NYS History Month Lecture Series offered by Schoharie Crossing
Thursday at 7pm via WebEx
Fort Hunter, NY – Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site continues its 8th Annual New York State History Month Lecture Series on Thursday, October 19th, with independent historian Kelli Huggins to present “Looking for Railroad Jack: A Historian’s Search for a Long-Lost Canine Celebrity.”
In the 1880s and 1890s, there were few dogs as famous as Albany, NY’s Railroad Jack. Along with his contemporary, the Postal Service’s Owney, Jack captivated the public with his train-riding antics. When he died in 1893, his body was taxidermied and, subsequently, lost from the historical record. This talk will explain what Jack and fellow animal celebrities tell us about the history of the Gilded Age and will explore attempts to figure out what happened to him.
Rounding out the series next week on Thursday, October 26th will be “Camillus on the Erie Canal” with Lisa Wiles, Coordinator of the Liz & Dave Beebe Camillus Erie Canal Park. She will discuss the history of the canal as it passed through the community as well as what preservation efforts went into the re-watering of the Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct.
Free online presentations
These free online presentations will be hosted through WebEx and do not require pre-registration. The links for these programs can be found on the Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site official NYS Parks website and social media. However, if you would like a direct link sent to your email, please contact the site.
For more information about programs at Schoharie Crossing, please contact the Visitor Center at (518) 829-7516, email SchoharieCrossing@parks.ny.gov, or visit our NYS Parks webpage. The Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site Visitor Center is location at 129 Schoharie Street, Fort Hunter, NY 12069. The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 individual state parks, historic sites, golf courses, boat launches and recreational trails, which are visited by 78 million people annually. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit www.nysparks.com, connect on Facebook, or follow-on Twitter.
