The Saratoga County History Center (SCHC) at Brookside Museum announces a virtual presentation by Connor Williams on “Greetings from the Great Camps: The History of the Adirondack Vacation”. This will be the 26th presentation in the Center’s popular speaker series “Experts Next Door” and will take place at 7pm on Thursday, January 23rd through Zoom.
In 1850, the Adirondack region was a blank spot on the map, largely unorganized and uncharted. But, by 1900, the Adirondacks hosted elaborate summer estates for the wealthiest families in America: Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, Carnegies, Whitneys and Morgans. Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein summered and sailed on the same mountain lake. Adirondacks were a destination. How did this happen, and why?
Join Dr. Connor Williams, scholar, teacher and the historian at Great Camp Sagamore (where he directs their history programming) as he answers these questions, and discusses how environmentalism, opulence, industry, inequality, architecture and nature all intersected to produce the Adirondack Park (and the Adirondack vacations) we still connect to today.
The event is open to the public. It is free for SCHC members, and $5 for non-members. Pre-registration is required through the website https://brooksidemuseum.networkforgood.com/events/79924-end-26 .
