Check out our latest project. We are building the Onrust, the first ship built in New York State in 1614 in New York Bay. It is the first American Yacht. Check out our web site at www.theonrust.com.

Back in early March, I took the family to the Science Museum in Boston. They have the original Van De Graff Generator that generates a million volts as you can see here. By staying in the Faraday Cage, the man in the photo is not harmed even as he puts his hand on the inside of the cage. I stress INSIDE. If he slipped to the outside, well he would be mighty fried.

I'm proud of this pix since I hear this is not an easy one to get!

One of my favorite historic sites (and historical societies) made a major announcement today. The following is a paraphrasing from the paper. I attended the press conference today and several speakers discussed the project in detail. Some $300,000 has been raised so far and if you make a donation, they have an anonymous donor who will match it.

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The oldest Dutch farmhouse in the Mohawk Valley will soon have a million-dollar neighbor.

The Schenectady Historical Society announced today plans to build a $1 million, three-story educational center at the 300-year-old Mabee Farm on Route 5S. It will be called the George E. Franchere Education Center. The farm is located off I-890, exit 1A. and is 2.5 miles ahead on your right.

Kim Mabee, president of the historical society, said the center will be used to give residents an up-close look of what it was like to live on a Colonial-era farm.

The structure will also feature space for student groups, theater space for historic films and other programs,labs for archaeologists who continue to unearth artifacts at the farm, a kitchen that will be used to teach visitors how to cook Colonial-era meals.

The Mabee family bought the land from Daniel Van Antwerpen in 1705 and the deed that recorded the purchase still is in their possession.

The development is the latest victory for the thriving historic site, which has drawn thousands of visitors in recent years -- many of them hoping for a glimpse of what farming was like in Colonial times.

Mabee said a fund-raising campaign is currently under way to raise additional money for the project.

The Dr. Elizabeth VR Gillette House is located at 254 Union Street at the entrance of Schenectady's Stockade area. The county owned building had its exterior renovated last year and funds are now being sought to restore the interior. Dr. Gillette was the first female medical doctor in Schenectady County and first upstate women to be elected in the NYS Legislature (Assembly) in 1919.

When finished, the house will be the new city visitor's center, Schenectady County Historian Don Rittner's office, and the Chamber's tourism office.

Grants are being sought at the present time.

The following occured in November of last year.

19th century artifacts donated to Historical Society
11/9/2004

A little more Capital Region history has been added to the Electric City.

Three 19th century artifacts were donated to the Schenectady Historical Society.

The artifacts include a window pane engraved with the signatures of Philip Schuyler and Christina Elizabeth Schuyler from 1828, another engraved by Thomas Norton Stanford whose brother founded Stanford University, and an Albany-Schenectady Turnpike Mile Stone from 1805. All the artifacts were donated by the Ingersoll Residence.

Historian Don Rittner said, "Schenectady County is very fortunate today in that the Ingersoll Residence, which is a private care home, has over the last 80 years preserved a lot of the history that's pertaining to this historic mansion which was built around 1818."

Here is the 11 or 10 mile marker of the Albany Schenectady Turnpike Stone that John Wolcott and I rediscovered a month of so ago. We are trying to get it donated to the Schenectady Museum. It is now in the Ingersol Residence in Niskayuna. The portion to the right was in the ground and you can barely make out the inscription on the left which reads 11 or 12 Miles to Albany.

Peter Sefton sent this latest view of the Halfmoon church. Looks like they have a fence around it ready for demolition. I received an email today from the New York Landmark Conservancy regarding yesterday's column. They tell me they have given a couple of grants to Mrs. Schaaf in 1999 and in May this year were ready to pledge another 5K but needed assurance the rest could be raised. They also were contacted by Woodside in 2001 before the wall collapsed but they never got back to the Conservancy. Interesting though, the Conservancy has given some 45 grants locally.

Northern Turnpike MileStone Returns Home

The 16 mile marker for the Northern Turnpike that began in Lansingburgh and headed towards Vermont in 1799 was returned to its Pittstown home on July 4th. From Left to Right: Jennifer and Dave Shea and their sons from Darien Ct, who found it in their backyard; the milestone; Ellen Wiley, 92 year old Town Historian for Pittstown, and Record columnist Don Rittner, who organized the rescue. It will become part of the collections of the Town's historical society. Photo was taken by Mike Engle.

This past weekend I took the kids to Long Island to celebrate their grandpa's birthday. Brookhaven National Labs - on the island - had an open house and science party on Sunday. I think it is free for the whole summer, every Sunday. They have lots of cool science projects for kids to do, and an hour of demonstrations which feature some of the kids going onstage, etc. Anyay, one of the demos was showing how hydrogen mixed with oxygen and heat in a balloon explodes. I was lucky enough to capture the actual explosion using a digital camera - no easy feat - which you can see with this posting.

I attended the all day conference on Troy's Little Italy and it was a great event. Held at RPI's Almuni House, speakers included Hillary Clinton, Joe Bruno, Paul Tonko, and many more. The conference will be the center of my column for next week.

Any Trojans have a picture of St. Anthony's School on 5th Ave? The original one that was across from the Stanton Brewery?

Here is a pix of the Methodist Church that the Town of Halfmoon wants to tear down. It does appear to have problems, but from what I can tell it seems more like a cat fight between the owner and the town. Certainly if the much larger church in Albany that Historic Albany is dealing with can be stabilized, this tiny one can too! I think it would be a crime to tear this down. Much of the problem is from the folks who live to the left which feel it might fall into their new swimming pool in the back. I would ask who gave permission to build a house this close to the church in the first place. There is barely a drive way between the two.

Welcome to Don Rittner's Weblog! Check here for comments and images related to historic and environmental preservation efforts in the Capital District region of New York State. This Weblog is a supplement to the Capital District Preservation Task Force Internet Discussion List, and allows me to add photos to illustrate some of the ongoing topics of discussion, as well as add my observations on matters posted. Since blogs are suppose to be daily diaries, I will try to make that the tradition here.

This photo of me was taken by Laura Welles on March 16, 2004, at the old Connors Paint Company building in Troy, where the old hydraulic canal was located. It is a wooden paper press of 19th century origin that was probably used by the neaby Orr Paper Mill.