New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Essex County History Society

Adirondack History Museum 2015 Exhibits, Events

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IMG_0310The Adirondack History Museum in Elizabethtown, Essex County, NY (formerly known as the Adirondack History Center Museum), is open for its 2015 season which runs until October 12th.

This Saturday, June 13th, the museum’s new exhibits will open. “Essex County’s Immigrants: Names, Places, and Stories” is this year’s seasonal exhibit. Drawing on the ancestry of present day Essex County residents, the exhibit uses individual stories to explore the broad immigration patterns that changed Essex County in the mid-1800s. [Read more…] about Adirondack History Museum 2015 Exhibits, Events

Auction To Benefit Essex County History

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museumStarting on May 1st and ending on May 10th, the Essex County Historical Society will auction a variety of local items to raise $8,000 to support the Adirondack History Center Museum’s collections, exhibits, education, and outreach programs.

The catalog of items ranges from golf at the Ausable Club, original art and prints from local artists, camp tuition at Camp Pok-O-MacCready, lodging packages, gift certificates to local stores, concert venues, and restaurants, and more. [Read more…] about Auction To Benefit Essex County History

‘ArtoD2’ Robot Featured in Land of Makebelieve Exhibit

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ArtoD2.ADKHISTCTRHow does the much-loved little robot from Star Wars connect with Essex County History? Answer: He is “ArtoD2,” built by Essex County native Arto Monaco, creator of the Land of Makebelieve. Monaco’s work is a featured exhibit running through October 13 at the Adirondack History Center and Essex County Historical Society in Elizabethtown.

Lynda Denton, Monaco’s niece and long-time assistant, says the model was constructed “just for fun” soon after the first Star Wars movie came out.   It was operated with a model airplane remote control and included a tape with sound effects. [Read more…] about ‘ArtoD2’ Robot Featured in Land of Makebelieve Exhibit

Essex County Historical Society Appoints New Director

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indexmap3Ticonderoga resident Diane O’Connor has joined The Essex County Historical Society as director. She replaces Margaret Gibb, who led the organization for more than 14 years and recently joined Lakes to Locks Passage as program director.

O’Connor brings to her new position more than 20 years of experience in non-profit management for diverse organizations, including The National Genealogical Society, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites (now the Civil War Preservation Trust). Most recently, she worked at Fort Ticonderoga. [Read more…] about Essex County Historical Society Appoints New Director

Quadricentennial Photo Exhibit Unveiled

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The Essex County Historical Society in Elizabethtown, recently announced an online commemoration of the 2009 Quadricentennial in Essex County. The Lake Champlain Quadricentennial 1609-1909 site has been designed to highlight photographs by Jack LaDuke acquired by the Essex County Historical Society in 2010. The site celebrates pride of place expressed through LaDuke’s photographs of the 2009 commemorative year, and features photographs and items from the Essex County Historical Society’s own collection from the 1909 Tercentenary and 1959 commemorations. The public is encouraged to contribute their own photographs to compliment items featured on the site.

Jack LaDuke was hired in 2009 to take photographs of the many significant events in the Champlain Valley region of New York State during the Quad year. LaDuke has forty years experience as a photographer, journalist and story-teller reporting on the Adirondacks and the North Country. He works for Mountain Lake PBS in Plattsburgh, New York as a contributing reporter after spending most of his career with WCAX in Burlington, Vermont.

Adirondack Fire Tower Tour and Discussion

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The Adirondack History Center Museum / Essex County Historical Society will present an Adirondack fire tower tour and discussion with David Thomas-Train on Sunday, August 28th.

There had once been 57 fire towers in the Adirondacks (public and private). In the 1970s and 1980s the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) closed more than 40. In 1990, when the DEC closed the last of the Adirondack fire towers – Bald (Rondaxe), Blue, Hadley, and St. Regis mountains – just 26 remained standing. During the 1990s historic preservationists, local community boosters, and other began organizing to save their local fire towers. Although the Whiteface mountain tower was moved to the Adirondack Museum in 1974, the Blue Mountain tower was the first of the abandoned towers to be restored in 1994.



Participants can sign up for any portion of the day: the hike, the Museum fire tower climb, the lecture, or all activities.

9 am— 3 pm: Meet at the Museum on Sunday, August 28th at 9 am for an orientation prior to a climb up Poke-O-Moonshine to explore the fire tower with naturalist David Thomas-Train. Space is limited for the hike and reservations are required. Hikers need to be at least 15 years old and in shape for a sustained, steep hike.

3 pm: Climb the Museum’s fire tower

3:30 pm: An open discussion with naturalist David Thomas-Train about fire towers in the Adirondacks.

The cost is $15 for the entire day; and $5 just for the open discussion. To make your reservations, contact the museum by calling (518) 873-6466 or via email at: echs@adkhistorycenter.org.

Essex Co. Historical Society Wins Archives Award

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The Board of Regents and the New York State Archives have selected the Essex County Historical Society | Adirondack History Center Museum in Elizabethtown to receive the 2008 Annual Archives Award for Program Excellence in a Historical Records Repository. The award will be presented to Essex County Historical Society Director Margaret Gibbs, Assistant Director Jenifer Kuba, and Museum Educator Lindsay Pontius at a luncheon ceremony at the State Education Building in Albany on October 20, 2008.

The award commends Essex County Historical Society for its outstanding archival program that contributes significantly to understanding the region’s history. The award recognizes the historical society for its well organized and managed archives and for its efforts to provide access to the county’s documentary heritage through interesting exhibitions and excellent educational programs for school children.

Previous award winners include Schenectady County Historical Society (2007), Huguenot Historical Society in New Paltz (2006), M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives at the University at Albany (2005), Onondaga Historical Association (2004), Canajoharie Library and Art Gallery (2003), and Hofstra University (2002)