Explore Albany County’s rich and diverse history with free tours, lectures, and programs this October 12.
Saturday October 12 from 11 am- 4pm.
- Drive/Walk/Bike Tour Registration Here
- Lecture Registration Here
- Online Workshops Registration Here (Nov/Dec)
- ACHA Path Through History Poster 2024
The free tours provide the opportunity to stop at 12 historic sites and museums open for the tour. As participants travel by foot, bike, or car, they may also learn about up to 40 additional wayside historic sites along the various routes, plus a special guide to Revolutionary War sites in Albany County. Bicycle, walking, and shorter tour options available. All programs are free.
At the Ten Broeck Mansion, in addition to free tours and kids activity kits, participants can meet with representatives from the Albany County Commission on the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution, Friends of Tivoli Lake, and other community organizations.
Documenting Untold Stories Lecture Series: held at King’s Place on the Ten Broeck Mansion grounds
- Dr. Chelsea Teale, Associate Director of the New Netherland Research Center, presenting on An Untold Story: The Lost Journal of Kiliaen van Rensselaer.
- Devin Lander, New York State Historian, speaking on New York State’s Planning for the 250th Commemoration.
- Paul A. Miller, Documentary Filmmaker, presents Film & Untold Stories: The Story of ‘Searching for Timbuctoo’ featuring the narration of the late Dr. Alice Green
- ACHA Collections Associate Aaron Bradt and ACHA Executive Director Kathryn Kosto on Stories from Historic Handwriting and Archives/Preservation Grant Workshop, sharing the latest researching from a county-wide initiative to share the untold stories of African Americans and Native Americans in Albany history.
Special features at the participating sites include tours, exhibits, and self-guided options. Of special note are Van Schaick Mansion: Rev250 exhibit called “The American Revolution Experience” sponsored by the American Battlefield Trust and Daughters of the American Revolution; American Italian Heritage Association & Museum (open 1-4 pm), an exhibit for Italian Heritage Month exploring the contributions of Italian Americans from 1610- 2024 and honoring the 500th anniversary of Verrazano’s discovery of New York Harbor and the Carolinas; and at the Knox Historical Society, a video presentation of a play “Anti Rent War Voices Echoing Through the Helderbergs: Reflections from Knox Family Descendants 1830s-1866.”
Participating institutions are:
- Albany County Historical Association | Ten Broeck Mansion, Albany NY
- Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands NY
- American Italian Heritage Association & Museum, Albany NY
- Irish American Heritage Museum, Albany NY
- Historic St. Agnes Cemetery, Menands NY
- Huyck Preserve & Biological Research Station, Rensselaerville NY
- Knox Historical Society Museum, Knox NY (presenting Saddlemire Homestead)
- Town of Bethlehem Historical Association, Bethlehem NY (presenting Cedar Hill Schoolhouse); Van Schaick Mansion, Cohoes NY
- New Scotland Historical Association, Voorheesville, NY
- Underground Railroad Education Center (Stephen and Harriet Myers Historic Site), Albany NY
- Watervliet Historical Society, Watervliet NY
The Documenting Untold Stories lecture series and research project has been implemented in part with the support of an Archives Collaborations Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) of the National Archives and the partnership of the New York State Library and New Netherland Institute.