This program is part of our Winter Speaker Series, and will be presented in-person at SCHS.  Author Dana Cudmore will discuss his new book, “The Cave Electrician’s Widow: The Tragedy at Howe Caverns & Dramatic Courtroom Fight for Justice.” Part mystery, part courtroom drama, part travelogue, this is the untold story of two men’s mysterious underground deaths in 1930 at the famous Howe Caverns in upstate New York and the dramatic courtroom battle that followed.

Location: SUNY Schenectady, Stockade Building, Room 101 At the turn of the 20th century, Elizabeth Gillette made her move toSchenectady. At the time, she was only the second woman to practice medicine in this small American city. Over the course of her long career, Gillette would defy not just the professional but the political boundaries of her gender. This presentation details her many accomplishments and remarkable personality. Presented by Mike Diana of SCHS and sponsored by SUNY Schenectady's Office of Diversity & Inclusion. Free and open to the public.

This virtual program is part of our Winter Speaker Series, and will be presented on Zoom. A Zoom link will be emailed to all current SCHS members before the program. John C. Winters, professor of history at PennState, will discuss his recent book from Oxford University Press, “‘The Amazing Iroquois’ and the Invention of the Empire State." The Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois, are celebrated as a key part of New York's history and identity. In his book, Winters argues that this vision was crafted by a multi-generational Seneca-Iroquois family, who used colonial tools to shape a lasting historical memory. Their work defied stereotypes and colonialism, embedding Iroquois contributions into New York's culture and self-image.

This is an in-person program at Mabee Farm.  As winter cold begins to recede, the ground unfreezes and the sap starts to run. On a New York farm, the first harvest of the year was always maple syrup. In this family-friendly program, you’ll learn the process for yourself from colonial techniques to later innovations. And of course, we’ll be able to taste the results! This is an outdoor event in so be prepared for winter temperatures! Tickets are $5 for members / $10 for non-members. Under 5 is free.  

This virtual program is part of our Winter Speaker Series, and will be presented on Zoom. A Zoom link will be emailed to all current SCHS members before the program. Professor Mark Ferrara, will discuss his new book, “The Raging Erie.” Few of the laborers who toiled along the Erie Canal shared in the prosperity it brought. This new work tells the stories of the ordinary people who lived, worked, and died along the banks of the canal, emphasizing the forgotten role of the poor and working class in this epochal transformation.

It might be cold outside but our hearth is warm! In this program we will open up our 18th century kitchen to recreate the flavors of the colonial past. Using recipes from real Mabee cookbooks, we’ll bake a selection of treats on our open hearth. We’ll also be churning up some delicious ice cream in 18th century style to go with our baked goods. Of course, everyone gets to sample for themselves! Free for SCHS Family+ members (RSVP required), otherwise $10 for everyone 4+. We will offer this program at 10am and 11:30am. Please choose your timeslot when you purchase tickets below.

This program is part of our Winter Speaker Series, and will be presented in-person at Mabee Farm Historic Site. In the early 1750s Scots-Irish families from New England began moving into an unsettled region about halfway between Schenectady and Fort Hunter, into what is today the Town of Princetown. More of these families came, and their combined effort greatly contributed to the cause of American Independence during the Revolutionary War. Scots-Irish Presbyterians hated the British and throughout the Colonies overwhelmingly fought against the Crown. The men of this district were organized into a regiment named “2nd Albany,” a good portion of them living in the settlement of Currybush, a corruption of the original name for the “Corry’s Brook” patent. In this presentation we will gather together and examine the threads of Scots-Irish resistance to British Rule, following some of the men and their families throughout the war, and tracing how this thriving community of revolutionary men and women disappeared from history, leaving only remnants of its existence. Terry McMaster researches immigration and settlement patterns, family connections and border warfare along Colonial New York’s 18th century frontier. He is especially interested in the immigration of Ulster Scots to New England and New York, and their overwhelming support for American Independence. He has presented at Ft. Plain Museum’s American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley Conference, and at the Ulster-American Heritage Symposium at the University of Toronto. Terry’s ancestors helped settle the western frontier in the valleys of the Mohawk and the upper Susquehanna prior to the Revolutionary War, and they were living at Cherry Valley when the settlement was destroyed on 11 November 1778. His ancestor Capt. David McMaster was a member of the Tryon Co. Cmte of Safety, led the 6th company, 3rd Regiment, Tryon Co. Militia, and fought at the battles of Oriskany, Saratoga, Klock’s Field and Johnstown. Terry is an independent historian, an artist, and a psychotherapist in Albany, NY. He serves on the boards of the Van Alstyne Homestead Society and the Cherry Valley Historical Association and Museum.

This virtual program is part of our Winter Speaker Series, and will be presented on Zoom. A link will be emailed to all current SCHS members the morning of the program. Kelly Hopkins, assistant professor at the University of Houston, will discuss her recent publication “‘We Have a Power to go Where We Please:’ Haudenosaunee Communities Confront Imperial Expansion.” By the 1750s, diverse Indigenous communities emerged in the upper Susquehanna River Valley as Haudenosaunee families and others displaced by colonial violence relocated strategically. These villages near key waterways helped control European encroachment, and highlight the vital role Haudenosaunee women played in settlement and land stewardship.

In this workshop, we'll felt an adorable little chicken, using wool from our herd. Choose your hen's coloring, and join us in making a cute gift for friends, family, or even yourself. Our experts will guide you through the process from start to finish, and we'll provide all materials and equipment. This craft is recommended for anyone 12+. It involves using sharp needles which can puncture skin if not used properly. Participants should possess good manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination, and ability to work with focus and care.      

This virtual program is part of our Winter Speaker Series, and will be presented on Zoom. A link will be emailed to all current SCHS members the morning of the program. Professor Daniel Huslebosch will discuss his recent work, “Confiscation in the American Revolution: Taking Property, Making the State.” Daniel Hulsebosch is a legal and constitutional historian whose scholarship ranges from early modern England to the 19th-century United States. His first book "Constituting Empire: New York and the Transformation of Constitutionalism in the Atlantic World, 1664-1830" (2005) examined the intersection of constitutionalism and imperial expansion in the British Empire and the early United States and the emergence of a new legal genre: constitutional law. Another project explores early American lawyers’ engagement with international sources of private law. Hulsebosch directs the Samuel I. Golieb Fellowship Program at NYU School of Law, is a co-editor of the Legal History Series at Oxford University Press, and serves on the editorial board of the American Journal of Legal History. He is also a member (by courtesy) of the NYU Department of History.

In this fiber art workshop, we'll learn how to sculpt with wool through that art of needle felting. Artist Mallory Zondag will teach us how to work with wire to create an armature, how to cover it with wool, how to use the tools to form the wool into some fantastic fungi, and finally how to mix and blend colors to bring your wooly mushroom to life! Cost includes all supplies. About the artist/instructor: Mallory Zondag is a mixed-media fiber artist and artist educator. Her experience with textiles while in art school led her to create both independent and community sculpture through a variety of fiber art mediums. She explores deeply personal and connective universal stories through the meditative and hands-on practices of wet felting, weaving, sculpting, and stitching, seeking to bring the ephemeral into physical being. The growth and decay of the natural world, the duality of discomfort and attraction we feel towards it, and humanity's place within this dichotomy informs her dimensional textures and sculptural pieces. Zondag’s work has been exhibited at The Banana Factory, Bethlehem, PA; The Allentown Art Museum, PA: The International Biennial of Textile Art Scythia, Ukraine; View Arts and Culture Center, Old Forge, NY; Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA; Cornell University, Ithica, NY; Towson University, MD; Ceres Gallery, NYC, NY: and Main Street Studio, Ballston Lake, NY. She has been an Artist-in-Residence at Acadia National Park, The Allentown Art Museum, and The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY.