Archaeological excavations are underway at Fort Plain Museum on weekends through August 27, 2023 with the goal of seeking archaeological information to help in the reconstruction of ovens and a bakehouse that are believed to once have stood at the Revolutionary War era fort. [Read more…] about Archaeological Excavations Underway at Revolutionary Fort Plain
Fort Plain
Montgomery County Establishes Commission for America’s 250th Anniversary
As the nation prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, Montgomery County, NY is making its own preparations by establishing a commission to create educational programming, events and messaging to promote the county’s significant connections to the Revolutionary War. [Read more…] about Montgomery County Establishes Commission for America’s 250th Anniversary
The Downstate-Upstate Life of Marinus Willett
This week on The Historians Podcast, New York City correspondent Jim Kaplan discusses the life of Marinus Willett. Willett is well known to Upstate New York historians because of the work he did during the American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley. [Read more…] about The Downstate-Upstate Life of Marinus Willett
Marinus Willet, Tammany Hall & The Treaty of New York
Every year in October the Lower Manhattan Historical Society holds its Saratoga/Yorktown celebration in Trinity Churchyard to celebrate the American victories at the Battles of Saratoga and Yorktown.
At that ceremony wreaths are lain on the graves of Revolutionary War figures associated with those battles — Horatio Gates, Alexander Hamilton and Marinus Willett. [Read more…] about Marinus Willet, Tammany Hall & The Treaty of New York
Mohawk Valley Forts in the Fort Plain Era
This week on The Historians Podcast, archaeologist and historian Wayne Lenig discusses Revolutionary War forts in the Mohawk Valley. Lenig is author of Fort Plain, Fort Plank, Fort Rensselaer: The Revolutionary War Forts of Canajohary (Fort Plain Museum, 2020). [Read more…] about Mohawk Valley Forts in the Fort Plain Era
New Book On Revolutionary War Forts at Canajohary
A great deal of confusion has developed regarding the historical identities of Fort Plain, Fort Plank and Fort Rensselaer.
To help dispel that confusion, the Fort Plain Museum has recently published an important new book, Fort Plain, Fork Plank, Fort Rensselaer: The Revolutionary War Forts of Canajohary by Wayne Lenig. [Read more…] about New Book On Revolutionary War Forts at Canajohary
Small Business Sat, Museum Store Sun in Fort Plain
The Fort Plain Museum is set to participate in Small Business Saturday and Museum Store Sunday, by offering 20% off entire purchases on Saturday, November 30th and Sunday, December 1st.
Free admission to the museum will be included with any purchase. [Read more…] about Small Business Sat, Museum Store Sun in Fort Plain
Marinus Willett, the Battle of Johnstown, and a Hated Loyalist
The Battle of Johnstown and the death of Walter Butler are considered two of the more important events in the final phase of the Revolutionary War in the Mohawk Valley. More than any other events in his life, these events are seen as raising Col. Marinus Willett from to the status of “Hero of the Mohawk Valley.” [Read more…] about Marinus Willett, the Battle of Johnstown, and a Hated Loyalist
Minden, Montgomery Co, History Fair On Saturday
The Town of Minden is set to hold its 5th Annual History Fair on Saturday, September 21st from 10 am to 4 pm, at Haslett Park in downtown Fort Plain. [Read more…] about Minden, Montgomery Co, History Fair On Saturday
Alexander Hamilton’s Birth, Wedding, and Newburgh Conspiracy
The Fort Plain Museum is set to welcome back Hamilton Historian Michael E. Newton on Wednesday, July 17, to discuss three of the most interesting topics from his new book Discovering Hamilton (Eleftheria Publishing, 2019).
Based on newly discovered legal testimonies from St. Croix, Newton presents new evidence and conclusions regarding Alexander Hamilton’s birthdate, places of residence, religion, parents, and more. He will also scrutinize a well-known “fact” regarding Hamilton’s wedding to Elizabeth Schuyler (which took place at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany) and will reexamine Hamilton’s involvement in the Newburgh Conspiracy. [Read more…] about Alexander Hamilton’s Birth, Wedding, and Newburgh Conspiracy
Am Rev Conference Free for Montgomery Co History Teachers, Students
The 2019 American Revolution Mohawk Valley Conference is this weekend, June 7-9, at the Fort Plain Museum, 389 Canal St, Fort Plain. The conference is free for all history teachers and students from and associated with Montgomery County, public and private schools and colleges. [Read more…] about Am Rev Conference Free for Montgomery Co History Teachers, Students
American Way of War: Revolution to World War I
On Thursday, November 15, 2018, the Fort Plain Museum is set to host military historian and author Edward G. Lengel, author of several award winning books on George Washington and the First World War, who will present “The American Way of War from the Revolution to World War I”.
A Revolutionary War and World War I historian, Lengel argues that the idea of a uniquely “American Way of War” dates back to colonial days, and especially to a dramatic, and losing, battle in which George Washington played a major role. The ideas about American versus European tactics and military behavior that this battle generated continues to influence the United States today. [Read more…] about American Way of War: Revolution to World War I
Luxuray: Fort Plain’s Underwear Factory History
This week on The Historians Podcast, Bob Cudmore and Dave Greene discuss a factory building in Fort Plain that was the 20th century home of Luxuray, makers of women’s underwear. They also talk about the Mohawk Carpet Mills in Amsterdam as described in a 1950 mill publication. [Read more…] about Luxuray: Fort Plain’s Underwear Factory History
The Legacy of Fort Plain Inventor William Yerdon
A foundation named for a Fort Plain inventor and his wife, both born in the 19th century, continues to support local charitable organizations. William Yerdon was born in the town of Minden, NY in 1843. He married Sylvina “Vina” Barker in 1881.
Born in Canada, Vina Barker had studied telegraphy and came to Fort Plain in 1876 as a telegraph operator for the New York Central Railroad. She kept her job for about a year after marrying Yerdon, a businessman and Fort Plain postmaster who patented the Yerdon Double Hose Band in 1890. [Read more…] about The Legacy of Fort Plain Inventor William Yerdon
American Revolution Authors At Fort Plain Museum
The Fort Plain Museum will be hosting authors Don Hagist and Todd Andrlik to talk about their recent books about the American Revolution this Thursday, September 18th at 7 pm. Hagist will be speaking about his book British Soldiers: American War which details the lives of British soldiers during the American Revolution. Also scheduled is author Todd Andrlik who will speak on his book Reporting the Revolution. The book is a collection of newspaper articles written and published in the colonial newspapers both here in America and in Great Britain. The articles offer insights on the war in America and how these events were viewed by the common people.
Additionally Hagist will offer a glimpse of a new book he is writing based on an 1864 publication Last Men of the Revolution. Recently the Fort Plain Museum, working in cooperation with the Hagist, uncovered research on a 2nd New Hampshire soldier stationed at Fort Plain. The soldier, Samuel Downing was photographed at the age of 102 with what was then a relatively new technology. Hagist is revisiting the topic and exploring the lives of these early veterans who lived well into the middle of the 19th century. [Read more…] about American Revolution Authors At Fort Plain Museum
Revolutionary War Photographs Linked to Fort Plain
The Fort Plain Museum has announced that researchers have located several early photographs (called a carte de visite or CDV) of two Revolutionary War soldiers who served at Fort Plain.
Private Samuel Downing of Captain John Dennett’s Company, Colonel George Reid Commanding, 2nd New Hampshire Regiment, was stationed at Fort Rensselaer/Fort Plain from February 20, 1782 until September 20th that same year when the regiment was transferred to Johnstown. Downing had his picture taken in 1863 as one of the last surviving veterans of the war for American Independence, a time when the American Civil War was at its height. Downing, who had made Edinburgh, NY his home after the Revolution, passed away there three years later in 1866 at the age of 105. [Read more…] about Revolutionary War Photographs Linked to Fort Plain