Tompkins County Historian (and occasional contributor to the New York Almanack) Carol Kammen has been awarded the 2020 Lehman Prize for Distinguished Service in New York History.
She is being recognized for her career writing, promoting, and contributing to local community history.
Kammen has served as county historian since 2000. The award is given annually as a part of the New York Academy of History’s mission to promote and honor outstanding and life-long contributions to New York history, and is named for former New York State Governor Herbert H. Lehman.
Kammen has spent her career raising the profile of what it means to be a county historian, including the publication of numerous books and pamphlets, promotion of relevant commemorations, and lecturing across the country on the opportunities and problems of local history.
Her most recent publication, Achieving Beulah Land: the long fight for suffrage in Tompkins County (2018), written with Elaine Engst, uncovers Tompkins County’s role in supporting women’s suffrage in the late 19th century through the 1917 New York State constitutional amendment granting women’s suffrage. Kammen’s books are frequently used in classrooms throughout the U.S. as a lens on studying local history.
The New York Academy of History is a not-for-profit organization consisting of people who have distinguished themselves in the practice of New York history. It aims to encourage its study, advocate for its strength, and represent the interests of those who work in classrooms, archives, historical societies, libraries, and other venues.
Kammen was selected for the prize by a jury of her peers and will be recognized in a (rescheduled) gala to be held by the Academy.
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