Historical research using old newspapers fascinates but also frustrates me. Had you read the March 5th, 1936 edition of The Cazenovia Republican you would have learned that the historic Gerrit Smith mansion in Peterboro, New York, burned to the ground two days earlier. [Read more…] about The Destruction of Gerrit Smith’s Mansion
Peterboro
‘Cradle of the Breed’: Gerrit Smith Miller & His Kriemhild Holsteins
On August 17th, 1929, the German airship Graf Zeppelin was attempting to encircle the world. Baseball fans were still marveling about how Babe Ruth had reached the 500 mark in home runs the previous Sunday at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio. The Great Bull Market of the 1920s was yet to crash.
None of these matters preoccupied Henry A. Strohmeyer, Jr., animal photographer, as he positioned himself and his camera to capture a picture of the man of the hour. Son of a famed expert in stereoscopic photography who made a career in capturing images of the estates of the wealthy, Strohmeyer had built his own reputation largely by taking pictures of cows and bulls. He was about to photograph Gerrit Smith Miller who at eighty-four was the oldest and most respected Holstein cowman in the country. [Read more…] about ‘Cradle of the Breed’: Gerrit Smith Miller & His Kriemhild Holsteins
Peterboro’s National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum
Members of the Cabinet of Freedom of the National Abolition Hall of Fame (NAHOF) went to the Great New York Fair for several years to introduce the public to a unique museum that occupies the second floor of the Smithfield Community Center in Peterboro, New York.
On one of these occasions, NAHOF occupied a booth in the Center of Progress building. Hundreds of fair-goers went by the NAHOF location. Some who stopped to hear about NAHOF would ask, “Where is Peterboro?” NAHOF hosts explained that Peterboro is a small hamlet in the heart of Madison County. Few who passed by stayed long enough to hear about what the Museum had to offer. NAHOF representatives began wearing t-shirts that carried the words “Where is Peterboro?” on the front and on the back were the words “North of Pleasant Valley, South of Clockville, East of Fenner, West of Salem.” [Read more…] about Peterboro’s National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum
Historic Building Housing Abolition Hall of Fame Marking 200 Years
Built as a Presbyterian Church in 1820, the 200 year-old Smithfield Community Center has also served as a school, and currently as the town municipal building and the home of the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum.
In 1835 the structure was the site of the inaugural meeting of the New York State Antislavery Society. [Read more…] about Historic Building Housing Abolition Hall of Fame Marking 200 Years
Ringing Bells for Equality Day August 26th
The Smithfield Community Association (SCA) in Peterboro, Madison County, NY, is set to ring the bell in the tower of the Smithfield Community Center (SCC) nineteen times on Wednesday, August 26th, to celebrate the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The Nineteenth Amendment stated that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged…on account of sex.” The Peterboro United Methodist Church bell will join the SCC bell ringing. [Read more…] about Ringing Bells for Equality Day August 26th
Peterboro Emancipation Day Events Postponed to 2021
The 2020 Peterboro Emancipation Day planned for August 1st, 2020 has been rescheduled for Saturday, August 7th, 2021 at the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark.
The event will begin at 10 at The Barn on the Gerrit Smith Estate. After the morning assembly, songs, announcements, and the annual group photo, a processional to the Peterboro Cemetery will carry wreaths to lay on the grave of a person who was born enslaved, and died free. [Read more…] about Peterboro Emancipation Day Events Postponed to 2021
Madison Co Prepares for Women’s Suffrage Centennial
The Nineteenth Amendment (the right of citizens of the United State to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation) was passed by the House of Representatives on May 21, 1919 after its initial introduction in 1878. The Senate passed the Amendment on June 4, 1919. The 36th state needed for ratification did so on August 18, 2020, and the amendment was officially ratified on August 26, 2020. In 1973 Congress designated August 26 as Women’s Equality Day. [Read more…] about Madison Co Prepares for Women’s Suffrage Centennial
Peterboro Announces Black History Programs
Peterboro Heritage NY sites have announced Black History programs celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which was ratified February 3, 1870 stating The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. [Read more…] about Peterboro Announces Black History Programs
Watch Night Commemorates Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln presented his first draft of his Emancipation Proclamation to his Cabinet for critique and revision on July 22, 1862. Lincoln’s next submission of his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation was presented again to his Cabinet on September 22, 1862 announcing that in one hundred days the federal government would free all enslaved people in the states rebelling against the Union. [Read more…] about Watch Night Commemorates Emancipation Proclamation
Harriet Tubman A Focus in Peterboro August 3rd
The Tenth Annual Peterboro Emancipation Days have been set for August 3rd, at 9:30 am, at the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark, 5304 Oxbow Road in Peterboro.
Interior and exterior exhibits will be open including information on black freedom seekers who passed through Peterboro on their way to Canada, who stayed in Peterboro for lifetimes, who lived in Peterboro while working in the abolition movement, who served in the Civil War, and who came for an education at the Manual Labor School. There are also exhibits on the Underground Railroad, Gerrit Smith, and Greene Smith. [Read more…] about Harriet Tubman A Focus in Peterboro August 3rd