The Old Stone Fort in Schoharie, NY is one of those places that quietly draws you in with how much history it holds. At first glance, it looks like a simple old church, but once you step inside, you realize you're standing somewhere that has witnessed more than 200 years of stories. Built in the 1770s as a German Reformed Church, it was later fortified and turned into a defensive stronghold during the Revolutionary War. You can still spot a cannonball hole in the wall a little visual reminder of how real that history was. The museum complex is spread out beautifully, with several old buildings and scenic grounds that make it easy to wander around at your own pace. Each building feels like a glimpse into a different part of Schoharie's past from farming and school life to vintage machinery and military history. The volunteers here really add to the experience they're kind, knowledgeable, and genuinely passionate about the history they're sharing. It's the kind of museum that doesn't feel overly polished, but that's exactly what makes it charming. You can sense the age of the wood floors and the craftsmanship in every display. It's quiet, peaceful, and even a little haunting in the best way, especially if you walk through the small cemetery nearby. If you enjoy exploring local history or hidden gems off the main tourist path, the Old Stone Fort is definitely worth a visit. It doesn't take long to go through, but you'll likely leave thinking about how much life and resilience are preserved in those old stone walls. read more

Old Stone Fort - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Schoharie, New York

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Wow, what a huge historical museum and tribute to our nations history. Definitely stop and spend time in this town. The whole story of the troops holding off the British soldiers from that place is amazing. The cemetery is amazing too. You can almost feel the soldiers running up and down the stairs and outside. Loved the cannon balls and to see the hole is pretty neat. I loved the whole area and town has historical homes all along the roadside. Nice shops too! read more

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Absolutely beautiful cemetery. We spent Mother's Day weekend walking around this peaceful cemetery. It was so serene and calming. It's incredibly well kept and clean. The volunteers do a great job ensuring that the property is perfect. We loved visiting the old stone fort and seeing how historic this museum and cemetery is. It's a gorgeous place to meditate, find peace and clarity. The museum is currently closed due to the pandemic but will hopefully reopen soon. Perfect place to spend an afternoon. read more

Old Stone Fort - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Schoharie, New York

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This is an historic site in Schoharie Village featuring "The Old Stone Fort" (more below), an historical cemetery, and a half a dozen historical buildings that have been relocated here to make a mini-historical park. The Old Stone Fort complex is open from late May to September most days, and closes up for the winter shortly after labor day. Hours seem to be mostly 10 AM to 4 PM. Admission to the main building is $7 for adults, $2 for kids, free for kids under 5, with some AAA and seniors discounts. You can wander around the other buildings but it's an honor system. The staff wear historical outfits but don't do full re-enactment style interpretation; most of the exhibits are self-guided. There's a small gift shop inside with a pleasant assortment of historical and touristy things that are sold to support the historical society. The Old Stone Fort was a church that was reinforced and put inside a stockade during the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars. The stockade has not been restored, and the site has been festooned with memorials since the 19th century, so it is not a particularly instructive example of the fortified household that was common during the conflicts on the western frontier of New York. That said, it serves as one of the few spots where you can see remnants of what the brutal warfare of the Revolution here was like (where Loyalist and Indians, and Patriots and Indians, traded wars of obliteration, destroying every house and farm and murdering men, women, and children alike wholesale as a war of economic attrition). The Old Stone Fort was one of a series of structures that served as refuges for Patriot settlers during a series of armed raids (bordering on massacres), and was the site of an engagement in 1780 during a large-scale pillaging of the Schoharie Valley by (loyalist) Sir John Johnson and (Mohawk) Captain Joseph Brant that targeted the patriot-Palatine German settlers and their Oneida allies close by. The British besieged several hundred militia and their families inside the stockade for a short period, and then left; the Patriots couldn't stop them from destroying the valley, but the Fort saved their lives. There's little in the fort to show this, though, as it's devoted to a hodge podge of artifacts donated over nearly 200 years, ranging from some authentic remnants of the Revolution (muskets, axes, etc.) to Civil War paraphernalia dating from its latter use as an armory to arm and train New York regiments and some truly unrelated items in between. The upstairs has case after case of miscellany, from arrowheads to old newspapers, that is only thinly curated. You will likely find things of interest but it's hard to really take in an ordered way and there's no "story" in the exhibit organization. As such, I wouldn't go out of your way to visit this place "cold" without reading up a little on the bitter frontier warfare of 1776-1781; without the context it's just a semi-cool old building with some cannons in front, with the context you can feel the shivers running down your spine as you realize this building was a refuge from torture, mutilation, and slow death of the worst kind. The outbuildings have various levels of interest. The best are an old school house where the kids can pretty much play school, 19th-century style (including ringing the school bell from a rope) and an old barn with a really monumental number of miscellaneous farm implements from over a 200 year period, again, sort of semi-randomly organized. If you'd like to see the same sort of thing on a somewhat grander and more historically important scale, I'd suggest Johnson Hall / Old Fort Johnson state historic site in Johnstown --formerly the county seat of Troyon County, which was pretty much everything in New York that wasn't New York City or Albany before indpendence, and pretty much the center of New York's western frontier leading up to the Revolution -- or the Fort Stanwix National Historical Monument near Rome, associated with the bloody Oriskany campaign, which has a full modern recreation of a much larger stockade fort built using original archeological information. read more

Old Stone Fort - The Old Stone Fort, part of a mish-mosh of historical structures in Schoharie Village. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Schoharie, New York

I must admit that I volunteer my time quite a lot at the Old Stone Fort however, I am indeed a very happy volunteer. I enjoy the review that Matt W. gave of this remarkable historical treasure & agree with him however, he didn't mention the Research Library that exists inside the Fort, nor all the treasured geneological information it houses. Many people from all over the country have come to it for help finding their families, past & even present.. There is information in collections there from the many different families themselves to Church records of Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths, along with all of the Cemeteries in & around Schoharie Co., Census records on microfilm, actual family Bibles also are housed there from many different families that can be seen (with the aide of the Museum Curator) or for those just seeking information from them, the records inside the Bibles have been copied so anyone can look through books, documents, etc for themselves. This Library has free access to all Schoharie Co. residents which I find very strange at the number of residents who are unaware of it's existence even, let alone, take time to visit. For others, it's a small fee & in both cases, volunteers are there to help those people who do go in. There is also offered, for a very low fee, from the Schoharie Co. Historical Society, help through the mail with research for families or more in depth research done for Family Tree information. I just wanted to mention all of this since, I know how frustrating it can be trying to locate information for Family research first hand. read more