Thank you! Your generous support helps us maintain and staff our research library, our exhibition galleries, preserve our historic properties & collections, and continue our quality public programming.
We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and your donations to the Columbia County Historical Society are fully tax-deductible. There are no goods and services associated with a charitable gift to our annual appeal. CCHS will not share or sell a donor's personal information with any other party, nor send donor mailings on behalf of other organizations.
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Dear Friends, Members, and Followers of the Columbia County Historical Society:
Your support has helped establish us as a cultural anchor in the county. Thank you! The Columbia County Historical Society is the largest historic organization in the county and one of the largest in the region. We serve our community in so many ways: educational programs for adults, school field-trips for children, public tours and events at our four historic properties, historical, regional and genealogical research in our library, exhibitions in the museum and in all our properties, and with our magazine Columbia County History & Heritage. CCHS collects, preserves, interprets and presents the history, heritage, and culture of Columbia County, New York, and serves residents of all eighteen towns and the City of Hudson. Your support allows us to provide diverse exhibitions and educational programming that makes a difference to countless members and visitors including many from across the country. Area schoolchildren learn hands-on about upstate New York's rich heritage, county newcomers discover the history of their houses, members and visitors enjoy public tours and events at our four historic properties, and our magazine Columbia County History & Heritage. Many generations discover their Columbia County roots in our library, archives, and collections of unique genealogical material and hundreds of maps and photographs. Our library and collections contain hundreds of manuscripts, maps and photographs as well as unique genealogical materials. Our collaborations with Historic Hudson have included lectures on historic architecture, the 1799 Columbia County Toll Roads, the 17th century Dutch founders of Hudson, and Dutch culture. And the Luykas Van Alen house and Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse host hundreds of fourth grade students each year who learn about our Dutch heritage and early schooling in Columbia County. Our collaborations with Shaker Museum | Mount Lebanon have included lectures on Shaker culture and Shaker architecture, and a co-curated exhibition of Shaker Baskets loaned from the SMML permanent collection. Our c. 1850 'Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse' is recognized by the New York Folklore Society as a place of Legend, and recently awarded an historical 'legends' marker by the Folklore Society with a corresponding grant from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. Our 1737 'Luykas Van Alen House' was called in 1964 by then-Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, “one of the most authentic examples of early Dutch architecture remaining in the United States.” Over the last half-century, we have restored and shared this very special National Historic Landmark with thousands of visitors and students who now better understand life on an 18th century farm. Now, with a generous grant from the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, we have augmented this special house with an exhibition of Van Alen Homestead archaeology. Yet more plans can be implemented with your help! Seventy percent of our annual budget comes from individual donors and members like you—as a private non-profit, we receive no operations funding from the state, nor any federal funds, so while our mission is great, so is our challenge. Please give as generously as you can--any gift you give will be appreciated and put to good use in sustaining our continued success. The CCHS is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and your 100% tax deductible gift makes an essential contribution to our annual operating expenses. And if you work for a company with a Matching Gift Program, your gift can be multiplied. You can also donate online via credit card on this page. On behalf of the Board of Trustees and staff of the Historical Society, we wish to thank you once again for your contribution to our ongoing efforts, and we look forward to seeing you at our 2019 programming. Sincerely,
Lori Yarotsky Executive Director |