Events

The Old Stone Fort Museum holds its annual Independence Day celebration on Friday, the Fourth of July from10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Readings of the Declaration of Independence and other documents of the time will take place at 11:00 and 2:00. Throughout the day, museum staff, members of the Tryon County Militia and other re-enactors will engage in “living history” and visitor-interactive debates on the issues of taxation, self government, and armed militias rebelling against the government. All outdoor activities are admission free. The regular museum admission rates apply to indoor exhibits.
Museum Director Carle Kopecky asks, "With armed revolts and civil wars breaking out all over the world in recent years, are the issues of 238 years ago really so different from those of today?" The Old Stone Fort was attacked by British, Loyalist American and Native American forces in 1780, and is located near the George Mann's Tavern, site of a Loyalist, or "Tory" uprising in 1777. It houses exhibits on the American Revolutionary War, including a cannonball that struck the building in 1780, as well as other materials of local and regional history. The seven building complex also features a 1780 Dutch barn and an early German-style house dating from about 1786.

The event is co-produced by the Schoharie County Historical Society and the Burning of the Valleys Military Association, a regional organization of groups and individuals portraying early American history in and around the Schoharie, Mohawk and Hudson Valleys.

The Old Stone Fort is located at 145 Fort Road, Schoharie, NY 12157, just off NYS Route 30 approximately 3 miles south of Interstate 88, Exit 23.

For information call the museum, 518-295-7192 , visit the website, theoldstonefort.org or Facebook.com/oldstonefort.

A parade and fireworks will be held in the nearby village of Cobleskill later in the evening.