Transcription
Clay: Hi, this is Clay Edmunds again. So the previous recording focused on the Old Stone Fort serving as a fort during the Revolutionary War. This recording, however, focuses on the fort after that. So as I mentioned in the previous recording, the Old Stone Fort was a church and it remained as a church after the war. In fact, it was an active church until 1844 when the congregation split into newer churches. One half of the congregation moved to a new church in the village of Schoharie, while the other one was in a new church in Gallupville, which is in the town of Wright, just east of Schoharie.
The people who owned the Old Stone Fort still owned this building, and they used it for funerals and weddings. But since this church was no longer providing regular religious services, it was sort of in danger of falling into disrepair. Now, interestingly, the people who owned the church were about $700 in debt by 1857. And at that same time, New York State was building arsenals across the state. And there were a few State Assemblymen who made the case for the Old Stone Fort to be converted into an arsenal or armory. The main reasons given came down to the fact that it would be cheaper than constructing a new building and that the Old Stone Fort should be preserved as it survived the Revolutionary War and the burning of the valley. Funding proved to be a challenge and the building needed to be repaired before it could be converted. And New York State allocated $3,000 for the purchase of the Old Stone Fort. And of that $3,000, 800 was spent to purchase the building. And from some research I’ve been doing, at least another $1,000 was spent on repairs.
During its conversion from church to armory, a second floor was added and expanded upon the original balcony. The belfry was removed from the tower and the tower itself was raised in order to fit a huge flagpole. The first floor, which was previously wooden, had concrete poured over it. And in 1865, the Middleburg Armory, which was a barn, was sold and its accouterments were transported to the Old Stone Fort, now the state arsenal at Schoharie. The 108th New York National Guard Infantry Regiment made the fort their regimental armory. And in fact, Company B from said Regiment, which I did an exhibit on, they made it their headquarters, and they, Company B, used this building as such from 1865 to 1868. And then by 1873, New York gave this building to Schoharie County to preserve.
The county has owned this building ever since. However, it officially opened as a museum in 1889, and its collections were owned by the Schoharie Historical Society, which was actually formed the previous year. So that is an overview of the history of the Old Stone Fort. And yeah. Thanks for listening.