The Park Theater in Glens Falls, in partnership with the Chapman Museum, is set to presents “The Marriage Circle” featuring live musical score by Ben Model, via YouTube livestream on September 10th. [Read more…] about Virtual Silent Film ‘The Marriage Circle’ With Live Musical Score
Chapman Museum
Upstate New York Historic Signs Talk in Glens Falls
The Chapman Museum is set to present a talk on historic signs by curator Jillian Mulder on Sunday, January 20th at 2 pm.
Expanding upon Mulder’s 2018 “Secret Life of Signs” exhibition, this illustrated talk will provide a visual tour of unique and historic signage within the greater upstate region. [Read more…] about Upstate New York Historic Signs Talk in Glens Falls
Glens Falls Lecture: Champion Bicycle Rider Harry Elkes
On Thursday, November 6 at 7 pm, John Strough will speak at the Chapman Museum in Glens Falls NY, about the short but fascinating career of local bicycle racer, Harry Elkes, who achieved great fame but died tragically at a young age. The program is free and open to the public.
Born in Port Henry on Lake Champlain, Harry started racing on 10 and 25 mile dirt courses when he was eighteen. By 1898 he was winning races and setting records. For two years he raced with great success in Europe, before returning to the United States to tackle distance events and the one mile record. [Read more…] about Glens Falls Lecture: Champion Bicycle Rider Harry Elkes
New Chapman Museum Exhibit, Portrait Stories, Opens
Who was Bridget? The idea behind Portrait Stories started when staff at Chapman Museum in Glens Falls, NY were doing research for the summer 2014 exhibit, At the Lake. Their curiosity was piqued by a photo of the Ranger family, in which every individual pictured was identified by name. Interestingly, for one woman, only her first name, Bridget, was provided.
Additional research turned up nothing about Bridget. One can assume from her name that she was Irish, and from her clothing that she was a maid. As a servant for the Ranger family, that summer she would have prepared and served meals, cleaned the cottage and cared for the young children. But then her story ends. Perhaps she married or moved on to another location; we simply do not know. [Read more…] about New Chapman Museum Exhibit, Portrait Stories, Opens
Chapman Exhibit Focuses On Lake George History
The Chapman Historical Museum’s new exhibit, At the Lake, which runs through August 31, presents different perspectives on what it has meant to be at Lake George over the past 150 years. Included in the exhibit are the stories of groups that camped on the lake’s many islands, families that built grand homes on the lake, and others who constructed more modest camps.
To diversify the story the exhibit also includes the experiences of people who lived on the lake and worked there each summer as waitresses, cooks, laundry workers, guides and boatmen. [Read more…] about Chapman Exhibit Focuses On Lake George History
Exhibit of Glens Falls Winter Scenes Opens
The Chapman Historical Museum has opened a new exhibit of fourteen S.R. Stoddard original albumen photos featuring local winter scenes.
Included are views of snow-covered streets in Glens Falls as well as two stereo views of Lake George. Titled “Frost Work,” a term used by Stoddard, the small exhibit features images of the 1870s — a time when winter transportation consisted of sleds and sleighs. Even the horse drawn trolley ran on runners. [Read more…] about Exhibit of Glens Falls Winter Scenes Opens
Warren County Exhibit, Lectures at Chapman Museum
To celebrate Warren County’s Bicentennial the Chapman Museum in Glens Falls is partnering with the Warren County Clerk’s Records Center to feature an exhibit of rare manuscripts, maps and legal documents, many of which date back to the early days of the county.
Parchments, Papers & Prints: 200 Years of History from the Warren County Archives will be on display at the museum, located at 348 Glen Street, Glens Falls, NY through September 1. [Read more…] about Warren County Exhibit, Lectures at Chapman Museum
Glens Falls Talk On Changing Perceptions Suburbs
The Chapman Historical Museum in Glens Falls, NY will host a talk on changing perceptions of the suburbs on Thursday, November 1, 2012, at 7 pm.
From Leave It to Beaver to Desperate Housewives, viewers have been presented with visions of suburbia that are simultaneously pastoral and gothic, nostalgic and repressive. Using still photos and video, Professor Keith Wilhite, Assistant Professor of English, Siena College, will show how popular culture constructs specific images of suburbia, as well as how those images change along with postwar suburban development. [Read more…] about Glens Falls Talk On Changing Perceptions Suburbs
New Exhibit: Queensbury Development After WWII
As part of Queensbury’s 250th anniversary celebration, the Chapman Museum has opened a new exhibit, Queensbury’s Boom: from Country to Suburb. The exhibit explores the post World War Two development of Queensbury from a rural township to a bustling community. [Read more…] about New Exhibit: Queensbury Development After WWII
Stoddard’s Natural Views Exhibit Opeing May 4th
Long considered beautiful photographs of the Adirondack landscape, Seneca Ray Stoddard’s views also serve as documents of the plants that inhabited the region in the 19th century. Since he was rediscovered in the late 1970s, Stoddard’s work has been featured in numerous exhibits that explored the history of 19th century life in the Adirondacks. A survey of the 3,000 images in the Chapman Historical Museum archives, however, revealed hundreds of images that are purely natural landscapes. The subject matter is the Adirondack environment – not great hotels, steamers, camp scenes or other obvious evidence of human activity.
The Chapman’s summer exhibit, S.R. Stoddard’s Natural Views, features forty enlarged photographs of varied Adirondack settings – lake shores, marshes, meadows, riverbanks and mountainsides. Included are such locations as Surprise Falls on Gill Brook, Indian Pass, Lake Sanford, Ausable Chasm, Wolf Pond and Paradise Bay on Lake George. The exhibit examines these photographs as documents of the history of ecological habitats, providing an opportunity to consider the issue of environmental change – an issue as relevant in Stoddard’s time as it is today.
To address this issue the museum consulted with Paul Smith’s College biologist, Daun Reuter, and Don Leopold of SUNY-ESF, who identified botanical species in Stoddard’s photographs. Plants that they discovered in Stoddard’s photographs — from small flowers to shrubs and trees – are highlighted in modern color images supplied by Ms. Reuter and others and in digital reproductions of period specimens from the herbarium at the New York State Museum. These show details of the plants in their various stages – details rarely visible in Stoddard’s photographs many of which were taken late in the year after the plants had lost their flowers and started to wither.
By bringing attention to this group of Stoddard photographs, the exhibit will give visitors the opportunity to discover and reflect on the changing environment – a topic of urgent concern in the region. Through their experience visitors will gain greater appreciation for not only Stoddard’s photographic vision but also the natural world of the Adirondacks. The exhibit is funded by grants from the Leo Cox Beach Philanthropic Foundation and the Waldo T. Ross & Ruth S. Ross Charitable Trust Foundation and sponsored by Glen Street Associates and Cooper’s Cave Ale Co.
For those who wish to learn more, the Chapman Historical Museum has scheduled a series of programs (detailed below) to be held at both the museum at and other sites. The museum is located at 348 Glen Street, Glens Falls, NY. For more information call (518) 793-2826 or go to www.chapmanmuseum.org.
RELATED PROGRAMS
Wednesday, May 30, 7 pm
Talk: “UNWANTED: Invasive species of the Adirondacks”
Speaker: Hilary Smith, Director, Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program
At the Chapman. Free.
Saturday, June 9, 8:30 -11:30 am
Bird Walk in Pack Forest, Warrensburg
Guide: Brian McAllister, Adirondack Birding Center
Bird watch along the nature trail to the old growth forest. Bring binoculars, field guide, water, snack, bug repellant, hiking shoes, and appropriate dress. For birders of all levels. Call (518) 793-2826 for directions.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 7 pm
Talk: “Go Native! An Introduction to Gardening with Native Plants”
Speaker: Emily DeBolt, Fiddlehead Creek Farm & Native Plant Nursery
At the Chapman. Free.
Thursday July 12, 9:30-11:30 am.
A plant paddle at Dunham’s Bay.
Guide: Emily DeBolt, Lake George Association.
Part of the 7th annual Adk Park Invasive Species Awareness Week Bring your own canoe or kayak. Meet at Dunham’s Bay Marina For reservations call the LGA at (518) 668-3558
Saturday, August 4, 1 – 3 pm
Guided Bog Walk of Native Adirondack Plants
Guide: Daun Reuter, Dept Biology, Paul Smith’s College
At Paul Smith’s Visitor Interpretive Center. Reservations: $20. Call the VIC at (518)327-6241
Saturday, August 18, 8 am
Guided alpine plant hike up Wright Peak
Guide: Sean Robinson, Dept Biology, SUNY Oneonta
Meet at ADK LOJ parking lot. Parking $. Info & Reservations: Call the museum at (518) 793-2826
Photos: Above, Silver Cascade, Elizabethtown by S.R. Stoddard, ca. 1890.