UPPER HUDSON

New Scotland Museum

https://www.newscotlandhistory.org/

Wyman Osterhout Community Center

7 Old New Salem Road Voorheesville, NY 12186

Hours: Sunday 2-4 PM and thirty minutes before programs. Closed July and August except by appointment. 

 Email: [email protected]

 

Historical Description:

The exhibit chronologically details the history of the area, focusing on the Helderberg Mountains, Mohican Indians, and railroad innovations to the area. The Helderberg Mountains are the prominent feature of New Scotland. Their limestone cliffs hold fossils from the Devonian period (390 to 340 million years ago). They were named "Helderberg", which is Dutch for "Clear Mountain," because the formation can be seen from miles away. The Mohican Indians resided in what is now called the Hudson River valley for hundreds of years. They welcomed the Dutch and their trade goods. The Indians traded beaver pelts, desired by the Europeans for making their beaver hats, for these items. Trade continued for decades. In 1629 the Dutch started to settle what is now Albany and Rensselaer Counties primarily to protect their trade with the Indians.

In 1864 two railroads were built through the Town of New Scotland, headed west from the Hudson River, both trying to find a way around the Helderbergs. The Albany and Susquehanna line and the New York, West Shore and Buffalo railroads crossed one another in a farm field. Subsequently a village grew up around the crossroad and in 1899 the Village of Voorheesville (named for a railroad attorney) was incorporated.

 

The Site:

The exhibits represent various aspects of the history of the Town of New Scotland. The opening geology exhibit shows this area before the Atlantic Ocean was fully explored and documented by explorers. Other displays look forward in time, to the 1800s and early 1900s.