gmail.com

PITTSTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY FALL, 2024

FALL LECTURE SERIES

Please Join Us!!

September 19: Magical Dwellings: Protective Talismans in Rensselaer County Houses

Architectural historian, Walter Wheeler, will present a program on protective rituals and practices found in dwellings and public buildings in Rensselaer County and elsewhere from 1625 to the present. Examples of these practices brought to North America by early European immigrants and enslaved persons to avert evil influences include shoes placed in walls, horseshoes over doors and broken ceramics placed under hearth stones. Wheeler, who has written extensively on NYS architecture, is currently writing a book documenting the vernacular architecture of the Upper Hudson Valley.
The lecture is co-sponsored by the Turpin Bannister Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians.

October 17: Revealed: A Century of Women’s Underwear

Callie Raspuzzi will present a slide lecture on the unseen, unmentionable and essential part of a woman’s wardrobe. From restricting corsets to expanding petticoats, underwear was used to mold the female body into a particular shape on which fashionable clothing could be exhibited. Raspuzzi will detail how underwear was manufactured between 1800 and 1900, reflecting the American clothing industry in general - from home made clothing to using locally produced materials to ready made underwear. Raspuzzi has been the Collections Manager at the Bennington Museum since 2004 and has curated history themed exhibits for the Museum, including topics of underwear, alcohol and maps.

November 21: Northern Turnpike - From a Political, Social and Economic Perspective

The story of the Turnpike Era (1797-1845) and the Northern Turnpike, in particular, is the subject of a talk by Ken Gottry. The Northern Turnpike ran from Lansingburgh to Granville passing through Pittstown. The construction of turnpikes had significant impacts on local communities. Gottry will tell of the issues that arose involving big business, big government, influential lobbyists, voting irregularities, outsourcing, corrupt public officials and much more. Gottry, who lives in Cambridge (and was raised there), has published several books and articles on local history. He also has lectured extensively and maintains a website of historic photos of Cambridge and the vicinity.

Past Events

Spring, 2024

April 18: Sarah Rudd: A Woman, a Wife, and a Mother at Home

(Note: This lecture was scheduled for last fall, but was cancelled due to Covid)
The story of Sarah Rudd’s long life in the 18th and 19th centuries, and a 200-year-old courtroom drama that reveals her history will be the subject of a talk by historian Katie Brownell. Rudd was the widow of Joseph, who was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War. Brownell is a teacher at the Hoosick Falls Central School and active in a variety of projects involving local history such as creating and directing Friends of Bennington Battlefield Junior Historians. She also runs the Living History Summer Institute which focuses on engaging students through experiential place-based learning.

May 16: The World in Your Parlor, the Stereoscope, a Gilded Age “Virtual Reality” Experience

Stuart W. Lehman will give a hands-on presentation on stereoscopes, also known as “Stereopticons”, which were popularized in the 19th Century. This new art of photography changed how people viewed the world. It brought geography and history to life by creating an “Immersive experience.” With its photographic view cards, people could witness in their homes, historic events and records of significant places in local communities. Lehman, who has worked at numerous historic sites, currently develops programs and conducts research related to the NYS Capitol. He also collects historic Stereoviews.

June 20: Selected Images from Pittstown’s Past

Gary G. Viall will present a slide show of highlights from Pittstown’s history. The images were collected from an online site Viall created called “Archiving Schaghticoke.” This site allows everyone to share their stories and memories of Schaghticoke and the vicinity. Viall and his family have lived in Schaghticoke for generations, forming deep roots in the community. Viall envisioned Archiving Schaghticoke as a great platform to spread knowledge of the town and the stories that come with it. As well as showing the images of Pittstown, Viall will explain how to use the Archiving Schaghticoke page to access all the material that is available.

Spring, 2023

May 20th

April 20th

Historian Michael Barrett will give a lecture at 7:30 PM on April 20th at the Pittstown Town Hall titled "Bells, Bells, Bells: An Enduring Legacy from the Greater Troy Area, 1808-1952."
Four of the largest bell manufacturing concerns in the US were clustered in Troy and West Troy (now Watervliet). Between them they created an estimated 100,000 bells, including several of the most famous American-made bells. Pittstown’s Tomhannock bell is one of the latest additions to the international registry maintained by Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway.
Barrett recently retired as Executive Director of the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway and the Burden Iron Works Museum in Troy, NY. He is well known as a lecturer, member of multiple historical organizations, author and leader of historical tours.
The lecture, which is sponsored by the Pittstown Historical Society, is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served following the lecture.
Barrett’s lecture will be preceded by the historical society’s Annual Organizational Meeting which will be held at 6:30 PM.

To coincide with the opening, our Exhibit Committee has assembled an exhibit that relates to the curtain. A brief dedication ceremony will be held at 2:30 PM. The public is welcome, and refreshments will be served.

Autumn, 2021

September 16: The "Brave and Gallant": Black and African-American Military Men at Saratoga

Redcoats, Hessians, and Americans fought in the Battles of Saratoga. Perhaps surprisingly, nearly 400 of those men and boys were black or African American! In an age when the color of one’s skin could legally allow discrimination or enslavement, hundreds of black men and boys volunteered – or were forced to fight – on either side at Saratoga. Historian Eric Schnitzer will tell their extraordinary stories. Schnitzer serves as a Park Ranger at the Saratoga National Historical Park overseeing educational programs on historic themes relating to the Battles of Saratoga.

October 14: Lucy Larcom: A New England Mill Worker in the 19th Century

As a young mill worker, Lucy Larcom began her working life in a New England textile factory in the 1830s. With props and hands-on activities for the audience, Phyllis Chapman, will enact Lucy Larcom, demonstrating the tasks involved in textile production, the impact of mechanization, the structure of a mill, and changes the Industrial Revolution effected upon society. Learn also about the working and living conditions many young farm girls experienced in the early days of America's Industrial Revolution. Children as well as adults will enjoy this interactive program. Chapman has been a museum educator and living history presenter for over 20 years.

November 18: The Real Natty Bumppo

The story of how a long standing dispute about the identity of the real Natty Bumpo will be presented by Joyce Brewer and Corinne Eldred of the Hoosick Township Historical Society. You will learn about the competitive spirit that existed between Hoosick Falls and Cooperstown, NY in claiming Natty as their own. Natty is the protagonist in James Fenimore Cooper’s novels, the Leatherstocking Tales.
Back in 1865 it was reported that the citizens of Hoosick Falls were starting a movement to erect a monument marking the grave of Nathaniel Shipman, who locals believed to be the original “Natty Bumppo” buried there in 1809. The century long, unresolved dispute has most recently been addressed by the town of Hoosick, giving Mr. Shipman his rightful place in history.

Fall, 2019

September 19: Mysteries of the Mabee Farm

The mysteries of the Mabee Farm (the oldest farm in the Mohawk Valley) will be revealed by Mike Diana, Education and Programs Manager at the Schenectady County Historical Society. The farm, located in Rotterdam Junction, dates to 1705. From the weathered pine floors in the home of settlers Jan and Annetje, to the hand-pegged Dutch Barn, to the site’s elusive 1600s fur trading post, Diana seeks answers to the mysteries that lie buried beneath Mabee Farm’s soil. Archaeology, research, and deduction will be cited when reviewing clues to the Mabee farm’s past. Diana, who has been studying the history of the Mohawk Valley for years, has written the script for the award-winning reinterpretation of the Mabee Farm Historic Site.

October 17: 200 Years Since the First Rensselaer County Fair

Learn about the history of the Rensselaer County Fair, now known as the Schaghticoke Fair. Celebrating the fair’s 200th anniversary, historians Kathy Sheehan and Chris Kelly will relay the many chapters of the fair’s history, starting in 1819 with the formation of the Rensselaer County Agricultural Society. The Society’s mission became the fair’s mission, which was to allow farmers to show off the results of their hard work and provide education on new and improved farming practices. Sheehan and Kelly ask those attending to share their memories and photos of their best fair experience. Kelly is the Town of Schaghticoke Historian and Sheehan is the Rensselaer County and Troy City Historian and Registrar of the Rensselaer County Historical Society.

November 21: Enterprising Waters: New York’s Erie Canal

Brad Utter, Curator of the New York State's Museum's new exhibit "Enterprising Waters: New York's Erie Canal", will give an overview of the exhibit and highlight some of the stories and special artifacts featured in the exhibit. The Erie Canal directed the course of New York and American history. When it opened in 1825, this “boldest and biggest American engineering project of its century” unlocked the Western interior for trade and settlement. One of the largest public works projects in American history, the Erie Canal inspired a nation-wide transportation revolution. Utter will detail the Canal’s history with unique objects, documents and images. Utter has been the Senior Historian/Curator of Science and Technology History at the New York State Museum since 2014.

Spring, 2019

March 21: Eastfield Village

Eastfield Village is one of Rensselaer County's hidden gems – an extraordinary group of antique buildings in East Nassau that recreates an early American Village. Historian Peter Schaaphok will tell the story of Eastfield Village and how Don Carpentier, its founder, collected and rebuilt over 20 late 18th to early 19th century buildings which were moved from locations throughout the Northeast. Schaaphok has served for many years as Petersburgh town historian as well as town councilman and supervisor. He is currently the president of Friends of the Historic Eastfield Foundation and owner of a manufacturing business in Hoosick.

April 18: From Plank Roads to Horse Boat Ferries: Traveling through Rensselaer County in the 19th century

Learn of the many ways people traveled throughout Rensselaer County in the early 19th century. Historian Kathy Sheehan will present an illustrated lecture featuring maps, letters and photographs from the Rensselaer County Historical Society archives. Sheehan will explore the early turnpikes, plank roads, covered bridges and the stories of crossing the Hudson River, our main highway to the outside world. Sheehan is the Rensselaer County and Troy City Historian and Registrar of the Rensselaer County Historical Society.

May 16: The Anti-Rent War: 1839 to 1869

The Anti-Rent War (1839 – 1869) will be the subject of a lecture by historian Michael Barrett. He will talk about the turbulent pre-Civil War period in which armed resistance, terror, imprisonment and strife swept across 16 counties of upstate NY. The Anti-Rent movement protested the leasehold property that the landed aristocracy refused to relinquish. Barrett, who is presently serving as the Executive Director of the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway and the Burden Iron Works Museum in Troy, has lectured extensively and is a member of numerous local historical societies.

June 20: Expert in Historic Dress to Review a Pittstown/Hoosick Family’s Vintage Clothing Collection

A collection of men and women’s clothing and accessories dating from the late 1800s to the early 1900s will be the topic of conversation. Clothing and textile expert Connie Frisbee Houde will examine and comment on over two dozen pieces from the collection. The entire collection was assembled and preserved by descendants of the Baker and Cottrell families. Houde, long-time Curator of Clothing and Textiles at the New York State NYS Museum, has looked extensively at textile and clothing collections across NYS, assisting organizations with the care and identification of their clothing and textile collections.