During the 19th century, four major fires burned significant portions of Schenectady, changing the face of the City forever. Join City Historian Chris Leonard as he explores the causes of the 1803, 1819, and 1861 fires and the physical changes they wrought on the city. Leonard will also cover the largely forgotten rash of arson that took place from 1883-1886. Additionally, the talk will commemorate the 333rd anniversary of the burning of Schenectady in 1690, which occurs later in the week. Chris Leonard has served as the City Historian of Schenectady since 2018. He is also an SCHS Trustee, the Historian of the GE Plot, and a trustee of Historic Vale Cemetery. This is an in-person program hosted at SCHS, 32 Washington Ave. Light refreshments and coffee will be served. Admission is free for members, otherwise $8 the day of the program. No advanced tickets.  

The Underground Railroad, often remembered as being characterized by tunnels, dark of night escapes, coded language, and hidey-holes, was far more extensive and complex than these ideas have led us to believe. In the midst of significant pro-slavery sentiment, New York State was home to many abolitionists working to abolish the institution of enslavement in our state and nation and it was visited by many who had escaped enslavement and sought a life of freedom. Join with Paul and Mary Liz Stewart, independent researchers and co-founders of Underground Railroad Education Center as they share a new interpretation of a very old story and explain the various initiatives in which Underground Railroad Education Center is engaged as it works to connect the public with this empowering local history and its relevance for us today. Cosponsors of this important event include Messiah Lutheran Church, Trinity Community Center, Schenectady County Human Rights Commission, and the Schenectady County Historical Society.

This is a virtual program, presented on Zoom. A Zoom link will be sent to SCHS members before the presentation.  Join us for a virtual presentation by Ian Macpherson McCullock, discussing his new book, "John Bradstreet's Raid, 1758: A Riverine Operation of the French and Indian War." In this first comprehensive analysis of Bradstreet’s raid, Ian Macpherson McCulloch uses never-before-seen materials and a new interpretive approach to dispel many of the myths that have grown up around the operation. The result is a closely observed, deeply researched revisionist microhistory—the first unvarnished, balanced account of a critical moment in early American military history. McCulloch will provide the most detailed, thoroughgoing view of Bradstreet’s raid ever produced. Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Macpherson McCulloch is a native of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Educated in Scotland and Switzerland, he holds an honors degree in Journalism (1977) from Carleton University and Masters degrees in War Studies (1996) and Defence Studies (2010), both from the Royal Military College of Canada. A former Canadian Army officer, he served in a variety of regimental and staff appointments in Canada, Germany and the USA which included command of Canada’ famous Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada (1993-96) and first Deputy Director of History & Heritage for the Canadian Forces. He retired as Director of the Centre for National Security Studies at the Canadian Forces Staff College in Fall 2014 and moved to Kingston, Ontario to write this book. A military historian and author specializing in the Seven Years War in North America, McCulloch has published numerous books and articles on that subject in various international journals and magazines. He has authored two books for Osprey Publishing (UK) in their WARRIOR series: British Light Infantryman of the Seven Years War, 1756-1763, North America, (Oxford, 2004) and Highlander in the French & Indian War (Oxford, 2008) and has authored four books for Robin Brass studios (Toronto/Montreal), Canada’s foremost military history press and Purple Mountain Press (NY, USA).

With Valentine's day around the corner, this program will explore the ways in which Schanactadians past courted their sweethearts.  Over a glass of wine (or hot chocolate), we’ll delve into our archives of historic love letters to tease out the passion penned on the pages. So inspired, guests will be invited to hand craft a valentine of their own. Bring a date -- we’ll have plenty of hot chocolate and wine on hand to celebrate the season in proper fashion!

Welcome the first signs of spring with a beautiful, custom deco mesh wreath! Tavia Hoover, proprietor of Tavia's Wreath Boutique, will lead us in creating a wreath perfect for celebrating the arrival of spring's earliest flowers! The class will teach from start to finish how to create a deco mesh wreath, including completing the wreath frame, cutting and attaching mesh, and installing your custom signs and embellishments, including your bow. Price includes materials fee.

This is a virtual program, presented on Zoom. A Zoom link will be sent to SCHS members before the presentation.  Join us for a virtual presentation by Dartmouth Professor Colin Calloway discussing his new book, "The Chiefs Now in This City: Indians and the Urban Frontier in Early America." Indian people spent a lot of time in early American cities, primarily on diplomatic or trade business, but also from curiosity and adventurousness. Colin Calloway, National Book Award finalist and one of the foremost chroniclers of Native American history, has gathered together the accounts of these visits and from them created a new narrative of the country's formative years, redefining what has been understood as the "frontier."Calloway's will discuss what Native peoples observed as they walked the streets, sat in pews, attended plays, drank in taverns, and slept in hotels and lodging houses. In the Eastern cities they experienced an urban frontier, one in which the Indigenous world met the Atlantic world. Calloway will reveal not just what Indians saw but how they were seen. Crowds gathered to see them, sometimes to gawk; people attended the theatre to watch “the Chiefs now in this city” watch a play. Their experience enriches and redefines standard narratives of contact between the First Americans and inhabitants of the American Republic, reminding us that Indian people dealt with non-Indians in multiple ways and in multiple places. The story of the country's beginnings was not only one of violent confrontation and betrayal, but one in which the nation's identity was being forged by interaction between and among cultures and traditions. Colin G. Calloway is John Kimball Jr. 1943 Professor of History and Native American Studies at Dartmouth College. He is the author of several books, most recently The Indian World of George Washington (OUP 2018), which was a National Book Award Finalist, and which won the Excellence in American History Book Award from the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the George Washington Book Prize.

Not everyone at the Mabee Farm was free to live and pass down their stories for posterity. The Farm was also home to generations of enslaved people like Sam, Bate, and Cato, whose voices have been lost to history. In this tour, we try to see the Mabee Farm as they would have known it, and to understand the painful, dehumanizing experiences of hundreds of other enslaved people in Schenectady’s history. This program is offered as part of Black History Month. Members are free. Just let us know you're coming below. Not a member? Admission is $10.  

At the turn of the 19th century, hundreds of enslaved people in Schenectady became free. In the following decades they built a community separate and unequal from their white neighbors. In this program we’ll screen SCHS' 2022 documentary, "A History Erased," which is based on extensive research utilizing 19th century censuses and records. The filmmaker (and our Historian and Educator), Mike Diana will then lead a discussion about how this community, and how/why it ultimately disappeared from our city. This program is offered as part of SCHS' Black History Month celebration.   This is an in-person program hosted at 32 Washington Ave.  Admission is free for members, otherwise $8 the day of the program. No advanced tickets.

The Full Snow Moon of March is a moment when the light begins to shift towards spring, even as we are deep in bitter winter's deep snows and scarce game. Celebrate the Snow Moon with a short illuminated walk in the woods of the Woestyne. Afterwards, we’ll make a fire in the Inn’s historic fireplace, and docents will share colorful stories and tall tales from our local area. Warm drinks will be served to fight off the night’s chill. Admission is $10 for people 12+, and free for members of SCHS and ADK-Schenectady.

It’s the second meeting of the “Schenectady Wine Society” a collection of curated wine tastings by and for local wine lovers at our historic sites. This time, we’ll be sampling wines that are perfect for the warming days and cool nights of spring. Join your hosts, Buffy Leonard and city historian Chris Leonard on a tasting and history tour of their favorite wines for the season. $30; pre-registration required. Must be 21+ with valid ID. All ticket sales are final.