People escaping from slavery before the Civil War came through the Lake Champlain-Adirondack region, hiding in the barns, attics, and basements of sympathetic North Country residents -- black and white. This program tells the stories of those escapees, and the local people who helped them.
It took a decade to complete, but on August 31, 1967, the Adirondack Northway opened. Stretching 176 miles from Albany to the Canadian border, the road encountered opposition in its planning and transformed access to the Adirondacks, with both positive and negative effects. Learn about the Interstate system, the Northway’s planning, progress, and regional evolution in this presentation by Wickman.
This documentary explores "how America's desire for freedom and the open road resulted in the construction of thousands of highways during the Eisenhower administration." Interviews, archival footage, and photographs reveal how America's interstate highway system has shaped every aspect of American life and affected the nation's history for better and for worse. Directed by Lawrence R. Hott and author Tom Lewis, 1997, 83 mins.
Shades Inside the Blueline explores various views about race and racism in the Adirondacks, a region with largely homogeneous communities that are not often forced to examine their beliefs and perspectives around race. The film shares personal stories from minorities explaining the racism they've experienced in the region, but also explores plans to help the Adirondacks ultimately become more inclusive. The showing will be accompanied by a question-and-answer session with the filmmaker, Mountain Lake PBS producer, and video editor Michael Hansen. 2022, 56 mins.
"When Lyme disease was first identified in 1975, little did the medical community suspect that soon Lyme disease would become the center of one of the most controversial, divisive, and vicious medical debates in medicine today." The Quiet Epidemic explores that debate by focusing on a young girl from Brooklyn and a Duke University scientist who is diagnosed with a disease said not to exist: Chronic Lyme disease. The film follows their search for answers, which lands them in the middle of a vicious medical debate. What begins as a patient story evolves into an investigation into the history of Lyme disease, dating back to its discovery in 1975. A paper trail of suppressed scientific research and buried documents reveal why ticks -- and the diseases they carry -- have been allowed to quietly spread around the globe. Directed by Lindsay Keys and Winslow Crane-Murdoch, 2022, 102 mins.
Colton’s Map of the New York Wilderness, compiled by W.W. Ely, dominated the 19th century and was included in W. H. H. Murray's "Adventures in the Wilderness," with hotels, steamboat routes, and railroads labeled. This presentation explores Ely’s diaries and trip notes from his time developing the significant Adirondack region map.
2023 marks the Adirondack Park Agency’s 50-year anniversary. Brenda Rice, APA Executive Director, and Gerald Delaney, Local Government Review Board Executive Director, will discuss the positives and negatives of living in the Adirondack Park.
This film uncovers the hidden history of the profound influence Indigenous women had on the beginnings of the women’s rights movement in the United States. Before the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls in 1848, European colonial women lacked even the most basic rights, while Haudenosaunee women had a potent political and spiritual voice and authority in all aspects of their lives. The film will be accompanied by a question-and-answer session with filmmaker Katsitsionnni Fox, whose work focuses on empowering stories of Indigenous women. 2020, 27 mins.
This engaging, stop-motion, clay animation allegorical adventure story tells the tale of an American rooster (Rocky) who falls in love with a gorgeous hen (Ginger) on a British farm. Rocky and Ginger decide to run away from the farm that confines them, but they must first contend with the evil farmer and his wife, Mr. and Ms. Tweedy, the farm’s owners, who are intent on keeping them under her control. Rocky and Ginger lead their fellow chickens in a great escape from the murderous farmers and their farm of doom. Directed by Peter Lord and Nick Park, 2000, 84 mins.
This PBS documentary offers an intimate portrait of contemporary Amish faith and life, examining how such a closed and communal culture has thrived within one of the most open, individualistic societies on Earth. What does the future hold for a community whose existence is so rooted in the past? And what does our fascination with the Amish say about deep American values? Directed by David Belton, 2012, 112 mins.
Poverty has always been with us. Driven to the Poorhouse will examine how the earliest settlers in the Adirondacks faced this problem and how communities and government programs evolved from the 18th to the early 20th century. Margaret Bartley, historian and museum trustee, will share Essex County’s history of dealing with poverty.
This PBS documentary -- featuring interviews with Nancy Pelosi, George Mitchell, David Brooks, Lawrence O’Donnell, and Amy Klobuchar -- tells the story of Frances Perkins, who was appointed Labor Secretary by FDR during the Great Depression. As the first female Cabinet member, she helped forge the Social Security program, the federal minimum wage, the 40-hour work week, and ended the legal use of child labor. The film will be accompanied by a presentation by Tomlin Perkins Coggeshall, grandson of Perkins. Directed by Mick Caouette and Joe Paolo, 2019, 57 mins.
ADIRONDACK HISTORY MUSEUM
7590 COURT STREET, PO BOX 428
ELIZABETHTOWN, NY 12932
(518) 873-6466
MUSEUM HOURS
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
TO COLUMBUS DAY WEEKEND
WEDNESDAY - SATURDAY 10 AM – 4 PM
SUNDAY 12 PM – 4 PM
ADMISSION
ADULT $7 SENIORS $5 STUDENTS $3
CHILDREN 6 AND UNDER GET IN FREE
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