Mingle with history enthusiasts while enjoying a selection of local beer, 18th century punch (with or without alcohol), and hors d’ oeuvres at a History Happy Hour at Albany’s Schuyler Mansion. [Read more…] about History Happy Hour: Revisit the Revolution at Schuyler Mansion
Schuyler Mansion
1960s & 1970s Historical Artifact Thefts
It was 1964, ten years after replica Fort William Henry Museum first opened its doors to tourists. It was also one of the years of the centennial anniversary of the American Civil War (1861–1865).
So, Fort William Henry, a museum that interprets the history of the French & Indian War (1755–1763), decided to also have an exhibit about our nation’s bloodiest conflict. [Read more…] about 1960s & 1970s Historical Artifact Thefts
Pinkster Celebration Set for Schuyler Mansion May 23rd
Once considered a colonial Dutch holiday, Pinkster quickly became an African celebration of family, community, and cultural identity.
Albany’s Pinkster was shaped and developed during the 1600s and 1700s by people taken from West and Central Africa, and their descendants. [Read more…] about Pinkster Celebration Set for Schuyler Mansion May 23rd
Benjamin Franklin’s Travels Through Upstate New York in 1776
A 70-year-old Benjamin Franklin passed through upstate New York in the spring of 1776 on a mission to Canada that failed in the moment but helped shape the American Revolution.
Traveling north in poor health, Franklin traveled up the Hudson River, passing through Albany, Saratoga, and up Lake Champlain, reaching Montreal in April 1776. [Read more…] about Benjamin Franklin’s Travels Through Upstate New York in 1776
Lady Johnson, Angelica Schuyler, and the Politics of Revolutionary Loyalty
In the spring of 1776, a dramatic arrest and an uneasy imprisonment placed two prominent women, Lady Mary Watts Johnson and Angelica Schuyler, on opposite sides of the conflict and at the heart of a growing political storm.
On Saturday, March 28, 2026, at 2 pm, Johnson Hall and Schuyler Mansion State Historic Sites will offer a presentation on these Revolutionary Era women at the New York State Museum’s Huxley Theater. This event is free and open to the public. No registration required. [Read more…] about Lady Johnson, Angelica Schuyler, and the Politics of Revolutionary Loyalty
Behind The Scenes: American Revolution & WMHT Film Production
When I decided to attend Skidmore College in April 2021, I had no idea that I was about to step into one of the deepest historical ravines in the country.
Saratoga County and its surroundings witnessed history from the birth of the Iroquois Confederacy, to the tumultuous Battles of Saratoga, which helped secure American Independence. In some ways, New York’s Capital Region is the Cradle of the Nation. [Read more…] about Behind The Scenes: American Revolution & WMHT Film Production
Angelica Schuyler Church: A Woman at the Center of Revolution
Angelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution (W. W. Norton & Company, 2025) by Molly Beer is a women-centric view of revolution through the life of Angelica Schuyler Church (1756-1814), the eldest daughter of General Philip Schuyler and Catherine Van Rensselaer.
The Van Rensselaers of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck were one of the wealthiest and most politically influential families in what was then the still heavily Dutch-influenced Province of New York. [Read more…] about Angelica Schuyler Church: A Woman at the Center of Revolution
Baron Dieskau: A New Epitaph
Most books written about the French and Indian War and the Battle of Lake George close with a wounded and defeated General Jean-Armand de Dieskau and a few sentences in a closing paragraph or footnote to wrap up the general’s movements from North America to Europe and his death in 1767.
Dieskau has been forgotten by history, just as he was forgotten and abandoned during the Seven Years War/French and Indian War. [Read more…] about Baron Dieskau: A New Epitaph
Knox Artillery Train Cannon Relay Set for December
More than 75 people gathered Sunday at Prospect Hill Cemetery in the Village of Victory, Saratoga County, — just steps from the site of British Gen. John Burgoyne’s 1777 surrender—to commemorate four Revolutionary War anniversaries and rededicate a cornerstone of American memory.
The event, hosted by Saratoga 250, featured the dedication of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts Knox Artillery Cannon, the 248th anniversary of the Battles of Saratoga, the 250th anniversary of Gen. Henry Knox’s Noble Train of Artillery, and the 148th anniversary of the Freemasons’ cornerstone-laying of the Saratoga Monument. [Read more…] about Knox Artillery Train Cannon Relay Set for December
Philip Schuyler & The Continental Army’s Northern Department
Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site will offer a panel discussion at the New York State Museum to commemorate the forming of the Continental Army and Philip Schuyler’s appointment as Major General of the Northern Department.
Born in Albany, Province of New York, into the prosperous Schuyler family, Schuyler fought in the French and Indian War. He won election to the New York General Assembly in 1768 and to the Continental Congress in 1775. [Read more…] about Philip Schuyler & The Continental Army’s Northern Department
2025 Season Opening Day at Schuyler Mansion is May 14th
On Wednesday, May 14, 2025, Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site in Albany will open for the 2025 season. In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, tours this year will end with a new exhibit, “Treachery, Treason, & Tariffs: 1775, the Revolution Begins.” [Read more…] about 2025 Season Opening Day at Schuyler Mansion is May 14th
New Interactive Video Displays Interpret NYS Revolutionary History
The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has announced that the first of 20 planned interactive video displays highlighting New York’s history in the American Revolution is installed at Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site in the Hudson Valley. [Read more…] about New Interactive Video Displays Interpret NYS Revolutionary History
Pinkster: How A Dutch Holiday Became an African-American Cultural Celebration
In settlements along the Hudson River Valley and in Albany on the hill where the New York State Capitol sits today, enslaved and free African descendants once gathered with family and friends to celebrate Pinkster. [Read more…] about Pinkster: How A Dutch Holiday Became an African-American Cultural Celebration
Museum Association of New York’s 2024 Awards of Distinction
Museums, museum professionals, industry partners, and legislative leaders will be recognized for their exceptional achievements at the Museum Association of New York‘s 2024 annual conference “Giving Voice to Value” in Albany from April 6 to 9, 2024. [Read more…] about Museum Association of New York’s 2024 Awards of Distinction
Museum Association of New York Announces 2024 Awards of Distinction
Museums, museum professionals, industry partners, and legislative leaders will be recognized for their exceptional achievements at the Museum Association of New York’s 2024 annual conference “Giving Voice to Value” in Albany, New York this April. [Read more…] about Museum Association of New York Announces 2024 Awards of Distinction
$1.8M For Sate Parks, Trails, Historic Sites and Other Public Lands
In January, Governor Kathy Hochul announced $1.8 million in grants to support 27 not-for-profit organizations involved with the stewardship of state parks, trails, historic sites, and other public lands.
The grants support public-private partnerships leveraging private funds for new state park amenities, to engage in state park and historic site maintenance and beautification projects, and to provide educational programming and special events. [Read more…] about $1.8M For Sate Parks, Trails, Historic Sites and Other Public Lands
Albany’s Philip Schuyler Statue Removed From City Hall
A statue of Philip J. Schuyler (1733-1804) has been removed from outside of Albany’s City Hall. Mayor Kathy Sheehan ordered the statue removed in 2020 because Schuyler was a slaveholder. Sheehan said at the time that removing the statue was one way to acknowledge the enduring legacy of slavery. [Read more…] about Albany’s Philip Schuyler Statue Removed From City Hall
Albany’s Abraham Ten Broeck: A Short Biography
Abraham Ten Broeck was born in 1734 to Dirck Ten Broeck (1686-1751) and Margarita Cuyler (1682–1783). Abraham was one of twelve children born to the couple. Abraham first-generation grandfather had come to America from Holland in 1626 on the same ship with Peter Minuit, the first Director General of the Dutch colony of New Netherland. [Read more…] about Albany’s Abraham Ten Broeck: A Short Biography
Black History: Capt. Samuel Schuyler & His Steam Towboat Company
According to his monument at Albany Rural Cemetery, Samuel Schuyler was born in 1781. Although part African-American, he may have also been a descendant of Philip Schuyler, one of Albany’s most prominent families.
In 1805 he received a manumission (freedom from enslavement) from Dirck Schuyler (who is thought to be his white father). [Read more…] about Black History: Capt. Samuel Schuyler & His Steam Towboat Company
Revolutionary Albany: The Battles of Saratoga & Loyalist Opposition
In the first days of August, 1777, Albany seemed doomed to be overrun by the British. General John Burgoyne had taken Crown Point, Fort Ticonderoga, Fort George, Fort Anne, Fort Edward and Fort Miller, the last substantial fortified place protecting the city from the north. To the west at Fort Stanwix, a siege was underway requiring many of General Philip Schyuler’s troops being sent to that fort’s defense from their camp on Van Schaick Island, now in the city of Cohoes.
Burgoyne however, had severely stretched his supply line. He was now having problems bringing up food and supplies over primitive roads that had been severely rutted and nearly destroyed by the Revolutionaries. He had to slow down to wait for food and had to keep his supply line protected all the way back to Canada, spreading his troops more thinly. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Albany: The Battles of Saratoga & Loyalist Opposition