Silver Bay YMCA on the shores of Lake George will dedicate a historic marker honoring Benjamin Van Buren, a free black settler who settled 161 acres at what is now known as Van Buren Bay from 1847 to 1879, a small bay just north of Silver Bay.
Van Buren’s shoreline farm at what would later become the larger Brookdale Farm was used as a storage shed until the early 1900s. Van Buren was born in the Troy area in 1800. After his death, several of his children continued worked the farm, known for its plums.
You can read more about Benjamin Van Buren on this webpage created by Charles G. Gosselink.
The historic marker dedication will take place on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, at Silver Bay YMCA’s Morse Hall in Hague, Warren County, NY.
The event will commence with a lecture by longtime Silver Bay member Liz Lastowski titled “Reclaiming Van Buren Bay: The History of Benjamin Van Buren” from 10 am until 10:45 am. The public is invited to attend.
Lastowski, a former part-time Van Buren Bay resident, will delve into the life of Benjamin Van Buren and explore the struggle to retain Van Buren’s legacy in the face of historical erasure, emphasizing the significance of reclaiming his name for the bay that bears it.
Following the lecture, at 11 am, Silver Bay will unveil the historic marker, funded by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, commemorating Benjamin Van Buren’s legacy. The marker will be installed on Silver Bay Road near the original homestead.
Illustrations, from above: A portrait of Benjamin Van Buren (Hague Historical Museum); and a map of the Brookdale (previously Benjamin Van Bureen) farm on Lake George.
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