History, Natural History & the Arts
The Time and the Valleys Museum, located at 332 Main Street in Grahamsville, Sullivan County, NY, will host “Cider Making on the 1930s Catskill Farm,” a program set for Sunday, October 9th from 1 to 3 pm.
[Read more…] about 1930s Apple Cider Making Event October 9th
The Time and the Valleys Museum in Sullivan County, NY have announced “Neversink History Afternoon,” an event where the public can browse through Town of Neversink photos, records, stories and artifacts from the museum’s archives to learn about the town’s history, set for Sunday, September 25th. [Read more…] about Neversink History Afternoon Set For Sunday
The Time and the Valleys Museum will host a virtual program on Japanese Knotweed, the invasive plant that has been taking over Catskill streambanks, set for Friday, September 23rd. [Read more…] about Fighting the Spread of Japanese Knotweed
Killing Time in the Catskills: The Twisted Tale of the Catskill Ripper Elizabeth “Lizzie” McNally Halliday (Self Published, 2019) by Kevin Owen is the true account of serial killer Lizzie Halliday (c. 1859 – 1918), who was responsible for several deaths in the Catskills area during the late nineteenth century.
In her late twenties, Halliday left behind a trail of failed marriages, bigamy, horse theft, arson, insurance fraud and multiple murders. She killed a nurse while institutionalized and is speculated to have killed her first two husbands. After her sensational trial in Monticello in Sullivan County, NY, Halliday became the first woman in the world sentenced to die in the electric chair. Although eventually locked behind bars for life, she managed to continue her crimes. [Read more…] about Killing Time in the Catskills: Serial Killer Lizzie Halliday
The Time and the Valleys Museum in Sullivan County in the Catskills will host “Discover WATER!,” a program about watersheds, the water cycle and anything to do with Catskills water, set for Sunday, June 26th. [Read more…] about Discover Water Kids Afternoon in the Catskills
The Time and the Valleys Museum will host “A Day in the Life of a Catskill Farm Family,” an event looking at dairy farming in the 1930s, set for Sunday, June 5th, at the 1930s Catskill Farm. [Read more…] about Catskills Farm Afternoon Fun at Time and the Valleys Museum
In Building the Ashokan Reservoir (Images of America, 2021), Frank Almquist brings to life the story of how this massive dam, miles of dikes, and water controls was built more than 100 years ago mostly by hand, an undertaking nearly the magnitude of the Panama Canal.
Construction started on September 30th, 1907 and the dam and dikes, followed by roads and bridges, was completed in December, 1917. Completion was ahead of schedule and under budget. [Read more…] about Building the Ashokan Reservoir: A New Book, Talk Planned
The Time and the Valleys Museum will host regular New York Almanack contributor and Sullivan County Historian John Conway on Sunday, April 3rd to explore the lives of the Lenape People who lived in Sullivan County and the surrounding area before the arrival of colonial settlers. [Read more…] about Lenape Language, Culture and Legacy (Virtual Talk)
New York City has clean water because it comes from pure and rural mountains. However, there is nothing natural about New York City’s water. To create the water system, thousands of people lost homes and businesses, and had to sue the City for compensation. [Read more…] about Archeology of NYC’s Watershed Communities
Beginning in 1832, Rufus Palen bought land along the Neversink River in Fallsburg, Sullivan County, NY and began building a tannery and sawmill.
Over the next generation, Palen and his family built and bought additional tanneries, including ones at Neversink and Rockland. Between the end of the 18th century and the turn of the twentieth century, several dozen Palens and their extended kin owned, built, and operated leather tanneries in New York and Pennsylvania. Their complicated family tale is punctuated by great wealth and great tragedy. [Read more…] about The Palens: A Sullivan County Tanning Industry Dynasty (Virtual Event)