The New York State Museum, State Library, State Archives, and the New York State Archives Partnership Trust, in collaboration with the Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist University and the Cooperstown Graduate Program at SUNY Oneonta, are excited to announce the third annual New York History Conference. The goal of the conference is to provide an inclusive and engaging forum in which historians, educators, museum professionals, archivists, and librarians can share research and resources on the practice, research, preservation, and teaching of New York State history.
When: June 11-12, 2026
Where: Marist University, 3399 North Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
Registration and Hotel Information:
Registration: Click here to register
Room blocks have been secured at three lodging establishments in close proximity to Marist University. Rooms can be booked through the block for Thursday, June 11, and Friday, June 12, 2026. See below for information on booking for each establishment.
Courtyard by Marriott Poughkeepsie
2641 South Road
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
Phone number: 800-647-7576 *Note: If booking by telephone, attendees must request the “Marist University NY History Conference Room Block” to obtain the discounted rate.
Room block cutoff date: May 14, 2026
Homewood Suites by Hilton Poughkeepsie
900 Thomas Watson Dr
Poughkeepsie, New York 12601 USA
Phone number: 845-462-0030 *Note: If booking by telephone, attendees must request the “New York History Conference Block” to obtain the discounted rate.
Room block cutoff date: May 12, 2026
Inn at Bellefield / Hyde Park
25 Old Vineyard Place
Hyde Park, NY 12538
Phone number: 845-414-6750 *Note: If booking by telephone, attendees must request the group code “MRI” to obtain the discounted rate.
Room block cutoff date: April 12, 2026
Contact: nyhistory2026@marist.edu
Conference Scholarships: TBA
Marketing and Exhibitor Opportunities
Please complete the attached form to become a sponsor of the 2026 New York History Conference. Exhibitors, to pay by credit card or check, please see the registration link above or the attached form.
Opening Reception Keynote Panel
Fire and Freedom: The American Revolution in New York
Available May 15, 2026, from Cornell University Press
What started as a constitutional dispute about “home rule” and taxation became a transformative event that unleashed a host of unanticipated consequences. Showcasing New York's central role in the revolution, Fire and Freedom also highlights the stories of people and events previously hidden from popular view, unveiling a new vision of this famous narrative. Many of the revolution's key moments can be traced to New York: city crowds rioted against colonial taxation and George Washington spent one-third of the war in and around the soon-to-be "Empire State." Beyond these well-known players and moments, however, lies a trove of new information on New York's hidden revolutionary stories and what that revolution meant to the many thousands who participated in it.
This panel discussion is comprised of contributing authors to Fire and Freedom.
Panelists:
Moderated by Thomas S. Wermuth, Frank T. Bumpus Chair in Hudson River Valley History, Marist University and Editor, Fire and Freedom: The American Revolution in New York.
Benjamin L. Carp is the Daniel M. Lyons Professor of American History at Brooklyn College and also teaches at the Graduate Center of the City of New York.
John Cording, St. Thomas Aquinas College.
Elana Krischer, Independent Scholar.
Christopher F. Minty, Digital Editor at the University of Virginia.
Dillon L. Streifeneder, Assistant Professor of History at the United States Naval Academy.
Lunchtime Keynote Speaker
TBA
Special Session
Special Session: Historic African American Burial Grounds and Cemeteries
African American historic burial grounds and cemeteries are some of the state’s most fragile sacred places. They document the history of slavery and the African diaspora, civil rights struggles, and spiritual practice while honoring the voices and lives of ancestors. The threats to these cultural sites are many. They have suffered from abandonment, neglect, a misunderstanding of existing burial statutes and legal boundaries, direct or encroaching development, missing and damaged markers, missing and deteriorated burial records, and overall lack of public awareness of their significance to their communities. Some have been lost to time and merit efforts towards their rediscovery and preservation. There have been several instances of unmarked burials that have been inadvertently discovered and threatened or destroyed by development projects, which would potentially benefit from respectful reinterment.
Session 1: Stepping into a Burial Ground Project: Three possible scenarios
This session will explore three common paths into burial ground projects and the different types of support required
Unintentional Ground Disturbance
Undisturbed Ground - Unmarked and/or Unsupported Known or Suspected Location
Lost Burial Ground – Removed and Redeveloped
Session 2: Building a Legacy Plan
Memorialization Options
Envisioning and funding long term care
Ways to keep location in living memory
Sessions will include information on the role of archaeology in historic burial grounds; specific case studies; technical preservation strategies; reinterment issues; legal issues related to unknown or inaccurate cemetery boundaries and grave locations, and unknown or contested ownership; how to research and document Black cemeteries; funding strategies; sharing of best practices; digital applications in the recording and restoration of cemeteries; issues of public interest and engagement; respectful and appropriate interpretation and memorialization; and more.
Panelists will include staff of NYS OPRHP Division of Historic Preservation, archeologists, historians, and colleagues working on active historic African American burial ground and cemetery projects in New York state.
These sessions are sponsored by NYS OPRHP Enslavement to Freedom 1627-1827-2027 Project
2026 New York History Conference Schedule
All times and locations are subject to change
Murray Student Center at Marist University
Poughkeepsie, New York
June 11-12, 2026
Thursday, June 11, 2026, 12:30 p.m. - 8:15 p.m., Murray Student Center
12:30 p.m. | Conference registration opens
12:30 p.m. | Exhibitor Hall Opens
2:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. | Session 1
3:30 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. | Session 2
5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. | Lightning Round
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. | Opening Reception
7:00 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. | Keynote Panel
Friday, June 12, 2026, 8:30 a.m. - 5:15 p.m., Murray Student Center
8:30 a.m. | Registration and Exhibitor Hall opens
9:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. | Session 3
10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. | Session 4
11:50 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. | Lunch
1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Keynote Speaker
2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. | Session 5
4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. | Session 6
PROGRAM SESSIONS
ROUNDTABLE
“Beyond the Allegory: Revolutionary Women at the New York Historical”
Moderator: Anna Danziger Halperin, Director, The Center for Women’s History at The New York Historical
Tessa Bangs, Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Women’s History and Public History, The New York Historical
Lauren Cain, University of Maryland, College Park
Isabelle Held, Mellon Foundation Gender and LGBTQ+ History Postdoctoral Fellow, The New York Historical
Rachel Pitkin, Mellon Predoctoral Fellow in Women’s and Public History, The New York Historical
“Truth, Artificial Intelligence, and the Historical Narrative”
Moderator: TBA
Taylor Bruck, City of Kingston Historian and Ulster County Clerk
Bill Merchant, Deputy Director for Collections, Historian, and Curator, D&H Canal Historical Society
Jonathan Palmer, Greene County Historian and Ulster County Archivist
“Drawn by the River: Comics Creators Explore Their Life and Work in the Hudson River Valley”
Moderator: Moira Fitzgibbons, Professor of English, Marist University
John Breiner, Artist, Illustrator, and Muralist
Jeffrey Canino, Author and Lecturer of English, Marist University
Kayla Miller, Author and Cartoonist
Summer Pierre, Author, Cartoonist, and Illustrator
Creating a New York City 5-Borough Commemorative Journal for American 250
Moderator: Gabriella Leone, Curator, Historic Richmond Town
Jessica Baldwin Phillips, Chief Executive Officer, Historic Richmond Town
Peter-Christian Aigner, Director, The Gotham Center for New York City History
Dominique Jean-Louis, Chief Historian, The Center for Brooklyn History
Steven Payne, Director, The Bronx County Historical Society and New York City 5-Borough Commemorative Journal Committee
“Mapping Gay New York: Queer History, Digital Humanities, and Lessons Learned”
Moderator: LC Santangelo, Lecturer, Princeton University
Sam Griggs, Princeton University
Sara A. Howard, Librarian for Gender and Sexuality Studies and Student Engagement, Princeton University
Daniella Martinez, Princeton University
Tyler Scarborough, Princeton University
“Public History in Practice: Projects of the New York State Historic Preservation Office”
Moderator: TBA
Olivia Brazee, Senior Historic Site Restoration Coordinator, New York State Historic Preservation Office
Sara Evenson, Survey & National Register Unit, New York State Historic Preservation Office
Jeff Iovannone, Survey & National Register Unit, New York State Historic Preservation Office
“A Material History of New Paltz”
Moderator: Jen Palmentiero, Digital Services Manager, Southeastern NY Library Resources Council
Louise McGoldrick, Collections Manager, Historic Huguenot Street
Cyrus Mulready, Associate Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences, SUNY New Paltz
Sara Vala, SUNY New Paltz
Makayla Witherell, SUNY New Paltz
“Interagency Collaboration on the Courtland Street Reinterment Project”
Moderator: Christian Futyma, Archaeologist, New York Department of Environmental Conservation
Lisa Anderson, Curator of Bioarcheology, New York State Museum
Dan Barusch, Director of Planning and Zoning, Town and Village of Lake George
Jennifer Betsworth, Agency Preservation Officer, New York Department of Environmental Conservation
Christina Rieth, State Archaeologist and Co-Director of the Cultural Resource Survey Program, New York State Museum
PANELS
“The Albany Post Road”
Moderator: Kathleen Reilly, Trustee, Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society
Bruce Graves, Albany Post Road Initiative, “Unraveling the Albany Post Road”
Chris Martinovic, Landscape Designer, “GIS Techniques for Historic Preservation: Georeferencing Historic Maps”
Guy Robinson, Visiting Scholar, Fordham University, “Megafauna: Evidence and Impact of Multi-Ton Highway Engineers?”
“Widows, Doctors, and Vigilantes: Seeking Freedom, Health, and Justice in New York”
Moderator: TBA
Eric Cimino, Associate Professor and Chair of the History Department, Molloy University, “New York City Hospitals and the 1918 Influenza Pandemic”
Kristin Jorgensen, SUNY Brockport, “The Widow’s Paradox: NY Women and the Civil War Pension System”
Andy McCarthy, Reference Librarian, New York Public Library, “Salutary and Well-Intentioned Violence: The 1858 Quarantine Fires in Staten Island”
“New York's Revolutionary Origins and Legacies: Looking Forward and Back Across the Long Eighteenth Century”
Moderator: Caroline Chamberlin Hellman, Professor of English, City University of New York
Ted Knudsen, City University of New York, “Before Hamilton: Robert Hunter, Lewis Morris, and Colonial New York’s Experiments in Crafting Markets”
Keith J. Muchowski, Librarian and Professor, City University of New York, “New York’s American Whig Triumvirate in Eighteenth Century New York: The Lives and Work of William Livingston, John Morin Scott, and William Smith, Jr. Before, During, and After the American Revolution”
Mark Noonan, Professor of English, City University of New York, “John Holt’s Movable Types”
“History of Women and LGTBQ+ New Yorkers”
Moderator: Susan Ingalls Lewis, Professor Emerita of History at SUNY New Paltz, and President Women’s Rights Alliance of New York State (WRANYS)
Kelly Hayes McAlonie, Director of Campus Planning, University of Buffalo, “Welcome to the Club: Breaking Barriers by Professional Recognition”
Ashley Hopkins-Benton, Senior Historian and Curator of Social History, New York State Museum, “Stonewall: A Clarion Call for LGBTQ+ Organizing”
Daniel Kornstein, Writer and Lawyer, “I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar!: The New York City Garment Workers Strike of 1909-10 and the Women’s Movement”
“New York Stories: Before, During, and After the American Revolution”
Moderator: TBA
Caroline Curvan, Town of Ossining Historian, “Uncovering the Revolutionary War Service of Surgeon’s Mate Mordecai Hale and the Power of Public History Research”
Jack Kelly, Author and Public Historian, “Thomas Paine and the New York Campaign of 1776”
William Walker, Professor of History, Cooperstown Graduate Program, SUNY Oneonta, “Jesse J. Cornplanter, Seneca Storytelling, and Indigenous Self-Determination”
“Hurley Mountain Stories: Freedom, Landownership, and Community Before Emancipation”
Moderator: TBA
Carl Brown, Descendant and Rondout Neighborhood Organizer
Robert Sweeney, Town of Ulster Historian
Erin von Holdt, Chair of Hurley Heritage Society Rev250, Contributing Historian for the Margaret Wade Lewis Center
“Minds and Hearts at War: Three Revolutionary Soldiers, Seen Through Different Lenses”
Moderator: Regan Miner, Development Director, The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor
Brian Carso, Professor of History and Government, Misericordia University
Nathaniel Carso, Student
Dayne Rugh, Director, Slater Memorial Museum
“Frontiers of Social and Economic Reform in New York City's Gilded Age: The Blossoming of Women's and Workers' Rights”
Moderator: Kate Long, Research Services Archivist, Smith College
Derek Hoff, Professor of Management, University of Utah, “Collective Bar-gaining: The History of Labor Activism at Liebmann Breweries”
James E. Sherow, University Distinguished Professor, Emeritus, Kansas State University, “Delmonico’s Restaurant: An Incubator of Social and Economic Change in 1868”
“Saving US: How Black Military Service in the Hudson Valley Shaped Our Nation”
Moderator: Rashida Tyler, Acting Executive Director, NYS Council of Churches
Marcus Smith, Historian and Founder, Black Grassroots Heritage Network
Maisha Tyler, Urban Planner and Preservationist, Atharhacton Planning & Consulting and AME Zion Church of Kingston
Merle Tyson, Historian, AME Zion Church of Newburgh
“Sacrifice and Service: Everyday Impacts of the American Revolution on Citizens, Soldiers, and Smugglers”
Moderator: TBA
Robb K. Haberman, Adjunct Instructor of History, Fordham University, “Securing the Legacy of the American Revolution: The Wartime Memoir of Sergeant James Selkirk”
William Matthews, Independent Historian, “The Golden Rock and the Hudson Hollows: Atlantic Smuggling and Gendering of Revolutionary Politics”
Patrick Raftery, Associate Director and Librarian, Westchester County Historical Society, “Experiencing the Neutral Ground of the American Revolution”
“Hyphen-Nation: Immigrant Communities and American Culture”
Moderator: TBA
La Tasha A. Brown, Visiting Scholar, SUNY at New Paltz, “UNBOUGHT UNBOSSED UNAPOLOGETICALLY STYLED: Shirley Chisholm’s Fashion and Political Discourse”
Kavita Gawrinauth, New York University, “Ritual Circulation and Belonging: Indo-Guyanese Migration, Religion, and Community Formation in New York City”
Matthew Zumchak, SUNY Brockport, “The Dynamics of the Ukrainian Diaspora”
“Knox250: Cannons, Collaboration, and Community in the Making of a Regional 250th Commemoration”
Moderator: Devin Lander, New York State Historian
Anne Clothier, Saratoga County
Lauren Roberts, Saratoga County Historian, Chair of Saratoga 250, and New York State 250th Commissioner
“Claiming Place: Strategies of Inclusivity and Exclusivity from the Tri-State to Upstate”
Moderator: TBA
Jonathan Ezra Goldman, Professor of Humanities, New York Institute of Technology, “A Black Coney Island, Erased”
Jeff Miller, Professor of Communication and Fulbright Scholar, Utica University, “Major Real Estate Firms That Segregated Upstate New York”
Reynolds J. Scott-Childress, Associate Professor of History, SUNY at New Paltz, “Reconstructing the Old South Plantation in Gilded Age Nyack, New York: Place Making and Race-Making, 1865-1900”
“Quakers and Shakers: Liberation, Dissent, and Contradiction Within Two Religious Communities”
Moderator: TBA
Theresa Frey-Alexander, Education Coordinator, Shaker Heritage Society, “Mother Ann Lee: One Woman’s Revolution”
Anthony Larocca, Instructor of Government and Economics, Dutchess Community College, “Quakers: Loyalists or Patriots? Pacifists or Soldiers?”
“Sanctified: Preservation Strategies Across Eastern New York”
Moderator: TBA
Aiden Daly, Mississippi University, “‘Back to the Days of the Revolution:’ Historical Memory and the Environment in Conservation of the Hudson Palisades”
Neil Forkey, Associate Professor of History and Canadian Studies, St. Lawrence University, “Paul Jamieson: Bard of the Adirondacks and Protector of its Waters”
Rory Kemp, SUNY Oswego, “American Deathscapes: Mortality, Environment, and Identity in Upstate New York”
“Revolutionary Stories and Innovative Media: Teaching the American Revolution Through Film and Literature”
Moderator: TBA
Sylvie M. Beaudreau, Associate Professor of Canadian and New York History, SUNY Plattsburgh, “History as the Propaganda of the Losers: Using the World Turned Upside Down to Teach New York College Students About the War of Independence” (short film included in presentation)
Claire Bellerjeau, Co-Founder and Author, Remember Liss, “Remember Liss: A New American Founding Figure”
LIGHTNING ROUND
-Thomas D. Beal, Assistant Professor of History and Urban Studies, SUNY Oneonta, “Committed to New York City’s Bridewell Jail for ‘Disobeying a Master’”
-Joseph Zarzynski, Maritime Archaeologist and Author, French and Indian War Society at Lake George, Inc., “1903: They Cut Up Lake George’s “Old Gunboat” for Souvenirs”
-Michael McGuire, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Honors Program, Mount Saint Mary College, “New York’s Reconstruction of World War-Ravaged France, 1917-1924”
-Lilah Jain, SUNY Brockport, “Survivors on Trial: Gender, Class, and Immigration Bias in the 1911 Triangle Factory Fire Trial”
-Fungisai Musoni-Chikede, Assistant Professor of History and Director of the Africana Studies Program, Marist University, “Vassar and South Africa: an Apartheid Story from 1975-1994”
-Eileen McAdam, Director and Co-Founder, The Sound and Story Project, “Stories from the Revolution Outside Your Window”
-Mary Ellen Matise, Town of Montgomery Historian, “Mr. Peale’s Mastodon Comes for Visit”
-Eric Schubert, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, “Oneida vs Lancaster: The 1845 Land Claim”
-Michael Boston, Professor and Chair of African and African-American Studies, SUNY Brockport, “The National Negro Business League in Niagara Falls, New York”
New York Department of State: African American Commission on African American History
The New York Department of State is administering an African American History Commission. Among its many projects, the African American Commission on African American History is funding a grant program for documenting African American history at the local level and will speak about the grant program and other related projects.
2024 NYHC Resource Page
View videos of recorded sessions from the 2024 New York History Conference. Educators can access additional opportunities to earn .5 CTLE credit hours!