Clinton County will mark the 250th anniversary of the October 11, 1776 American Revolutionary War Battle of Valcour Island with three days of education, living history, music, ceremony and public commemoration, October 9-11, 2026. [Read more…] about Battle of Valcour Island 250th Anniversary Weekend Oct 9-11
Clinton County Historical Association
Clinton County Historical Association is located on the Old Base in Plattsburgh and is part of the Museum Campus, which also includes the Battle of Plattsburgh Interpretive Center and the War of 1812 Museum.
Glass Making at Redford Crown Glass Works in Clinton County
The Redford Crown Glass Works in Clinton County, NY, was one of the most important of some forty New York State glass concerns operating after 1830.
The company’s articles of incorporation show that the factory was incorporated by “Gurdon Corning, Gershaw Cook, John S. Foster and Charles W. Corning.” [Read more…] about Glass Making at Redford Crown Glass Works in Clinton County
The American Revolution in the Champlain Valley, from A to Z
The Clinton County Historical Association (CCHA) has published an educational book, The American Revolution in the Champlain Valley, from A to Z, to be distributed to all fourth and fifth graders in the Clinton, Essex, Franklin County area, free of charge.
“This special project represents hours of volunteer work,” says CCHA Director Helen Allen Nerska, a regular contributor to the New York Almanack. [Read more…] about The American Revolution in the Champlain Valley, from A to Z
19th Century Lyceums Debated the Issues of the Day
Between 1830 and 1840 Clinton County, NY, had a population of less than 30,000 and Plattsburgh had approximately 1,000 families. Andrew Jackson was President, the area was humming with new businesses, and local men and women were discussing the news of the day in lyceums, public forums which featured lectures and debates.
In Plattsburgh, the local Academy provided semi-monthly Wednesday evening discussions organized by the Plattsburgh Lyceum. Topics were current, most times relevant, sometimes historical, and sometimes just floating an opinion, like: “Is love a stronger passion than hate?” or “Should marriage be enforced after the age of 30?” [Read more…] about 19th Century Lyceums Debated the Issues of the Day
Curtain Calls: The Cliff Haven Stock Company
The Clinton County Historical Association’s portrait collection, of over 17,000 photos taken between 1890 and 1929, is a magnificent gallery of images reminding us of life “back in the day,” putting faces to the many hundreds of people who lived in and visited our area – and some were professional actors from the Cliff Haven Stock Company.
Newspaper reporters enthusiastically reported on the Cliff Haven Stock Company, a theater group presenting popular plays with nationally and internationally known actors. The theater group formed sometime around 1908 and was also referred to as the Cliff Haven Theater Group and the Cliff Haven Dramatic Company. [Read more…] about Curtain Calls: The Cliff Haven Stock Company
Indigenous Slavery Before, During, and After European Contact
An upcoming event with author Robin Caudell at the Clinton County Historical Association places John Brown in the context of the Underground Railroad in the borderlands and examines “the oppression of the oppressed” and the adoption, captivity, and slavery practices of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and Western Abenaki before, during, and after European contact. [Read more…] about Indigenous Slavery Before, During, and After European Contact
Clinton County Commemorating Women’s Equality Day
Women’s Equality Day commemorates the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920 which ensured that no one was barred from voting due to their gender. This meant white women and black women but not Native American women, women who had married non-US citizens and Asian women. That would come later. [Read more…] about Clinton County Commemorating Women’s Equality Day
A Clinton County Wedding Heirlooms Exhibit
The Clinton County Historical Association (CCHA) will host a special opening celebration of “The Honor of Your Presence,” a new bridal exhibit launching on Thursday, July 24 at 5:30 pm at the CCHA Museum, located at 98 Ohio Avenue in Plattsburgh, NY.
This beautifully curated exhibit features over a century of wedding traditions through gowns, accessories, and heirloom items contributed by local families. Each piece tells a unique love story and offers a glimpse into the changing styles and cultural moments that have shaped North Country weddings over time. [Read more…] about A Clinton County Wedding Heirlooms Exhibit
Richard and Janet Montgomery and 1775 Invasion of Canada
Richard Montgomery (1736-1775), son of Irish aristocracy, had become a professional British soldier who served in North America during the French and Indian War.
After that service, in which Richard had proven himself in combat and as a gifted leader of men, he was promoted to Captain. [Read more…] about Richard and Janet Montgomery and 1775 Invasion of Canada
The Clinton County World War I Record, 1917 – 1919
The Clinton County World War I Record, published by the Clinton County Historical Association (CCHA) and compiled by CCHA past president Noel Stewart, is an overview of the roll of Clinton County before, during, and after the First World War.
Topics include war preparedness, the draft, contributions on the home front, records of the Clinton County men and women who served in the armed forces including burial information, and the Clinton County homecoming event on August 5, 1919. [Read more…] about The Clinton County World War I Record, 1917 – 1919
Brother Andre: Faith Healer St André Bessette’s New York Connections
Faith healer André Bessette (1845–1937), who was later known as Brother André or Saint André of Montréal, was a frequent visitor to Plattsburgh, NY, especially after Clinton County residents, many of whom were distant cousins, told people about their cures. His special friends were Andrew Wilson and his wife, Mary Picotte, who lived at 33 Broad Street. Brother André would often take the train down from Montreal or friends would drive him down to spend a few days with them.
While he was in the area, he would visit relatives and people who were ill, and the Wilsons would open their home to people who wanted to see their friend. [Read more…] about Brother Andre: Faith Healer St André Bessette’s New York Connections
French Canadians in NY: The Saint Jean Baptiste Society of Plattsburgh
A small box of old documents at the Clinton County Historical Association Museum (CCHA) recently came to my attention. It contained items about the Saint Jean Baptiste Society (SSJB) affiliated with St. Peter’s Church in Plattsburgh: an early ledger of the SSJB dated July 17,1872, with as many as 80 members on the rolls, member applications from the early 20th century, plans to build a hall for the SSJB, financial records, and a proclamation concerning World War One.
The SSJB was founded in Montreal in 1834 by Ludger Duvernay (1799-1852) with the purpose of retaining the French language and culture in the New World. June 24, 1834, was the first celebration of Saint Jean Baptiste Day in Quebec and is now an established provincial holiday. [Read more…] about French Canadians in NY: The Saint Jean Baptiste Society of Plattsburgh
Clinton County’s 19th Century Potato Starch Industry
In the 1870s, the starch mill owned by Nicholas Bullis in the hamlet of Suckertown on the Little Chazy River was noted for the profusion and cheapness of its starch. Local lore said the young men in the area had their shirt collars starched to an unusual stiffness, and they became known as “Stiff Collars.”
If you wanted to know whether an someone was a resident of Suckertown, you only had to look at their shirt collar, and the question would be answered. [Read more…] about Clinton County’s 19th Century Potato Starch Industry
Benjamin Mooers: Veteran of the Revolution & War of 1812
Once in a while some very special tie to the past happens which reminds us of our debt to the people who settled in our county early on. In July of 2024 the Clinton County Historical Association (CCHA) got a call from Lynn Foerster who said she was coming from California to visit the site of her 5th great grandfather’s long-time home. [Read more…] about Benjamin Mooers: Veteran of the Revolution & War of 1812
Riddles, Records and Revelations in North Country Notes
We are fortunate in Clinton County to have access to hundreds of original documents at the Clinton County Historical Association (CCHA) and at SUNY Plattsburgh’s Special Collections. And we have the Northern New York Library Network historic newspapers. [Read more…] about Riddles, Records and Revelations in North Country Notes
Poetical Remains: The Davidson Sisters
Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving both had literary ties to Plattsburgh in a surprising way – both reviewed the works of two local teenage sisters, Lucretia and Margaret Davidson. [Read more…] about Poetical Remains: The Davidson Sisters
Luella Robinson North: The First Woman Elected Judge in New York
It was 1922. Women in New York State finally obtained the right to vote just five years earlier, and it was only two years since the 19th Amendment passed, assuring women across the nation the right to vote.
There were many other things women still could not do, including serving on a jury (which took until 1937) and there had never been a female attorney in Clinton County. [Read more…] about Luella Robinson North: The First Woman Elected Judge in New York
Women’s Equality Day Event to Detail Proposed New York Equal Rights Amendment
August 26th is the anniversary date of the certification of the 19th Amendment for which women fought to gain the right to vote.
In 1973, the Senate and House of Representatives officially designated August 26th as Women’s Equality Day, and the President issues a proclamation annually in commemoration of that day in 1920. [Read more…] about Women’s Equality Day Event to Detail Proposed New York Equal Rights Amendment
Itinerant Portrait Painter Asahel Lynde Powers’ Legacy
In 1975 Virginia Mason Burdick and Katherine Lochridge prepared an exhibit of 52 portraits by early self-taught itinerant portrait painters in the Champlain Valley.
Using the advice of local historians and hunting down paintings in private homes, it took three years of knocking on the doors of 35 friendly homes and eleven museums, pouring over old newspapers, letters, genealogies and gravestones “to solve the mystery of the artist or the sitter.” [Read more…] about Itinerant Portrait Painter Asahel Lynde Powers’ Legacy
Clinton County History Events: Railroads, Lighthouse Visits, Blueberries & More
The Clinton County Historical Association has announced their summer events schedule. All events, except August 4th, are free and open to the public. [Read more…] about Clinton County History Events: Railroads, Lighthouse Visits, Blueberries & More