From the Director's Desk
Happy Semiquincentennial HCM members and friends!
By now everyone has probably had their share of fireworks, hot dogs and parades as we celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday. It has been interesting to look at previous anniversaries to see how Rensselaer County celebrated our nation’s independence. For instance, in 1824-25 prior to our first celebration the Marquis de Lafayette made stops in Lansingburgh, Troy and Nassau while he was on his grand tour of the United States. He marveled at the rapid growth of the county since his days coming through the area during the American Revolution. He noted the opening of the Erie and Champlain Canals was already spurring the growth of Troy and the county.
In 1926 as we celebrated our 150th , a forward-thinking group of people began meeting to discuss how to document and preserve our county's history. Those meetings led to the formation of the Rensselaer County Historical Society. As we approach our 100th Anniversary and the 200th Anniversary of the building of the Hart Cluett House, it is exciting to look back at our history from its humble beginnings on the 2nd floor of the Troy Public Library to our home here at 57-59 Second Street, where our collections have grown to thousands of artifacts and archives .
Our new exhibition, The View from Here: Peoples of the Rensselaer County Region , examines our county’s history through the lens of the many immigrant groups that have settled here from the 1600’s to the 1890’s. In 2027 we will be exploring the next wave of immigrant groups that settled the county in the 20th and 21 st centuries. Using our archives and collections as well as seeking out new stories we hope to uncover through oral history days, we will expand our understanding of the contributions that these various groups of people have made throughout the county.
To that end, help us welcome our new Curator Jack Beemsterboer and new Education Director Tonette Seitz to our staff. I am excited to work with them both, as is Elliot Gnirrup our librarian/archivist and Amanda Irwin our Deputy Director. It has been many years since we have been fully staffed to be able to carry out our mission of recognizing every face and every story through our exhibitions and public programming. I thank the Board of Directors for their commitment in bringing the museum forward as we approach our 100th Anniversary.
Stay tuned! It is going to be a busy summer and fall!
Kathryn T Sheehan
Executive Director | Rensselaer County & Troy City Historian.