On Saturday April 2nd at 1:00 pm the Oneida County Historical Society will host a book signing and presentation by author Roger Chambers. Chambers will present and sign copies of his book A sense of Place: An Almanac of Festivals in the Mohawk Valley. This program is free and open to the public. For more information please visit www.oneidacountyhistory.org or call 315-735-3642.
On Monday April 4th at 7:00 pm the Fabius Historical Society will host “The Danforths of Onondaga County.” Meet Major Asa and his wife Hannah as they share the hardships faced by soldiers and their families during the Revolutionary War. There is no charge for this event. Light refreshments will be served. For more information please call Sandy Beglinger at 315-683-5878.
On Wednesday April 6th from 12:10 pm until 12:50 pm the Cortland County Historical Society will host a “Lunch and Learn” session. Bring an lunch and enjoy as Preservation Architect Walter J. Hollien presents on historic windmills. Hollien is a restoration contractor and millwright who restores historic water-powered mills. He serves for a number of organizations associated with wind and water mills, as well as being the President of the Millstone Research Center. Dessert and beverages will be provided. For more information please visit www.cortlandhistory.com.
On Wednesday April 6th at 7 pm the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum will host a special documentary viewing with Dan Ward, Curator of the Erie Canal Museum. For more information please visitwww.clcbm.org.
On Friday April 8th at 6:30 pm the Morrisville Public Library welcomes Jody Luce who will present “Trousers!-Such a Scandalous thing in our backyard.” Luce will speak about the history of bloomers, and its Madison County ties. There is no charge for this event. For more information please call 315-684-9130.
On Saturday April 9th at 1:00 pm the Central New York Living History Center in Homer will continue its “Homeville Presents” series with historian and author David Clutz. Clutz will be speaking on the rolls that the 76th & 137th New York Infantry’s played at the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War. Clutz has published Fields of Fame & Glory, Rebels in the Front Yard and War & Redemption under the pen name David Cleutz. Admission for the Homeville Presents series is $5 per person, CNY Living History Center Members, Active Duty Military members and children under 5 are free. For more information please call 607-299-4185 orinfo@cnylivinghistory.org.
On Sunday April 10th at 2:00 pm the Village of Clinton Historical Society will host a talk entitled “From Plain Weave to Plush: A History of Local Textile Manufacture.” More information to come. There is no charge for this event. For more information please visit www.clintonhistory.org, or call 315-859-1392.
On Monday April 11th at 5:30 pm the Hamilton Public Library will host a special evening with local resident Gerald Branagan. Branagan has lived in southern Madison County for 85 years and will tell the stories of what the community was like in 70+ years ago through today. He lived in Lebanon and Hamilton for most of his life working in the farming industry, on the O&W railroad, at a milk factory and more. Branagan will talk about the community has grown and changed through his eyes. There is no charge for this event. Light refreshments will be provided by the Friends of the Library. For more information please contact 315-824-3060.
On Tuesday April 12th from 9 am to 3 pm the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum will host a basket making workshop with Linda Scherz Allen. This basket will teach you how to make a twill basket. Admission is $44 and includes all materials to make your own basket. Bring your own lunch. For more information or to register please visitwww.adirondackbasketry.com.
On Wednesday April 13th from 12:10 pm until 12:50 pm the Cortland County Historical Society will host a “Lunch and Learn” session. Bring an lunch and enjoy as Mary Dexter presents “Saving the Glen Haven School House.” Dessert and beverages will be provided. For more information please visit www.cortlandhistory.com.
On Saturday, April 16th, at 2:30 pm, Donna Burdick, Smithfield Town Historian, will present “Smithfield Churches 1806-2016” at the Peterboro United Methodist Church. This program will be an expansion of the Smithfield Churches display board that was exhibited at Madison County Archives Day in 2014 and also displayed at the Madison County Historical Society in 2015. Following the talk, there will be a spaghetti supper starting at4 p.m., at the Smithfield Community Center, Peterboro, NY. This is sponsored by the Peterboro United Methodist Church to benefit church outreach. The cost is $8 for adults and $4 for children. For more information please call315-366-2453.
On Sunday April 17th from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm the Village of Madison will be celebrating its bi-centennial. Village of Madison Mayor Barbara Clark and State Assemblyman Bill Magee will speak starting at 1 pm followed by the Madison Central Schools Select Chorus who will sing a selections of patriotic songs and of course Happy Birthday! Student art projects will be on display, and members of the MCS drama club who will dress in period attire and guide visitors to the day’s festivities. Two narrated bus tours will be offered starting at the school that will visit historic homes, businesses and churches in the village at 1:30 and 3:30 pm. For more information please contact Village of Madison Mayor Barb Clark at 315-893-1894 or via email atvillageofmadison@yahoo.com.
On Tuesday April 19th at 7 pm the Town of Vernon Historical Society will be meeting at the Town of Vernon Office on Peterboro Road. Past members and interested community members are encouraged to attend to help the society plan for the future. For more information please contact Janice Buneo via email at vernonhistorian@yahoo.com or via phone at 315-363-9928.
On Wednesday April 20th from 12:10 pm until 12:50 pm the Cortland County Historical Society will host a “Lunch and Learn” session. Bring an lunch and enjoy as Jerry Wood presents “Bridges in and Around Cortland County.” Wood, an avid bridge enthusiast , has documents many bridges around Cortland County over the years. Dessert and beverages will be provided. For more information please visit www.cortlandhistory.com.
On Wednesday April 20th at 7:00 pm the Canastota Public Library will host a Canalside Chat entitled “A Living History,” of the Loomis Gang.Come and watch Village of Morrisville Historian Sue Greenhagen channel Sherriff Bonney and tell the stories of the notorious horse thieves that lived in CNY prior to the Civil War. There is no charge for this event. For more information please call 315-697-7030.
On Wednesday April 20th at 7:00 pm the Town of Onondaga Historical Society welcomes Holly Sammons of the Onondaga County Public Library Local History & Genealogy Department to speak. Sammons will discuss the services and resources available and how they mirror and augment services provided by the Town of Onondaga Historical Society. The meeting is at the Town of Onondaga Hall, and there is no charge for this event. Light refreshments will be served. For more information please visitwww.onondagatownhist.org.
On Thursday April 21st at 7:30 pm the Town of Marshall Historical Society will host a presentation by Gwen Lallier entitled “The Questers of Clinton.” Come and hear about local historian Gwen Lallier talk about the Questers Family who made their home in Clinton. For more information please contact Yvonne Brady via email at ybskyline@gmail.com.
On Friday April 22nd from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum will host a Canal Clean Sweep. For more information please visit www.clcbm.org.
On Saturday April 23rd at 1:00 pm the Central New York Living History Center in Homer will continue its “Homeville Presents” series with Nancy Snedeker. Snedeker will present on former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Admission for the Homeville Presents series is $5 per person, CNY Living History Center Members, Active Duty Military members and children under 5 are free. For more information please call 607-299-4185 orinfo@cnylivinghistory.org.
On Tuesday April 26th from 9 am to 4 pm the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum will host a basket making workshop with Linda Scherz Allen. This basket will teach you how to make a clothespin basket. Admission is $52 and includes all materials to make your own basket. Bring your own lunch. For more information or to register please visitwww.adirondackbasketry.com.
On Wednesday April 27th from 12:10 pm until 12:50 pm the Cortland County Historical Society will host a “Lunch and Learn” session. Bring an lunch and enjoy as Civil War re-enactor and SUNY Cortland Intern Michael Barnes presents “Rations of the Union Army. Dessert and beverages will be provided. For more information please visit www.cortlandhistory.com.
On Saturday April 30th at 1:00 pm the Oneida County Historical Society will host The Psychic Highway: How the Erie Canal Changed America. Michael Keene will lead this talk. More information to come. This program is free and open to the public. For more information please visitwww.oneidacountyhistory.org or call 315-735-3642.
On Sunday May 1st at 1:00 pm the Smithfield Community Center will host the presentation “Archaeological Digs at the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark” by Archaeologist Hadley Kruczek-Aaron. This event is being held is being sponsored by the Lorenzo State Historic Site in honor of Preservation Month. Kruczek-Aaron performed multiple digs at the Landmark while in graduate school. There is no charge for this event. For more information please visit www.friendsoflorenzo.org.
On Wednesday May 4th from 12:10 pm until 12:50 pm the Cortland County Historical Society will host a “Lunch and Learn” session. Bring an lunch and enjoy author Toni Colella presents “Theodore W. Case: Father of Talking Movies.” Colella will speak about how Theodore Case revolutionized the news and motion picture industries and how his legacy was list in the frenzy of film history. Dessert and beverages will be provided. For more information please visit www.cortlandhistory.com.
On Wednesday May 11th from 12:10 pm until 12:50 pm the Cortland County Historical Society will host a “Lunch and Learn” session. Bring an lunch and enjoy Town of Lincklaen Historian Melissa Losaw will discuss the History of Lincklaen. Dessert and beverages will be provided. For more information please visit www.cortlandhistory.com.
On Friday May 13th at 6:30 pm the Morrisville Public Library welcomes Jim Ford who will present on Grove Hinman. Come and learn about one Madison County’s most notorious residents. Ford has published a book on Hinman’s history utilizing photos, newspaper clippings and firsthand accounts to show Hinman’s impact on our local community. There is no charge for this event. For more information please call 315-684-9130.
On Saturday May 14th, part of the Village of Madison Bicentennial will include a presentation by Linda Ford on the Town of Madison’s notable women. More information to come.
On Wednesday May 18th at 7:00 pm the Town of Onondaga Historical Society welcomes Village of Morrisville Historian Sue Greenhagen to speak. Greenhagen will present “Live Oaks & MORE Dead Folks, a virtual tour of Oakwood Cemetery.” This is the second series of virtual tours that Greenhagen has done and will feature stories and tales of some of the most prominent residents of Syracuse’s most historic cemetery. The meeting is at the Town of Onondaga Hall, and there is no charge for this event. Light refreshments will be served. For more information please visitwww.onondagatownhist.org.
On Saturday May 21st from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm the CNY Living History Museum in Cortland. Units include the 144th Infantry, the Powhatan (1stVirginia) & Crenshaw Batteries, the 26th Texas Cavalry and music by the Finger Lakes Fife & Drum Corps. Visitors are free to wander through the encampment (they can only observe the Cavalry) and talk to reenactors and can participate in most drills as well. Admission includes admittance into the CNY Living History Museum and the Civil War encampment for only $10 (Children under 5, museum members and active duty military are free)!!! For more information please visit www.cnylivinghistory.org or call 607-299-4185.
On Sunday May 22nd from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm the CNY Living History Museum in Cortland. Units include the 144th Infantry, the Powhatan (1stVirginia) & Crenshaw Batteries, the 26th Texas Cavalry and music by the Finger Lakes Fife & Drum Corps. Visitors are free to wander through the encampment (they can only observe the Cavalry) and talk to reenactors and can participate in most drills as well. Admission includes admittance into the CNY Living History Museum and the Civil War encampment for only $10 (Children under 5, museum members and active duty military are free)!!! For more information please visit www.cnylivinghistory.org or call 607-299-4185.
On Monday May 23rd at 5:30 pm the Hamilton Public Library will host a special evening with WWII Veteran Stan Davis. Davis was a Staff Sergeant in the US Army Air Corps in the European Theatre during WWII. He served as a Crew Chief on P47 style planes as well serving as an engineer on C47 transport planes. He also was an amateur photographer who took over 700 photos of his time overseas. Madison County Historian Matthew Urtz recently digitized these images and will feature a number of these images as part of the talk. Davis will talk about his experiences and the photos. There is no charge for this event. Light refreshments will be provided by the Friends of the Library. For more information please contact 315-824-3060.
On Friday May 27th at 8:00 pm the Village of Madison will host a night time tour of the Madison Village Cemetery. More information to come.