Collections

Collections Scope

The Society collects materials pertaining to the Town of Bleecker, a small rural community founded in 1831 and located in northern Fulton County in the southern foothills of the Adirondack mountains of New York State.

A. Resource Extraction. We seek artifacts documenting the heyday of Bleecker industry, including logging, tanning, farming, and ice harvesting, as well as associated manufacture and trade.

B. Wilderness Subsistence. We seek artifacts documenting informal subsistence activities, including hunting, fishing, trapping, gardening, canning, sugaring and household handicraft.

C. Mountain Tourism. We seek artifacts documenting the accommodation, recreation and travel industry, including camping, hiking, guiding, fishing, hunting, painting, photography and travel writing.

D. Built Environment. We seek artifacts documenting the vernacular architecture of residential homes and seasonal camps, as well as our largely vanished industrial landscape of mills and factories.

E. Social Life. We seek artifacts documenting social institutions, including churches, dance halls, social clubs, and youth groups, as well as local music, folklore, myths and legends.

F. Public Works. We seek artifacts documenting public transport, common schools, cemeteries, waste disposal, emergency response, town governance, and the Adirondack Forest Preserve.

G. Local Landscape. We seek artifacts documenting the shifting character of the town landscape, particularly related to forest clearance and regrowth with the vagaries of industry and development.

H. Military Service. We seek artifacts documenting the service of local veterans, their lives, memories, stories, images and memorabilia.

How to Donate

The Bleecker Historical Society now welcomes donations to its historic collections. At the present time, we are able to accept only small items such as postcards, books, journals, maps, signs, artwork and photographs due to spatial limitations. To donate an object or set of objects to the Society, please download a Donation Application, fill out the top portion, and return it to the Society (preferably with a photograph of the item) by email at bleeckerhistoricalsociety@gmail.com or by post to the Bleecker Town Hall, 575 County Highway 112, Gloversville, NY 12078. Potential donors may also submit an application at the Town Hall during our public hours. We will contact you to make an appointment to view the item. Donation Applications can also be obtained at the Town Hall, or sent by post.

In addition to original objects, the Society also gratefully welcomes donations of images. Images can be scanned by the donor, brought to the Town Hall during our public hours for scanning, or scanned by appointment.

 

Collection Management Strategy

To download a full copy of our Collections Management Strategy, approved by the membership and the Board of Trustees on 18 November 2013, please click on the  link above. The Strategy, comprising a collections management plan, policy and procedures, as well as a code of ethics, disaster plan and associated forms, is the document which governs our collections process. It will be reviewed on a yearly basis at our Annual Meeting and updated as necessary.