Turning Point 1777

01/11/2024

Jeff will be there with all three volumes of his "Skohere and the Birth of New York's Western Frontier 1609-1731" series. Stop by for the books , whichhe is happy to sign, or just chat about them or other projects. See you there!

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27/10/2024

Some say the Old Stone Fort is haunted. After stories of ghosts, witches, real-life horrors, places of unrest and more, on our Oct 30 Ghost Watch oat the Lily Park in Schoharie, we'll walk to the grounds of the old church - turned fort - turned museum. Here's your chance to hear what strange things have been reported over the years -including personal experiences! Can they be connected to historical events, people, or macabre artifacts in the collection? We also have some behind the scenes stories about the Ghost Hunters investigation and TV espisode that aired in 2010. To end the night, we'll conduct a new photo experiment, focusing on specfiic parts of the building and grounds. Maybe we'll catch something the naked eye can't. Ghost Watch is on Wednesday Oct 30 at 7pm. $10 ages 10 & up - bring lawn seating, a warm blanket, a flashlight, and a phone/camera. We can't promise you'll see a ghost, but we can't promise you won't, either!

27/10/2024

Jeff will be at the Schoharie Library's Local Author's Book Fair on Saturday, November 2 from 10am - 2pm. He'll have all three Skohere series books to sell & sign. Stop by and say hello - you might just find out what the next book will be!

25/10/2024

Some say the Old Stone Fort is haunted. The second half of our Ghost Watches on Oct 26 & 30 at the Lily Park in Schoharie will take place on the grounds of the old church - turned fort - turned museum. Here's your chance to hear what strange things have been reported over the years -including personal ones! Can they be connected to historical events or macabre artifacts in the collection? We also have some behind the scenes stories about the Ghost Hunters investigation and TV espisode that aired in 2010. To end the night, we'll conduct a new photo experiment, focusing on specfiic parts of the building and grounds. Maybe we'll catch something the naked eye can't. Ghost Watches are on Oct 26 & Oct 30 at 7pm. $10 ages 10 & up - bring lawn seating, a warm blanket, a flashlight, and a phone/camera. We can't promise you'll see a ghost, but we can't promise you won't, either!

23/10/2024

This photo was taken at Monmouth Battlefield, NJ, near the creek from which Molly Pitcher is said to have filled her pail with water for parched soldiers on that blazing hot day, June 28, 1778. This is also where Jeff had his one and only encounter with what can only be described as an experience he'll never forget. Ghostly? Maybe. You can decide when you hear the story at our Ghost Watch events Oct. 26 & 30 at 7pm at the Lily Park in Schoharie. Many more stories to tell from around Schoharie County & beyond. $10 for ages 10 & up. bring a blanket, flashlight and a phone/camera to conduct a photo experiment.

22/10/2024

So what story opens our Ghost Watches on Oct. 26 & 30 at the Lily Park in Schoharie, sitting next to a creek , a covered bridge, and an Old Dutch burying place? Perfect setting for THE story of Halloween - the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. No matter where else the storytelling takes us afterward, this is also where we come full circle to end both nights. Oh yes, there is always a method to our madness. Join us on Oct. 26 & 30 at 7pm if you like some history with your frights. $10 for ages 10 & up. bring lawn seating, a flashlight, and a phone/camera for a new photo experiment on the grounds of the Old Stone Fort.

20/10/2024

06/10/2024

Mark your calendars!

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13/09/2024

Join Jeff at the Richmondville Historical Society annual meeting tomorrow (Saturday, September 14) for a presentation about his third and final volume of the "Skohere and the Birth of New York's Western Frontier 1609-1731" series. This is anything but a typical telling of the Palatine story and the series resets much of the known and accepted history of the early colonial history of Schoharie County. The covered dish dinner begins at 5pm and the presentation will follow the society's business meeting. The presentation is expected to begin approximately 6p. Books will be available for purchase and jeff will happily sign them. See you there!

13/09/2024

This week we spent a few days in Pennsylvania, one of which was presenting two talks on the Skohere series, especially Vol. III. Had a great time & met some great people. The Schoharie Valley and Tulpehocken region were already forever linked together by the Palatine story and Conrad Weiser, Jr, but that connection is understood better than ever. Now folks can find the series where many Palatines ended up!

08/09/2024

This was a lot of fun - even through the afternoon rain! Glad to have met such great people on the tour and show off Schoharie County a bit.

02/09/2024

***BUS TOUR*** Forts, Raids, Battles and Mayhem: The Schoharie Valley, 1776 to 1780 - Saturday, September 7, 2024 (8AM to 5PM) - Led by: Jeff O’Connor and Bruce Venter
To Register and for more Information, Please Visit: https://americashistoryllc.com/.../forts-raids.../...
This tour will feature the raids, forts, and battles in the Schoharie Valley during the American Revolution.
Many contributing factors made living on the western edge of Albany County, near the frontier, a very dangerous place during the war. Events here are indelibly linked to the people and events of the Mohawk Valley, as well as New York State and beyond. What happened in the Schoharie Valley region was part of a particularly brutal civil war that erupted on New York’s frontier.
Many of the opposing participants knew each other, as German, Dutch, and Mohawk friends, neighbors, and family members who chose sides and suffered often tragic consequences.
Along with a discussion of the violent history of the war in this region, there will be a rich narrative about the people who it impacted, their backgrounds, and what they had built and lost. This included the resident Mohawk community known as Wilden der Hoeck that was forever impacted.
The American Revolution in Schoharie County (formerly part of Tryon County) played out in a very condensed geographic area when compared to events in the Mohawk and Hudson Valleys. Numerous battles and skirmishes are among the tour stops, highlighted by the 1778 Battle of Cobus Kill (now Cobleskill), the culmination of a 1777 Loyalist uprising at the Battle of the Flockey, and the Battle of Cedar Swamp (now Sharon) in 1781.
We will also trace the path of Sir John Johnson’s army as it traveled through the Schoharie Valley on October 17, 1780. Loyalist and Mohawk raid sites along the way include the 1780 Vrooman’s Land “massacre,” at the base of Vrooman’s Nose, the attack on Fort DuBoise in Cobleskill in 1781 and the murder of Catharine Merckley and others at New Dorlach in 1780.
Forts visited or discussed will include the Upper, Middle and Lower Forts of the Schoharie Valley, the Fort at Kniskern’s Dorf, the “Blockhouse” at old Hartman’s Dorf, and Fort DuBoise in Cobleskill. Colonial-era structures that survived will also be part of the tour like Swart Tavern (1772) and the Old Stone Fort (1772). Other 18th century buildings of post-war construction that you’ll see on the tour are the Col. Peter Vrooman House (1791), the Dutch Reformed Church in Middleburgh (1786), the former Lutheran Church of Schoharie (1796) and a reconstructed German farmhouse of the Schoharie Valley (ca. 1786). On the grounds of the Old Stone Fort is the burial place of David Williams, one of the three men who captured Major John Andre and exposed Benedict Arnold’s treason at West Point. This tour will be a chance for Revolutionary War enthusiasts to see sites that they may not have seen before and hear about a remarkable, yet unfamiliar aspect of the American War for Independence.
Departure information: Bus leaves Amsterdam at the NY State Thruway Park n Ride at 8 AM. We will return by 5 PM. More details will be provided to participants regarding departure location for this tour.
What’s Included: Motor coach transportation, lunch, snack and beverage breaks, all admissions and gratuities, a map and materials package and the services of tour leaders selected for their knowledge and expertise.
Our Tour Leaders: Jeff O’Connor is the author of The Old Stone Fort: Guardian of Schoharie County History Since 1772 and an experienced tour guide specializing in Revolutionary War Schoharie County.
Registration Fee: $165
Register by phone, e-mail or postal mail:
Phone: 1-703-785-4373
Email us at: [email protected]
Postal mail: America’s History LLC, PO Box 18, Diamond Point, NY 12824
Thank you for supporting America's History LLC, the Nation's Leading History Conference and Bus Tour Company.

28/08/2024

***BUS TOUR*** Forts, Raids, Battles and Mayhem: The Schoharie Valley, 1776 to 1780 - Saturday, September 7, 2024 (8AM to 5PM) - Led by: Jeff O’Connor and Bruce Venter
To Register and for more Information, Please Visit: https://americashistoryllc.com/.../forts-raids.../...
This tour will feature the raids, forts, and battles in the Schoharie Valley during the American Revolution.
Many contributing factors made living on the western edge of Albany County, near the frontier, a very dangerous place during the war. Events here are indelibly linked to the people and events of the Mohawk Valley, as well as New York State and beyond. What happened in the Schoharie Valley region was part of a particularly brutal civil war that erupted on New York’s frontier.
Many of the opposing participants knew each other, as German, Dutch, and Mohawk friends, neighbors, and family members who chose sides and suffered often tragic consequences.
Along with a discussion of the violent history of the war in this region, there will be a rich narrative about the people who it impacted, their backgrounds, and what they had built and lost. This included the resident Mohawk community known as Wilden der Hoeck that was forever impacted.
The American Revolution in Schoharie County (formerly part of Tryon County) played out in a very condensed geographic area when compared to events in the Mohawk and Hudson Valleys. Numerous battles and skirmishes are among the tour stops, highlighted by the 1778 Battle of Cobus Kill (now Cobleskill), the culmination of a 1777 Loyalist uprising at the Battle of the Flockey, and the Battle of Cedar Swamp (now Sharon) in 1781.
We will also trace the path of Sir John Johnson’s army as it traveled through the Schoharie Valley on October 17, 1780. Loyalist and Mohawk raid sites along the way include the 1780 Vrooman’s Land “massacre,” at the base of Vrooman’s Nose, the attack on Fort DuBoise in Cobleskill in 1781 and the murder of Catharine Merckley and others at New Dorlach in 1780.
Forts visited or discussed will include the Upper, Middle and Lower Forts of the Schoharie Valley, the Fort at Kniskern’s Dorf, the “Blockhouse” at old Hartman’s Dorf, and Fort DuBoise in Cobleskill. Colonial-era structures that survived will also be part of the tour like Swart Tavern (1772) and the Old Stone Fort (1772). Other 18th century buildings of post-war construction that you’ll see on the tour are the Col. Peter Vrooman House (1791), the Dutch Reformed Church in Middleburgh (1786), the former Lutheran Church of Schoharie (1796) and a reconstructed German farmhouse of the Schoharie Valley (ca. 1786). On the grounds of the Old Stone Fort is the burial place of David Williams, one of the three men who captured Major John Andre and exposed Benedict Arnold’s treason at West Point. This tour will be a chance for Revolutionary War enthusiasts to see sites that they may not have seen before and hear about a remarkable, yet unfamiliar aspect of the American War for Independence.
Departure information: Bus leaves Amsterdam at the NY State Thruway Park n Ride at 8 AM. We will return by 5 PM. More details will be provided to participants regarding departure location for this tour.
What’s Included: Motor coach transportation, lunch, snack and beverage breaks, all admissions and gratuities, a map and materials package and the services of tour leaders selected for their knowledge and expertise.
Our Tour Leaders: Jeff O’Connor is the author of The Old Stone Fort: Guardian of Schoharie County History Since 1772 and an experienced tour guide specializing in Revolutionary War Schoharie County.
Registration Fee: $165
Register by phone, e-mail or postal mail:
Phone: 1-703-785-4373
Email us at: [email protected]
Postal mail: America’s History LLC, PO Box 18, Diamond Point, NY 12824
Thank you for supporting America's History LLC, the Nation's Leading History Conference and Bus Tour Company.

The Fort Plain Museum
Turning