Saratoga County History Center

Rural Lifestyle Skills: Growing Your Own Mushrooms
2026-05-30 09:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
Discover how to grow your own mushrooms

The Milton Grange #685 is offering as part of their “Rural Lifestyle skill” classes Growing your own mushrooms on May 30th at the Brookside Museum in Ballston Spa. The class will cover how mushrooms grow, how to use them plus a hands on section. Each student will take home their own mushroom growing log.
If you have never tasted a fresh mushroom, growing your own will open a whole new taste world for you. Fresh mushrooms are like eating a garden ripe tomato. Very different from what you can buy from the store. Join with us for a “fungui” morning.
This event is sold-out.

Curator’s Tour: Luther Forest: A Family, a Woodland, A Legacy
2026-05-30 14:00 - 15:00 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
Join our director/curator for a guided visit to our new exhibition!

Throughout the month of May, we are welcoming visitors to our new temporary exhibition, Luther Forest: A Family, A Woodland, A Legacy, with guided tours led by our director and exhibition curator, Anne Hollmuller. On May 16, May 23, and May 30, join Anne on a small group tour of our new temporary exhibition, where she will discuss the history and evolutions of Luther Forest, our Luther-Mackay family archive, and the curatorial process. Members $0, Non-Members $5.
At the turn of the twentieth century, Thomas Clements Luther, the owner of a popular resort hotel on Saratoga Lake, began building the forest that would bear his name. Ultimately encompassing 7,000 acres in Malta and Stillwater, Luther Forest was the largest private reforestation project in New York. Despite the challenges of growing development and government intervention, five generations of the Luther-Mackay family have worked to cultivate and conserve Luther Forest, leaving a treasured legacy for future residents of Saratoga County.

This exhibition forms a part of our Spotlight on Malta History series, which was generously supported by a grant from the GlobalFoundries/Town of Malta Foundation. This exhibition was curated by Dr. A.L. Hollmuller, and installed in partnership with Field Horne and Marianne Bez.
Register HERE

Brookside Explorers Club: Student Art Showcase
2026-06-05 17:30 - 18:30 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
Brookside Explorers Club: Student Art Showcase
Join us for a First Friday event at Brookside featuring artwork created through the Artists Inspired by Their Community collaboration with Ballston Spa Middle School. The student pieces will be on display in the History Hunters Hangout throughout the summer.
Guests are welcome to stop in, enjoy light refreshments, and spend time viewing the artwork. In the Long Room, visitors of all ages may also take part in a relaxed, optional activity: sketching a local landmark of their own choosing on a blank postcard to take home.
This program is free, with a suggested donation of $10 to support educational programming. Registration is strongly recommended so we can plan for materials and refreshments. Children of all ages are welcome, and parental supervision is required.

Date: First Friday – June 5
Time: Drop in between 5:30–6:30 PM
Cost: Free; suggested donation of $10
Register here (strongly recommended)
Questions? Contact Education Director Charlene Dubuque at charlene@brooksidemuseum.org

History Books and Brews
2026-06-10 18:00 - 19:30 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
Find the book you’ve been searching for, with the help of Mike Hare!

Enjoy a literary evening at Saratoga County History Center, while finding the book that’s perfect for you or your loved one. At this special event, Mike Hare, Store Manager at Northshire Books of Saratoga Springs, will discuss why we read history, share some of his favorite history books and biographies, and offer special recommendations. Whether you’re searching for summer reading, or seeking out the perfect gift for Father’s Day, Mike will guide you to a great read! Sip at a soft drink or enjoy a beer while chatting with Mike and other guests about your favorite books in history, and meet some of the local authors behind your favorite history books.
Attendees will also have the chance to view a special preview of our book sale, which features rare books, pamphlets, and ephemera from Saratoga County and beyond. We will also be welcoming in a new display of the books in our gift shop, featuring favorite recommendations from our volunteers and staff. This event is brought to you with the support of Northshire Books and The Speckled Pig Brewing Co.
Tickets with a beer are $10, Tickets with soft drinks are $7.
Register HERE

Garden Tour: Plants & History Intertwined
2026-06-13 14:00 - 15:00 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
Enjoy a special tour of the lush, historically themed gardens at Brookside Museum led by our talented team of volunteer gardeners. Learn about the plantings in our gardens and their connection to local, regional and cultural histories. Be guided through our verdant plantings, including our James Mann Victorian Shade Garden, The Abigail May Garden for Pollinators, and other gardens. Refreshments will be served following the tour, and participants can visit the museum and our new exhibition, Luther Forest: A Family, A Woodland, A Legacy.
Register for free HERE

Olde Time Strawberry Social
2026-06-14 14:00 - 15:30 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
We are excited to host an Olde Time Strawberry Social on Sunday June 14, from 2:00-3:30 P.M. Enjoy the beautiful Brookside gardens and savor strawberry shortcake, made with homemade biscuits and real whipped cream, for $5 a serving! Listen to a performance by musician Bob Marcotte, of the NYS Country Music Hall of Fame. For $5, create small bouquets featuring blooms from Balet Flowers and Design. Our annual premier event to support the gardens at Brookside Museum. Order in advance to secure your shortcake!
Register HERE

Charlie's Heroes
2026-06-18 19:00 - 20:30 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
During World War II and again during the Korean War, an Italian American restaurant owner in Mechanicville took photographs of local service members in uniform who stopped by his popular tavern. Chris Carola tells the stories behind the collection of approximately 700 images taken by Charles Siciliano Sr.
currently housed at the Mechanicville District Public Library. These photos are visual reminders of the service and sacrifice of so many of our fellow New Yorkers.
Carola will also discuss the library’s campaign to restore and remount the collection in museum-quality frames.
Register HERE

2026 Brookside Book Sale
2026-06-20 10:00 - 15:00 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
Join us on the porch during the Craft and Antique Fair and shop a selection of rare and out-of-print history books.

2026 Brookside Craft and Antique Fair
2026-06-20 10:00 - 15:30 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
The Saratoga County History Center is thrilled to announce a county-wide craft fair! The family-friendly free event will be held at beautiful Brookside Museum on Saturday, June 20, 2026 from 10am to 3pm.
Guests will be able to shop a wide variety of locally handcrafted collectibles, antiques, and farm products. No mass-produced or commercially-made items will be permitted. This is a terrific opportunity for New Yorker’s to sample and appreciate the best of upstate artisans, farmers, and culinarians.
The event is free and open to the public, and will be held rain or shine.
Interested vendors can download the application HERE.
This fair is for handcrafted, antique/historic collectables and farm products only; mass-produced manufactured items, or commercially-made items will not be accepted.

George III: America's Last King
2026-07-08 18:00 - 19:00 | NY
Learn more about the infamous monarch, with historian Jim Sefcik!

Jim Sefcik will examine the King’s background and personal life, especially those who influenced him the most, his role during the War for American Independence, two events during that time that he had to deal with in addition to the war, and his health leading to his ultimate demise. He was king from 1760 to 1820! And although a Hanoverian as were his 2 immediate predecessors, George regarded himself as an Englishman through and through. Was he a womanizer? Was he “mad”? How was he regarded by his subjects?
Jim Sefcik was born in Troy and is a graduate of the Vincentian Institute in Albany but left the area to continue his higher education in Philadelphia and South Bend, Indiana earning degrees in History. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on the American Revolution before joining the museum field and worked in a variety of positions at the NYS Museum, the Chrysler Museum, and the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. In 1987, Jim was appointed Director of the Louisiana State Museum system, retiring in 2004. He began a consulting business thereafter with the New Netherland Institute as a major client and returned to Upstate NY.
Jim has returned to lecturing on various aspects of the American Revolution at UCALL, ALL Saratoga, Cape Cod Community College, and HVCC. He is the author of more than 30 articles. Last year, he was appointed to the Board of Fort Ticonderoga.
Register HERE

Seeing Ballston Spa: An Observational Sketching Journey
2026-07-12 12:00 - 15:00, 2026-07-26 12:00 - 15:00 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
Join us for a 3-week immersive art experience that brings creativity to life!
Inspired by the beautiful gardens and architecture of the Village of Ballston Spa, this hands-on watercolor and ink sketching program invites participants to experience the village in a creative new way. From capturing natural elements and architectural details to joining a guided downtown sketch walk, participants will build sketching skills while exploring the charm and character of Ballston Spa.
Here’s what to expect each week:
Week 1 (7/12): Nature focus
✿ Week 1 focuses on nature, with guided outdoor sketching in the Brookside Museum gardens, hands-on demonstrations in ink and watercolor, and personalized feedback to build confidence in capturing organic forms and textures
Week 2 (7/19): Architecture focus
✿ Week 2 explores local architecture through on-location sketching, focusing on perspective, proportion, and combining ink line work with watercolor washes to capture historic buildings and streetscapes
Week 3 (7/26): Sketch Walk in Ballston Spa
✿ Week 3 brings everything together in a guided downtown sketch walk, where participants apply their skills to capture both natural and architectural elements in a shared, on-location creative experience
No experience necessary. All supplies are included. And all skill levels are welcome.
Space is limited—sign up today to save your spot and make something beautiful this summer!

Register HERE
For questions, feel free to contact us at ottavia.huang@gmail.com
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Saratoga Arts made this program possible through the Community Arts Regrant Program, funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

A Bastille Day Celebration
2026-07-14 18:00 - 20:00 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
Travel to Paris, without leaving Brookside!

Celebrate the French national day with creative activities and French vibes. Make your own, aromatic lavender sachet, sample fine French cheeses, and enjoy the sounds and songs of a Parisian cafe. Browse travel guides for Paris and France, and select a postcard as a souvenir of the evening. Enjoy a night à la française at Brookside!
Register HERE

SCHC Reads: Revolution Song: A Story of American Freedom
2026-07-16 18:00 - 19:00 | NY
Join us for the next meeting of our history book club, SCHC Reads!

Join us for the third meeting of our new history Book Club at the Saratoga County History Center at Brookside Museum. This year, in honor of America’s 250th, we will be reading books that explore the unfolding and impact of the American Revolution.
Each meeting will take place in the historic Long Room at Saratoga County History Center, and tea and cookies will be served. All featured books will be available for sale at Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs. Mention that you are a part of the SCHC book club, and you will receive a 20% discount on your purchase.
Our next meeting will be held on July 16, 2026 at 6 PM, where we will be discussing Revolution Song: A Story of American Freedom by Russell Shorto.
Your donations power everything we do at Saratoga County History Center. Your support for this event helps us to provide diverse, high-quality historical programs.
Register HERE

Seeing Ballston Spa: An Observational Sketching Journey
2026-07-19 12:00 - 15:00 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
Join us for a 3-week immersive art experience that brings creativity to life!
Inspired by the beautiful gardens and architecture of the Village of Ballston Spa, this hands-on watercolor and ink sketching program invites participants to experience the village in a creative new way. From capturing natural elements and architectural details to joining a guided downtown sketch walk, participants will build sketching skills while exploring the charm and character of Ballston Spa.
Here’s what to expect each week:
Week 1 (7/12): Nature focus
✿ Week 1 focuses on nature, with guided outdoor sketching in the Brookside Museum gardens, hands-on demonstrations in ink and watercolor, and personalized feedback to build confidence in capturing organic forms and textures 🎨🌿
Week 2 (7/19): Architecture focus
✿ Week 2 explores local architecture through on-location sketching, focusing on perspective, proportion, and combining ink line work with watercolor washes to capture historic buildings and streetscapes 🏛️🎨
Week 3 (7/26): Sketch Walk in Ballston Spa
✿ Week 3 brings everything together in a guided downtown sketch walk, where participants apply their skills to capture both natural and architectural elements in a shared, on-location creative experience 🎨🌿🏛️
No experience necessary. All supplies are included. And all skill levels are welcome.
Space is limited—sign up today to save your spot and make something beautiful this summer!

Register HERE
For questions, feel free to contact us at ottavia.huang@gmail.com
—
Saratoga Arts made this program possible through the Community Arts Regrant Program, funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Sounds in Summer
2026-07-19 17:00 - 18:30 | NY
The Ballston Spa Sounds of Summer Concerts are celebrating a sixth year. Started at the end of the Pandemic, these popular concerts feature the “Jazz Ambassadors,” performing under the leadership of Dennis Searles. All of the participating musicians are from the Greater Capital District. The Ambassadors will be performing in a variety of Jazz genres and showtunes from the beautiful and acoustically good,front porch of the Brookside Museum. Admission is free. This concert is sponsored by a unique partnership between The Saratoga History Center at Brookside Museum, Saratoga Arts, the Music Performance Trust Fund of the American Federation of Musicians and the Village of Ballston Spa. Audience members are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and a picnic dinner. The lawn is shady after 5! This event is free and open to the public.

Take A Walk in the Park-with History!
2026-07-22 10:00 - 11:30 | Anchor Diamond Park, 1-17 Middleline Rd, Ballston Lake, NY, 12019, United States
Join Ballston Town Historian Rick Reynolds for a historic walking tour of Anchor Diamond Park, corner of Route 50 and Middleline Rd., Ballston Lake. (2.5 miles north of the Burnt Hills intersection of Rt 50 and Lakehill Rd.) The presenting sponsor of this walking tour is Ballston Spa National Bank.
The walk will be about 2 miles walking on flat trails. Wear clothing appropriate for the weather; bug spray and good footwear recommended.
Your donations power everything we do. For this event, the suggested donation is $10.
Register HERE

The French and Indian War in the Adirondacks
2026-07-22 18:00 - 19:30 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
In the mid-1750s, New York was caught in the crossfire as the British and French struggled for control of North America. During the French and Indian War, the Adirondack Mountain region saw numerous military encounters around Lakes George and Champlain while Sir William Johnson, Robert Rogers, John Stark, Phineas Lyman, and others carved their names in the annals of American history. Powerful fortifications rose and fell as the English and the French brawled; forts such as Fort William Henry, Fort Ticonderoga, and Fort Saint-Frederic/Fort Crown Point housed troops, endured sieges, and received their own battle scars over the course of the war. Author Marie Danielle Annette Williams uncovers the complex history of the Adirondacks during its most tumultuous time.
Marie Danielle Annette Williams is an independent historian living in Upstate New York. She is a 2009 graduate of Hadley-Luzerne Central School in Lake Luzerne, New York; she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in social studies adolescent education from the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, in 2014 and received her Master of Arts degree in American history from Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 2018. Marie holds membership with the French and Indian War Society of Lake George, the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance, the Warren County Historical Society, the Saratoga County History Center, and the American Historical Association. When Marie isn’t writing or working her day job, where she manages a business, she’s researching for her podcast, The Half-Pint Historian Podcast; drinking more Red Bull than she should; and overall living her best life.
Register HERE

America 250: Colonial Herb Gardens: Gardens That Shaped a Nation
2026-07-26 14:00 - 15:00 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
Presented by Janis Fallon, Rensselaer County Master Gardener and Herbalist. Discover herbs important during the Revolutionary War, about the founding gardeners who shaped our country, and the colonists’ colonial gardens. We’ll talk about the herbs they grew and the ways that they were used for food, dyes, body products and medicine. Refreshments and a tour of the Beverly & Harold Ricks Memorial Herb Garden to follow after the program. This event is free with registration.
Register HERE

Waterford Historical Museum and Cultural Center: A Members Tour
2026-07-30 13:00 - 14:00 | Waterford Historical Museum and Cultural Center, 2 Museum Ln, Waterford, NY, 12188, United States
Join us for a visit to our friends in Waterford!

Mike Munsey, director of the Waterford History Museum and Cultural Center, will guide SCHC members on a tour of this historic building and museum. Enjoy their current temporary exhibition and spend time with your fellow history-lovers on this exploration at WHMCC.
Register HERE

Experts Next Door: New York's Great Lost Ballpark
2026-08-13 19:00 - 20:00 | Online
New York’s Great Lost Ballparks tells the story of New York playing grounds and ballparks of yesteryear. Organized by region and city, the book includes a complete list of New York’s historic ballparks in an easy-to-read guidebook format. Each listing includes the name and location of the park, the years in operation, the names of the professional clubs that called it their home, the park’s seating capacity, and a “Fun Fact” or two that distinguishes each locale. More famous ballparks include an extended history that examines the importance of the field in the annals of the game. The book is richly illustrated with historic photos of the parks and players and ten maps of key locations (including New York City’s boroughs). Special attention is given to locales that hosted the Negro League and all-women teams.
Bob Carlin is probably the best known clawhammer style banjoist performing today. He has taken the distinctive southern banjo style to appreciative audiences all over the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan. Carlin is a three-time winner of the Frets Magazine readers poll, and has four Rounder albums and several instruction manuals and videos for the banjo. He is also an author, researcher, and radio and record producer. His many books include Banjo: An Illustrated History.

Register HERE

Three Sisters Festival
2026-08-16 14:00 - 15:00 | NY
Join us for the Third Annual Three Sisters Festival: A Celebration of Native American Culture, honoring the rich traditions, history, and heritage of our local indigenous communities. Festival highlights include captivating stories and traditional Native American lore presented by renowned storyteller Joseph Bruchac, Ph.D., an exhibit of Native American crafts and artifacts, and a guided tour of Brookside’s Three Sisters Garden. Visitors can also enjoy a bake sale supporting the museum’s historically themed gardens, as well as freshly popped popcorn and refreshing herbal iced tea.
The festival’s featured presenter, Joseph Bruchac, Ph.D., is an award-winning author, poet, storyteller, and former Saratoga Springs Poet Laureate whose Abenaki heritage has inspired much of his work. Admission is free, but advance registration is recommended.

Register HERE

Sounds in Summer: The Jazz Ambassadors
2026-08-23 17:00 - 18:30 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States

Saratoga & the Civil War: The 115th "Iron-Hearted Regiment" at War
2026-08-26 19:00 - 20:00 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
During the Civil War, Colonel Simeon Sammons received authority to recruit a regiment in the counties of Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, and Saratoga, with headquarters at Fonda. On August 26, 1862, the 115th regiment mustered into the service of the United States for three years. Join local historian David Brooks in an exploration of the history of the “Iron-Hearted Regiment.” Learn of their unique experiences as they traveled from Upstate New York to Virgina and on to the Deep South and back. Discover the battles they faced on the front line and those experienced from within. This is the second in the American’s At War series presented by the History Center during 2026.
David Brooks is a local historian and has an American History degree from the State University of New York. He currently lives in Northville along the banks of the Great Sacandaga Lake. He serves as the Education Director for the Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site, is a member on the Board of Trustees for both Fulton and Montgomery County Historical Societies, is a CAB representative for WMHT, former past president of the Mohawk Valley Museums Consortium, and former board member of the Palatine Settlement Society. On occasion he can be found exploring the trails and waterways of the Adirondacks hoping to catch sight of Big Foot.
This event is presented with the support of Adirondack Trust Company.
Register HERE

Experts Next Door: Lavender, Red, White, and Blue: Sites of LGBTQ Revolution in New York State
2026-08-27 19:00 - 20:00 | Online
In accordance with the United States Semiquincentennial, Dr. Jeff Iovannone, an expert in LGBTQ heritage conservation, will move beyond standard narratives of American revolution and urban LGBTQ history to highlight sites of LGBTQ revolution across New York State. Taken collectively, these sites evidence New York State’s rich LGBTQ heritage, the contributions of LGBTQ people in shaping New York’s history, and the fact that LGBTQ and American history are one and the same.
Jeff Iovannone is a social historian from upstate New York who specializes in conserving LGBTQ history through the built environment. He holds a PhD in American Studies from the University at Buffalo and a Masters in Historic Preservation Planning and LGBT Studies from Cornell University, where he was awarded the Biddy Martin Graduate Prize for LGBTQ research. Iovannone currently works in the Survey and National Register Unit of the New York State Division for Historic Preservation.
Saratoga Pride promotes the safety and well-being of the LGBTQIA+ community in Saratoga County by increasing visibility, building allyship and creating educational opportunities. Saratoga Pride’s year-round programing includes sports leagues, a book club, support groups, networking and educational programming. To learn more, visit www.saratogapride.com

Pride Stories Collaborative is a community-driven initiative dedicated to uncovering, preserving, and sharing LGBTQIA+ stories of Saratoga Springs and surrounding communities. The Collaborative fosters intergenerational dialogue, community storytelling, and public engagement to make visible the lives, spaces, and experiences that have shaped the region’s LGBTQIA+ past. Founding partners include Saratoga Pride, the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, Skidmore College, SUNY Empire State University, and the Saratoga Springs Public Library www.saratogapride.com/stories/
Register HERE

Songs and Sounds of the Anti-Rent Movement in Upstate New York, with Nancy Newman
2026-08-30 14:00 - 15:00 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
Upstate New York’s Anti-Rent Movement is considered the last struggle over feudalism in the United States. Tenant farmers in the Hudson-Mohawk region engaged in organized protest throughout the 1840s to contest monopoly ownership of the land they worked. Arguing their cause in newspapers, on broadsides, and at rallies, their aspirations also took shape in poetry and song.
More than twenty sets of lyrics (and one instrumental composition) were written at various stages of the conflict. Some of their musical sources, such as “Old Dan Tucker” and “Bruce’s Address,” are still well known. Each song offers insight into the role vernacular music played in one of the nineteenth century’s major social reform movements. This is the first book to gather the poetry and corresponding tunes into one publication. During this talk, discussion of this major 19th-century reform movement will be interspersed with Anti-Rent songs from broadsides and newspapers.
Nancy Newman is Professor in the Department of Music and Theatre and Joint Faculty in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the State University of New York at Albany. She is the author of Songs and Sounds of the Anti-Rent Movement as well Good Music for a Free People: The Germania Musical Society in Nineteenth-Century America.
Your donations power everything we do. For this event, there is a suggested donation of $10.
This event is presented with the support of Adirondack Trust Company.
Register HERE

America at 250: History Trivia Night
2026-09-01 18:30 - 20:30 | NY
Calling all history buffs! Put your knowledge to the test at SCHC. Inspired by America’s 250th, join us for a Trivia Night focused on American history. Compete with old friends and new on your knowledge of American history, geography and popular culture. Among the question categories will be the American Revolution, the American Presidency, Local History, and American Popular Culture. Featuring our host, Sean Kelleher, Vice Chair of Saratoga 250 and Town of Saratoga Historian. Throughout the night, try your luck with a 50-50 raffle, enjoy snacks and drinks, and win fun prizes! Tickets are $10 with a soft drink and $15 with a beer. Beer will be provided by Active Ingredient Brewing Company.
This event has been rescheduled from August 20 due to a scheduling conflict with the Ballston Spa Concerts in the Park series.
Register HERE

Waterford Revolutionary War Tour
2026-09-02 11:30 - 17:00 | Peebles Island Visitor Center, 1 Delaware Ave, Cohoes, NY, 12047, United States
Longtime Waterford Town Historian Russ VanDervoort will lead this walk through Waterford Revolutionary War history. The tour begins at the Visitors Center on Peebles Island, the staging point for American troops during the War, including the Breastworks designed by Tadeusz Kosciuszko. Crossing the bridge into Waterford, we will visit the sites of Revolutionary war taverns and the route of the General Knox Artillery Train.

This event is sold-out.
Email info@brooksidemuseum.org to join the wait-list.

Discovering George Foster Peabody with Glenn Underwood
2026-09-09 19:00 - 20:30 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
Glenn Underwood is an artist, author, and historian from Upstate New York whose family operates Twin Birches Cottages in Lake George, a property that stands on the former grounds of Abenia, the summer estate of banker and philanthropist George Foster Peabody.

In 2017, Underwood began a research journey at the New York Public Library’s Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room for Rare Books and Manuscripts, where he examined the Yaddo Records and George Foster Peabody files. What began as an effort to find photographs or documents connecting Peabody to the land now home to Twin Birches soon evolved into a much larger discovery.
Through Peabody’s letters and correspondence with family, friends, governors, presidents, and leading cultural figures of his era, Underwood uncovered the story of a man whose influence extended far beyond Lake George, shaping Saratoga Springs, New York State, and even the nation.
Over the past eight years, Underwood has meticulously researched and documented Peabody’s friendships with Edward Morse Shepard, Spencer and Katrina Trask, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Adolph Ochs, and John Howard Melish, among others. His work also explores Peabody’s role in regional projects such as Prospect Mountain, Shepard Park, Diamond Island, the Wiawaka Center for Women, the Lake George Association, the Caldwell-Lake George Library, the Saratoga Reservation Commission, Saratoga Spa State Park, the New York State Forest Tree Nursery, and Yaddo.
The culmination of this research is Underwood’s new book, Discovering George Foster Peabody, a comprehensive work that brings together archival research, correspondence, and rare photographs to reintroduce one of New York’s most quietly influential figures to modern readers.
This event is presented with the support of Adirondack Trust Company.
Register HERE

SCHC Reads: 1777: Tipping Point at Saratoga
2026-09-10 18:00 - 19:00 | Brookside Museum, 21 Fariground Ave., Ballston Spa, NY, 12020, United States
Join us for the fourth meeting of our new history Book Club at the Saratoga County History Center at Brookside Museum. This year, in honor of America’s 250th, we will be reading books that explore the unfolding and impact of the American Revolution.
Each meeting will take place in the historic Long Room at Saratoga County History Center, and tea and cookies will be served. All featured books will be available for sale at Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs. Mention that you are a part of the SCHC book club, and you will receive a 20% discount on your purchase.
Our next meeting will be held on September 10, 2026 at 6 PM, where we will be discussing 1777: Tipping Point at Saratoga by Dean Snow.
Your donations power everything we do at Saratoga County History Center. Your support for this event helps us to provide diverse, high-quality historical programs. For this event, the suggested donation is $5.
Register HERE
