New York

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NY A neat bar with over 500 different beers, The Country Inn, Krumkill, NY ( perhaps for sales so take your check book)

NY A Large Roll of Pep-O- Mint Life Saviers, Gouveneur, NY

NY Al ( Grandpa Munster) Lewis at Grampa' Bella Gente Restaurant, Greenwich, Village, NY

NY Edible Town of Chili, NY

NY Granger Homestead (1816),horse-drawn vehicles collection (40), Canandaigua, NY

NY Little Cabin Inn, Newburgh, NY. This is a great find and you might think you are in a time warp.

NY The Goodrich Motel, Avoca, NY

NY Petrified Creatures Museum, Richfield, NY

NY Reptile Land, Kingston, NY

NY  QRS Music Rolls, on Niagra Street, Buffalo, where they still make roll music for player pianos since 1900                                                                                             

NY Saratoga Springs State Park, a collection of natural springs, Saratoga,NY More Info

NY Skew Arch Railroad Bridge, 1 of 2 in the world built on an angle, Silver Creek, NY

NY Statue of Ally-Ooops on Griggis (Spelling) AFB, Rome, NY

NY The Big Duck, Flanders, New York  A sneak pic 

NY The Octagon House, Middleburg, NY

NY White Trailer with white statues and other junk verywhere, Cortland, NY

NY World's Largest Fireside Chair, Wingdale,NY

NY World's Smallest Church, ( 3.5' by 6') Verona, NY

NY World's Smallest Church, Oneida, NY

NY Uncle Sam's Grave, Oakwood Cemetery, Troy, NY

NY The largest cathedral in the world - the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC, NY

NY The Bear Mountain Bridge over the Hudson, it is the only suspension bridge where the usupension cables go lower ( in the center ) than the roadway that they are suspending.  Only one in the world. NY

NY The Shrine of Martyrs, Auriesville, NY

NY The Woodstock Monument, Bethel, NY.

NY  The Petrified Creature Museum of Natural History, Ricchland Springs, NY

NY The Easter Egg Museum, Schoharie, NY

NY Top Half of a Giant Indian, roof of hardware store, Carmel,NY

NY Florida , NY

NY Amsterdam, NY

NY Betty Beaver's Truck Stop & Dinner, Glenn Falls, NY

NY Giant Chair, Wingdale, NY

NY The Flat Iron Building, lower Broadway,NY

NY World's Largest Kaleidoscope, Mt. Tremper, NY

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Weird Museums

NY The Lower East Side Tenement Museum,97 Orchard St, New York, Ny

NY Mike Weaver Drain Tile Museum, Geneva, NY( 315-789-3848)(Rt. 96A

NY, The American Bible Society Library"Holy Scriptures!" New York City, NY 212-408-1204

NY Jello Museum, LeRoy, NY

NY Salt Museum, I- 90, towards Syracuse, NY

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The Underground Railroad

NY Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged, Auburn, NY   More Info

NY St. James AME  Zion Church, Ithaca, NY   More Info

NY Gerrit Smith Estates and Land Office, Peterboro, NY    More Info

NY John Brown Farm and Gravesite, Lake Placid, NY.    More Info

NY  Foster Memorial AME Zion Church, Tarrytwon, NY    More Info

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Haunted Places

Albany   - Cherry Hill - a unidentified ghost has been seen on the lower floors and terace.

Buffalo - Holiday Inn - a ghostly little girl has been seen running through the halls.

Hudson - Dietz House - Mabel Parker haunts her former home and is heard on the 2nd floor.

Loundonville - Loudon Cottage - The ghost of Abraham Lincoln has been seen in this house, who was owned by the woman who was sitting next to Lincon when he was shot.

New York City - Bay Ridge Apartments - haunted by numerous spirits.

New York City - Clinton Street Brownstone - haunted by a young girl who died there.

New York City - Hotel Des Artistes - this ghost likes to touch people.

Troy - Forest Park cemetery - Forest Park cemetery is known to be in the top ten haunted cemeteries in the country. It is an old deserted cemetery- no new bodies have been buried there for many years. Many ghosts have been sighted there, photos of strange things have also been taken and published in the local newspapers. A renowned psychic says the cemetery was build on an Indian burial ground, and the spiritual activity is very turbulent and malicious.

Albany - The Capitol building - said to be haunted by a custodian who was killed in a fire many years ago.

Staten Island - BILLOP HOUSE - (foot of Hylan Blvd)- occasional apparations of several
Revolutionary War era ghosts in the house and garden.

Staten Island - OLD BERMUDA INN - (Arthur Kill Rd) Spectre of a young woman walks thru dining areas, and appears on stairs.

Staten Island - CANARD MANSION - (now St. John's Univ-Howard Av)-  Ghostly face of man who  committed suicide in the 1890's appears at window of second floor.

Staten Island - VANDERBILT TOMB - (Moravian Cemetary-Richmond Rd)- Photos taken of people at the tomb either have additional (unknown) persons present when developed, or just the tomb appears with no image of the people who posed.

Oyster Bay -  Raynham Hall - is haunted by a ghost called "The Brown Lady" who has been seen several times and once photographed.

Victor - Powder Mills Park - haunted by many different spirits, including that of a bearded man in period dress.

Rochester - Durand Eastman Park/Beach - The Lady in White  roams searching for her daughter who had supposedly been raped and murdered by unknown assailants. There are many different versions to the story, but this is indeed a documented fact in the Irondequoit libraries, and police department.

Menands - Albany Rural Cemetery - Ghastly Black figures such as cars,men,and unexplainable large masses can be seen here at dusk. A misteriously transparent couple can also be seen floating through the cemetery at night with thier pj's on.

Schenectady -Union College - There is a wonderful garden behind the college.  On the first full moon after the summer solstice, the spirit of Alice is said to walk along the creek there.She was burned at the stake centuries ago.

Cohoes - Cohoes Music Hall - haunted by several diferent spirits,in particular by one in the balcony.Many people have seen her,she appears as a woman dressed in 1930's or 40's type clothing(a black dress).She is said to have a very angry look in her eyes.

East Greenbush - Snyders Lake - The NightWatchman:  Brutally murdered as a young man.  He was never able to see his attacker so he now takes his anger out on the children that go to the camp on the lake.   Numerous news articles are available from the times union on the abductions. The Caretaker:  Died 2 years ago.  Roams the area and checks the bathrooms for good conditions occasionally.  Webbed:  Boy with webbed fingers was an excellent swimmer till he drowned at the camp trying to save a boy.  The other boy lived but webbed got stuck under the dock and drowned. Now when children are drowning and drifting further into the lake he pushes them into shore.

Troy - Oakwood Cemetery - Rumored site of satanistic gatherings, many accounts of black shadows, glowing orbs, and loud wails coming from within the locked gates at night.

Herkimer - BEARDSLY CASTLE (sp?) - the beardsley family (long dead) has been seen many times there.

Cohoes - Cohoes Music Hall -   Cohoes Music Hall is a typical, old-style music hall with a few twists.  Noted ghosts include the Black Lady, a shadowy, female figure seen and heard in the balcony.   There is another ghost, male, who has been heard and seen both onstage and in the wings; this is apparently the spectre of a stage manager who was crushed by a sandbag.

Syracuse - "13 curves" - located on Onondaga Hill, apparently is the site where about 70 years ago a newly married couple had been killed in an auto accident trying to go through the trechorous curves.   To this day it is said that a woman in a flowing white gown can be seen through the woods looking for her bridegroom.

Youngstown - Old Fort Niagara - The French Castle at the fort is where most of the paranormal experiences have occurred.

Astoria, Queens - American Museum of the Moving Image - Foot steps following you at night in the office area. A deep voice herd for a man in the hallway. People heard talking from the vents when no one else was in the building. A black women, in a white dress seen sitting at the desk in the entence lobby.

Springville - Western House  - This was once an old hotel and saloon, but is now apartments and a restaurant.  It is said to be haunted by the daughter of the first owner, her name is Christine.

Albany - The College of Saint Rose - There are 4 houses reported here to be haunted.  3 of them have been identified to some extent.  One is a 7 year old little girl killed in a fire, another is a priest, another is a musician who commited suicide in Chicago and another is a gardener.  The Dean of Students has all the details and gives a presentation on it every year.  Many students have witnessed many things.

Fort Edward - Jane Mcrea House - It was built back in the revolutionary war period in the town of Fort Edward.  The town played a strategic part in winning the war.  The story goes that Jane Mcree was hunted down by a band of indians and scalped in a closet in this house.  People who have lived in the house experience lights turning on and off,  foot steps coming from the attic.  The occupants will turn all the lights off when they leave at night and come home to have all the lights in the house turned on.  Also in the closet were Jane had been scalped you will get a cool draft and screams can sometimes be heard from it during the night.

Plattsburgh - Plattsburgh Air Force Base - Plattsburgh was a Revolutionary war Naval base strategically located between Canada, New York and Lake Champlain. On the "old side" of the base there is a cemetery where many soldiers are buried. Security Police on patrol have reported many soldiers wandering through the cemetery and the neighboring crematorium (building number 666). The military finance building used to be a surgical hospital. The basement walls are still painted red, to hide the blood stains. Security Police K-9 units refuse to go into the basement of this building. At the very entrance to the Old Base are two pillars that are original architecture. Sentries working this gate have reported a Revolutionary War era soldier marching back and forth between the pillars, standing guard.

Syracuse - The Landmark Theatre - An apparition known as the "lady in white" has been seen by numerous people over many decades. She is usually seen lingering quietly in the balcony of the theater.

Sherrill -  The Mansion House - The house is now a bed and breakfast and it is said to be believed that the bottom two floors that are now not accessible are haunted.

Oldforge - Big Moose Inn - A pregnant woman that was murdered by her fiance' and thrown in the lake can still be seen here.

Troy - Pinewood Cemetary - Some of the headless statues here have been reported to have had blood dripping from them.

Oswego - Lighthouse -  said to be haunted by three men who went up there to change the lightbulb during a storm and they never came back.

Seneca Falls - Seneca Falls Historical Museum - The museum is supposedly haunted by a former resident named Edward Mynderse. The ghost  is referred to as "Edward" and has been known to throw stuffed animals across rooms  and remove tacks from the storm window plastic. He is a friendly ghost, a practical  jokester.   Museum goers are informed of the ghost upon visiting the museum.

Lewstion - Mcdonalds -  It is said that a man was killed in this old buliding before it was Mcdonalds.   When you eat down stairs you can feel the chill and hear the man crying out for help.

Manhattan - Brittany Hotel - Corner of East 10th and Broadway , Phantom music and lights, people hearing unknown footsteps in the rooms and feeling presences "watching" them

Troy - Pinewood Cemetery - Actually Forest Park cemetery but known as Pinewood to most locals  because of the street name.It is rumoured to be a Gateway to Hell. Life magazine listed  it as a top ten haunted place and it is associated with Stull, Kansas, another known  gateway to Hell.

Kingston - Montrepose Cemetary - Activity and energy surrounding that graveyard.

New York City - New Amsterdam Theatre - haunted by a Ziegfeld Follies chorus girl, Olive Thomas, who killed herself. She has been seen on the stage and in one of the dressing rooms by workmen that were doing repairs on the theatre. She holds a blue glass bottle (reportedly that held the poison that killed her).

Hyde Park-Hoyts Mansion
A mansion that is haunted by the family members whom all killed themselves. The family was very strange, all under ground entrances to their house. Their home is in the middle of the woods in between two of the popular mansions, The Mills Mansion, and the Vanderbilt Mansion.

Poughkeepsie- Marist College -
As the story goes, Shelly was killed by a jealous boyfriend in the school's cafeteria.   Since then, she has been a presence in Sheahan Hall, where she lived.  Most of her activity involves folding clothes, opening/closing doors, screwing with televisions and occasional bumps in the night.  She may also be linked to some strange occurrences at a grotto dedicated to those who died at Marist.

Albany-Junior College of Albany/Russell Sage
Fine Arts building on Albany Campus have numerous ghosts that still can be heard. Buildings were at one time a Children’s Sanitarium (Parsons’s home for children) is located next door. This was a branch of the above.

Troy-Pinewood/Forest Park Cemetery:
Black shadow like human figure on the right side of the mausoleum, jumped to a woodpile, and crouched watching us.  Too fast and nimble to be a human...too big and bipedal to be an animal.

Huntington-Sweet Hallow Road -
A narrow, twisted road, surrounded by woods on both sides, no streetlights at all.  A cemetery rests on one extreme of the road.  It is said that a girl was struck by a car and died on the road back in the 1920's.  Her ghost is often seen walking down the road late at night.

Stony Brook-Mill House-
Abandoned house where a woman in white can be seen pacing the top floor of the house with a candle.

Grand Island- Whitehaven Cemetery-
A young girl who haunts the holiday inn next door her grave stone glows.  There is also a young woman who died of AIDS in the early 1990's there and she can be seen on her grave marker holding her infant son. There is also a man who died in the Gulf War walking around.  He is supposedly looking for his pregnant wife

Frewsburg-Grunsey Hollow Cemetery-
The cemetery is haunted by a mentally challenged child who was stoned to death in the 1800's.  People have seen graves glow, glowing balls of light, animals hung on the cross, and heard children laughing and playing.

Sunnyside-Irvington-
Former home of Washington Irving is reportedly haunted by his ghost and those of his nieces who used to take care of the place.  He likes to pinch women, and the nieces have been known to tidy the place at night after the interpreters have left for the evening.

Utica-Stanley Theatre-
There is a seat that they do not sell the ticket for, nor will they tell you what seat it is. Many people who have sat in the seat have felt someone sit on them, or try to force them out of the seat.

Geneva-Belhurst Castle-
The ghost of Belhurst Castle is that of a beautiful Italian opera singer, who fled from Spain with her lover. One night the couple raced to their secret tunnel. just when within safety the tunnel collapsed killing the opera singer. Over the years, dozens of guests have reported seeing a woman in white standing silently on the front lawn in the middle of the night.

Bohemia (on Long Island)
Haunted by a young female named Maria who was strangled to death in the back bedroom when the inn was a speakeasy over 60 years ago.  Bare footprints appear on the carpeting even in wintertime, shadowy figures in the kitchen, and unidentified bones appear in the basement.  The inn has been investigated many times by mediums and psychics and is currently under investigation by Candice
Isralow of Mt. Sinai.  Current owner has been there for over 20 years.

Schenectady-Veil Cemetery on State Street--
Several of the statues bleed from their eyes and tops of their heads, and sometimes "cry out" at night.  Apparitions, both white and black, have been sighted roaming through the graves and sitting up in trees.  The old church on the site houses many apparitions.  Strange lights can be seen in the windows, and an eerie "singing" can be heard just beyond the front doors.

Alexandria Bay-Boldt Castle-
Castle built in early 1900's,which was never completed due to the death of the builder's wife. Heartbroken, he left it, never to return. On many nights, a light can be seen in the uppermost windows of the castle, said to be the ghost of Mrs. Boldt.

Cohoes Music Hall -
Eva Tangue is probably the female voice being talked about earlier. At one point this ghost has been seen in reflections in mirrors.

Cohoes-The "Cohoes Falls" -
Little Indian girl was boating on a hot summer night and plunged into the bottom of the Cohoes Falls. She can be seen only on a full moon paddling desperately trying to escape the rapids. She wears a tomahawk hair and war paint. If you listen you and hear her crying out " sacajaweea " Which translated into English reads, help me.

Bronx-
Approx. west of the i95 high way there is an empty lot behind some houses that are now built on Baisley Ave. In among the trees at night u can sometimes see the little girl that was murdered there over 70 years ago and she was thrown in the swamps alive.

Whitesboro Middle School-
Clock tower is haunted by a decapitated football player.  Who can be seen wearing his jersey while holding his head.

Oswego-
19th century mansion that now serves as off-campus housing for students at Oswego State University. The building used to be a nursing home, and at least one friendly womanly apparition "revisits" occasionally, according to those who have since lived in the house.  The woman allegedly was a resident when the home was a nursing home.

Canadaigua / Victor- New Michigan Road-
A woman and her new husband were traveling home along New Michigan Road when they had a carriage accident, that killed them both. The Lady in White is still searching for her husband along the road.  She has been spotted during the full moon along the road.

Troy-Langsingburgh high school-
In room 243 there is sightings of dead children running and playing.  These children are from a huge mass murder by one of the teachers in 1936.  Also the killer John Cipperley is seen waving an ax.

East Aurora-Roycroft Inn-
Many people have said they've seen heard voices in the rooms when no one was
in there and have seen ghostly figures in the halls and main lobby. The Roycroft did burn down many years ago and was recently restored.
 
Brewster-Jesus Tree-
Tree was recently cut down because too many people were doing satanic rituals and gatherings in the fields behind the tree. It is said that the area around the tree is haunted and numerous people have seen apparitions and driven their car into the lake.

Old Westbury-The New York Institute of Technology-
Many of the old buildings on campus are said to be haunted. Cleaning crews refuse to work in the art center after a ghostly woman was reported sighted there.

Syracuse- Split Rock Quarry-
On July 12, 1918, a munitions plant exploded at Split Rock Quarry, west of Syracuse.   It took the lives of 50 men with it.  15 were never identified and buried in a common grave.  More than 80 years after the plant blew up, the spirits of the dead still roam the ledges or stand on the ruined rock crusher of the old quarry.  They glow in shades of green and yellow, a ghostly after-image of the effects of picric acid, the bitter, and toxic explosive that once stained miners' skin yellow-green.

Buffalo-Buffalo Naval Park-The S.S. The Sullivans-
 This ship was named after the five Sullivan brothers who were killed in
WWII on the same destroyer.  Caretakers have all had experiences aboard the ship including lights turning on and off.  Doors are locked at night with the caretaker having the only key and the doors will be unlocked the next day. The keys have been changed frequently.

Staten Island-Tottenville-
The woods at the end of Hylan Blvd, on Satterlee,  were once an old Indian burial ground.  If the trails are followed properly, you will come across an in-ground well, or DUMPING AREA, but be careful, DON'T GET TOO CLOSE!  It is said that there are still spirits wandering around what is also now a car graveyard.

Binghamton-The Roberson Museum and Science Center-
It is haunted by the ghost of Alonzo Roberson who built the Roberson Mansion which is part of the museum complex.  It is said that he haunts the elevator and halls of his home.

New Paltz-Shawangunk Mountain Range-
These mountains are full of Haunted Energy.  There are Indian Spirits through out that range.

Buffalo-Naval Serviceman's Park-
The U.S.S. Sullivans is said to be haunted by one of five brothers who died in World War II, named George. He is said to be roaming the ship looking for his younger brothers. There is a room that has pictures of all five, and people have taken pictures of this. The picture of George does not come out, it is a white blur. This ship is a memorial to the brothers.

Mahopacthe- Sedgewood club-
The Sedgewood club was an old resort for wealthy NYC families in the late 1800's. It is said to be haunted by the ghost of a caretaker morning the loss of his family who starved to death in this mansion on top of a mountain in the country because they got snowed in.

Whitesboro- Whitesboro High School's room 513-
It is said this room is haunted. As soon as you walk in the door you receive a chill.   It is said that the room was once a bathroom and a vicious murder was taking place.   They say that sometimes early in the morning you can see a shadow of a boy and hear him moaning and screaming.

Rome-Fort Stanwix-
A Revolutionary War fort rebuilt on it's original site.  Many soldiers in period dress have been sighted in various places through out the fort.  Around sunrise you can sometimes hear drums and fifes, a lady crying for her sick child can be heard also.   A one legged man has also been spotted by employees as well as tourists sitting in one of the barracks. At all hours of the day and night you can hear footsteps, voices, sounds of someone sweeping a floor, chopping wood, and such antics as lights going on and off by themselves, doorknobs turning, and the security alarm system being tripped.

University At Albany-Pierce Hall-
Pierce hall located on Alumni Quad is said to be haunted by the spirit of a woman. Nobody knows who she is or why she walks the halls late at night. Many students have claimed to seen this ghostly specter all year round endlessly walking the halls.

Bronxville-Concordia College-
All of the dorms are haunted here.  Feth Hall is inhabited by a ghastly Rev Dr. Henry Feth. Bohm Hall is haunted by a girl who was raped in it a number of years ago, and Sieker Hall is haunted by a pre-seminary student who died of pneumonia many years ago.   Rippe Hall is haunted by a little girl who lived in the house that was there before the dorm was built.

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More Info 

This reminds me - I was going to write about Saratoga
Springs State Park. What a collection of natural springs!
On this last trip, I stopped in there after chatting with
some locals. Each spring has its own characteristic flavor
reflecting its particular mineral content, e.g., iron,
sulphur. The water ranges from a mild, tap-like, to a
pungent, high-test. There are about 20 or so springs within
the park and they are all named. You can ride through on a
road called The Geyser Loop, which hits all the springs in
the park.

If you're into water, this is a *must* stop whenever you're
in the area. The park is about 1.5 miles off of I-87 (the
Adirondack Northway) on Rt.9, in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Going north, it's the first of three Saratoga exits.

I didn't get to sample all of the springs in the park (and
there are more scattered about the city, as well as the
neighboring town of Ballston Spa), but I can recommend a
spring named "State Seal", for particularly tasty water.

If this isn't a RAT stop, it should be.

=====
John Filak
Sussex County ~ New Jersey

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The Duck

Big Duck

The Big Duck
The Big Duck is a wood frame, wire mesh, concrete surfaced building designed in the shape of a Peking duck to house a retail poultry store. The building was constructed in 1930-31 on busy West Main Street in the town of Riverhead on Long Island, New York. It measures approximately 15 feet wide across the front, 30 feet long from breast to tail, and 20 feet to the top of the head. The eyes are Ford Model "T" tail lights. The interior is approximately 11 by 15 feet.

In 1937, owner Martin Maurer moved the Big Duck four miles southeast to Flanders, where it occupied a prominent roadside location near the duck barns and marshes of Maurer's new ranch. The Riverhead area, including Flanders, was the center of Long Island's well-known duck industry. By 1939 there were approximately 90 duck farms in the county.

Maurer's unusual tactic for enticing customers to purchase his ducklings was apparently a success. The Big Duck's prime location, on one of the main roads leading east from New York City to the Hamptons, earned it a lot of attention. Many criticized the Big Duck, especially in the 1960s and early 70s, but architect Robert Venturi claimed that it clearly combined functional and symbolic aspects of architecture, and therefore was noteworthy. In fact, Venturi coined the term "duck" to describe a building in which the architecture is subordinate to the overall symbolic form.

The Big Duck closed in 1984, and since 1988 it has been located in Sears-Bellows Pond County Park between Flanders and Hampton Bays on eastern Long Island. It now houses a retail gift shop operated by the Friends for Long Island Heritage.

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Harriet Tubman (1821--1913), a renowned leader in the Underground Railroad movement, established the Home for the Aged in 1908. Born into slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland, Tubman gained her freedom in 1849 when she escaped to Philadelphia. Working as a domestic, she saved money until she had the resources and contacts to rescue several of her family members in 1850. This marked the first of 19 trips back into Maryland where Tubman guided approximately 300 people to freedom as far north as Canada. Maryland planters offered a $40,000 reward for Tubman's capture at one point during her time as an Underground Railroad conductor. Active during the Civil War, Tubman aided the Union Army as a spy, nurse, cook, and guide. From Port Royal, South Carolina, in June of 1863, she directed a detachment of 150 African Americans in a raid up the Combahee River, destroying Confederate mines, storehouses and crops, and liberating about 800 slaves.

Dedicating her life after the Civil War to helping former slaves, especially children and the elderly, Tubman also became active in the women's rights movement and the AME Zion Church. With the help of the AME Zion Church, Tubman established the Home for the Aged in 1908 on the property that she had purchased at auction 50 years before from Governor William H. Seward. Tubman spent the last few years of her life at this house and died there in 1913 at the age of 93. Though not directly associated with Tubman's activities with the Underground Railroad, the Tubman Home for the Aged, a designated National Historic Landmark, is a tangible link to this brave and remarkable woman who is known as "the Moses of her people."

Located at 180--182 South Street in Auburn, New York. It is managed by the AME Zion Church and is open to the public by appointment.

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Built in 1836, St. James AME Zion is believed to be the oldest church in Ithaca and one of the first of the AME Zion churches in the country. An Underground Railroad station, the church is located in a community that was an important transfer point for fugitive slaves en route to Canada. Many of these slaves, impressed by the support of the local community, decided to stay in Ithaca and constructed homes in the area surrounding St. James. The congregation officially expressed its antislavery sentiments through the writings and preaching of its pastors such as Thomas James who was known to have provided assistance to fugitive slaves. Famous leaders in the Underground Railroad are associated with St. James. Harriet Tubman, who played an active role in AME Zion church affairs in central and west New York, often visited St. James and Frederick Douglass is documented as visiting the church in 1852.

St. James AME Zion Church continued to be a focal point in the black community of Ithaca into the 20th century. In 1906, in the basement of St. James, seven African American Cornell University students, frustrated by the discriminatory all-white fraternities, formed Alpha Phi Alpha, the nation's oldest official black fraternity. Today, St. James plays an active role in the community as a religious and social center of the southside section of the city.

St. James AME Zion Church is located in Ithaca, New York at 116-118 Cleveland Avenue. It is open to the public.

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Gerrit Smith (1797-1874), a nationally prominent and influential abolitionist and social reformer who played a critical role in the operations of the Underground Railroad, lived on this estate and conducted business out of this land office. A major turning point in Smith's life occurred when he attended the Utica Conference of 1835, where 600 antislavery advocates assembled at the Bleeker Street Presbyterian Church to hear famous abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison give a speech. A mob of 80 rioters, including Congressman Samuel Beardsley, stormed the church, forcing the group to flee the building. Smith offered to host the meeting the following day in his home town of Peterboro, a small community named after Gerrit Smith's wealthy father, Peter. The events surrounding the Utica Conference moved Smith to serve as president of the New York Anti-Slavery Society between 1836 and 1839. By the end of his term, Smith was calling for abolitionists to defy the law and help fugitive slaves escape into freedom. During the 1840s and 1850s, Smith acted as a "station master" in the Underground Railroad. His Peterboro estate provided a widely recognized safe haven for runaway slaves enroute to Canada and was recognized as a financial and intellectual center of the antislavery movement.

The Smith family had extensive land holdings in New York, and the Land Office, constructed by Peter Smith in 1804, was the administrative focal point of the family's real estate activity and business ventures. Out of the Land Office, Gerrit Smith sold farm tracts for one dollar each to 3000 poor African Americans, many of whom he had helped escape into freedom, with approximately 140,000 acres being transferred betwen 1846 and 1850. Now owned by the Town of Smithfield, the building provides a tangible link to the life of one of the Underground Railroad's most active participants.

The Gerrit Smith Estate and Land Office are located in Peterboro, New York at the corner of Nelson and Main Streets. The Land Office is the only building on the original Smith estate that is open to the public.

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John Brown (1800--1859) considered this farm, a National Historic Landmark and New York State Historic Site, his home during the ten years leading up to the infamous 1859 raid on Harper's Ferry  where he was killed. He requested to be buried at this farm, which soon after his death became a "pilgrimage" site for free African Americans and white abolitionists. In 1849, John Brown moved from Springfield, Massachusetts, where he owned a wool brokerage business and was an active conductor on the Underground Railroad, to Lake Placid, New York. Increasingly impatient with the stalemated public debate on the issue of slavery, Brown appears to have concluded that more decisive action was needed. He heard of wealthy businessman Gerrit Smith's  plan to give parcels of land in upstate New York to free African Americans. Purchasing a lot from Smith, Brown moved his family to the upstate wilderness area where he acted as a leader and teacher to the black families who were developing their own farms. Brown and his followers had a difficult time farming the barren land around Lake Placid and a few of the homesteaders gave up and moved away. This may have been the deciding factor in John Brown's 1855 move to Kansas where two of his sons were leading an armed struggle against proslavery forces.

After 1855, John Brown returned to his farm for only six brief visits to see his wife and some of his children. After his death in 1859, his family and the remaining black settlers were left in a declining community that ultimately did not survive the harsh climate and isolated economy. John Brown's family moved to California at the onset of the Civil War, and in 1870 the John Brown Association was organized and purchased the site of the farm and grave. The property was transferred to the State of New York in 1896, but the John Brown Association still organized pilgrimages to the site. With money collected from private donations, the Association erected a statue of John Brown and a young African American boy in 1935 that stands near the gravesite. This historic property commemorates the man who took on the forces of slave interests in an armed struggle that created one of the most enduring legends in the Nation's history.

Located on John Brown Road, just south of the intersection with Old Military Road in Lake Placid, New York. It is open to the public.

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Foster Memorial AME Zion Church was founded in 1860 by Amanda and Henry Foster, Rev. Jacob Thomas, and Hiram Jimerson. Amanda Foster, considered the "Mother of the Church," was the driving force in the formation of the congregation whose first meetings were held in her confectionery store. Born in New York in 1806, Amanda, in possession of her "free papers," obtained employment as a nurse to Arkansas Governor Conway. While in Arkansas, she contributed to the Underground Railroad movement by using her "free papers" to help a young fugitive slave girl escape. She moved back to New York in 1837 and established her business in Tarrytown where she met and married Henry Foster around 1845. In 1865, after five years of the congregation meeting in the Foster confectionary store and other business establishments, construction of the church began with funds donated primarily by the local Dutch Reformed and Methodist congregations. During the Civil War, members of Foster AME helped to provide food and shelter to fugitive slaves escaping to Canada, and also provided assistance to those fugitive slaves who decided to settle in Tarrytown. Like most AME churches, Foster AME is a religious and social crossroads for the black community, providing a meeting place for worship and a place for public interaction.

Foster AME Zion Church is located in Tarrytown, New York at 90 Wildey Street. It is open to the public.

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