Schenectady County Historical Society, Schenectady, NY
Audio Excerpts | Current Photo | Historic Picture

Interview with: Wayne Harvey
Interviewed by: Emily Carbone & Nancy Gifford on 5/22/01

Emily: What can you tell us about the Historical Society?

Wayne: There were two main fires in this area. The first one was in 1690 and it burned the Stockade right down to the ground. The second fire was in the 1880s and it burned out all of the business along here. This was all warehouses and boatslips. At one time there were 80 boats buildings along the Binnekill and along here and down by the park. It was before the Erie Canal was in existence.

They built boats here to go west on the western waterway, which was just rivers and lakes. The boats were built here because otherwise they would have to carry them overland from Albany and they did that at first. Things came up the Hudson, then on a wagon through the Pine Bush, and then over to here and then into the river here. They were bringing the boats as well as the materials. So somebody suggested they just build the boats in Schenectady.

After the fire, someone built this building, Schenectady Historical Society, in the 1890s and it was owned by people named Jackson.When the family died out, it went to the GE Women's Club. It was then sold to the Historical Society. In the 1960s, the meeting room was added and then in the 1990s, the library part was added on the back. There are two main things with the Historical Society. There is a museum part with rooms with lots of artifacts you can look at. The other is the library which has lots of history and genealogy information, mainly for Schenectady County.

 

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