Visit eight of twelve Cultural and Historical sites in Madison County over the summer and fall and you will have the chance to win an I-Pad. That’s the big prize in a promotion unveiled today at a press conference in Wampsville.
Twelve cultural and historic sites across Madison County have banded together to create the Cultural and Historic Attraction Passport Program. The goal is to encourage visitation during the summer and fall of 2012. Each time a visitor stops at one of the locations they will receive a stamp in the passport. When they are finished, they will turn in their entry forms. In December all of the entries will be combined and a winner of the I-Pad will be chosen.
Madison County Tourism executive director Jim Walter explained the importance of the program, “We have fantastic museums, music venues and cultural sites in the county. This passport program is an effort to introduce visitors to all of the sites in the county. If someone stops at the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum, they will quickly learn about the Canastota Canal Town Museum just 5 miles down the road. The more exposure we can give to our historic sites and museums the more visitors we will bring to the county.”
Visitors to cultural and historical sites on average, spend more money than the typical visitor. This program is designed to attract more of those tourists to Madison County, and to get them to stay longer by showcasing the variety and number of sites available to visit. The participating sites include:
The Oneida Community Mansion House
Canastota Canaltown Museum
Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum
Lorenzo State Historic Site
National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum
Catherine Cummings Theatre
Cazenovia College Art Gallery in Reisman Hall
Earlville Opera House
Madison County Historical Society
Stone Quarry Hill Art Park
Gerrit Smith National Historic Landmark
Cazenovia Public Library
Visitors will be able to pick up the passports at any of the participating museums, tourism information kiosks inside the Colgate Bookstore in Hamilton, the Madison County Visitor Center on Route 20 in Bouckville, Oneida Commons in Oneida, the county office building in Wampsville, outside of Cazenovia Artisans in Cazenovia and at local chamber of commerce offices in Oneida and Cazenovia.
The passport is also available online by clicking the file below this story.
The passport was made possible in part by a donation from the Upstate Institute at Colgate University.
 | Cultural Tourism Passport | | File Size: | 405 kb | | File Type: | pdf |
Download File
 Abolitionist and women’s rights activist Abby Kelley Foster will be inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame on October 1st in Seneca Falls and into the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum (NAHOF) on Saturday, October 22 at ceremonies to be held at Colgate University, Hamilton NY. Born in Pelham MA January 15, 1811 Kelley was raised a Quaker and became a teacher at the Friends School in Lynn MA in 1829. In 1832, when she lived in Worcester, she was influenced by a speech from radical abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. She joined the Lynn Female Anti-Slavery Society, and in 1837, she, and others, gathered over six thousand signatures on anti-slavery petitions. The Lynn Female Society named her a delegate to the first national Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women in New York City. The following year, at the second Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women, Abby Kelley gave her first speech against slavery with a mob threatening to burn down Pennsylvania Hall.
Abby and fellow radical abolitionist Stephen Foster married in 1845 and bought a farm in Worcester MA. Abby gave birth to their daughter, Alla, in 1847. Kelley faced hostile audiences from within and from outside the abolition movement in her five decades of advocating for immediate abolition of slavery and for advocating leaving churches that did not condemn slavery.
At 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 22, Stacey Robertson PhD. will present Abby Kelley Foster: A Radical Voice in the West, the first program in the annual afternoon Upstate Institute Inductee Symposia. Robertson states, “Abby Kelley Foster single handedly transformed the nature of the western antislavery movement in the 1840s. From her first visit in the summer of 1845 she inspired hundreds of abolitionists to reconsider their approach to the movement and embrace a more uncompromising position. Women found her irresistible and she helped to organize dozens of female anti-slavery societies in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. She also convinced several women to join her in the lecturing field, devoting themselves full-time to the movement. No other person impacted western antislavery more than Abby Kelley Foster.”
 Congressman Paul Tonko joined officials from the National Park Service; Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor; I LOVE NEW YORK; the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; and others today to announce a joint tourism initiative that aims to increase visitation to upstate New York by highlighting historic sites, museums, and tours dedicated to interpreting the story of the Underground Railroad (UGRR). Historically, about eight out of 10 national travelers have included a cultural, arts, heritage or historic activity or event while on a trip of 50 miles or more. This represents a significant contribution to the State’s vital $50 billion a year tourism industry. “The Underground Railroad is one of the greatest stories in our nation’s history, and I am proud of the commitment that Interior and the National Park Service are making to ensure it’s told far and wide,” Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said. “Encouraging people to visit these hallowed sites will not only honor the men and women who risked so much in the name of equality and freedom, but will also drive tourism and help spur local economies in New York.”
As a major part of this collaborative initiative, from September 10th through 15th I LOVE NEW YORK will lead a familiarization tour* of historic sites and museums related to the Underground Railroad and slavery in New York, crossing the state with journalists from six different media outlets and a tour wholesaler, all from the United Kingdom.
Many of these sites have received promotional and marketing support from the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor (ECNHC), which has recently been inducted into the National Park Service Network to Freedom Program** in recognition of its important work linking and promoting UGRR sites along the New York State Canal System.
 During Black History Month volunteers at an Underground Railroad site and at an antislavery hall in Peterboro will finalize plans for 2011 programs that help to tell the story of African American freedom seeking in 19thCentury America.
Stewards for the Gerrit Smith Estate (GSE) are planning programs about the role that Gerrit Smith and his home played in Underground Railroad operations. The season opens Saturday, March 5 at 3 p.m. for the annual birthday party and lecture for Gerrit Smith, an adamant foe of slavery. Smith’s estate was designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 2001 by the Secretary of the Interior because it was “found to possess national significance in the history of the United States.” The goal of the Smithfield Community Association, the governing board of the estate, is to preserve the remaining buildings of that estate in which the historical stories can be told of the courageous African Americans who took great risks to flee from slavery and the courageous persons who took risks to help fugitives flee.
 Stewards for the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark begin the 2011 program season with the annual lecture and party for Gerrit Smith at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 5, 2011 at the Smithfield Community Center, 5255 Pleasant Valley Road, Peterboro NY. Norman K. Dann Ph. D., professor emeritus Morrisville State College, will present Gerrit Smith’s Beginnings as an Abolitionist and describe abolition stages through which Smith developed into a radical abolitionist. Sharing his decade of research and writings on Smith, Dann will explain the efforts of the American Colonization Society (ACS) which was founded in 1817 to return freed blacks to Liberia, a small country on the west coast of Africa. Smith contributed to the ACS in 1817, but by 1834 he no longer supported the ACS. Dann is a member of the Peterboro Civil War Weekend Committee, a steward for the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark (GSENHL), and a member of the Cabinet of Freedom for the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum (NAHOF). Dann has two publications on Peterboro history, with two more in process. When We Get to Heaven: Runaway Slaves on the Road to Peterboro (2008) and Practical Dreamer: Gerrit Smith and the Crusade for Social Reform (2009) are published by Log Cabin Books and will be available at the program. Directly following Dann’s presentation, Sonya Lydford will share the history and culture of Liberia through her own personal experience. Lydford, a steward for the GSENHL and a volunteer for Peterboro Civil War Weekend, and her husband Robert have adopted four children from Liberia, and are awaiting three more to add to their family of thirteen. Sonya and her family will share sights, sounds, and tastes of current day Liberia. The program will end with a birthday cake commemorating the birth of Gerrit Smith March 6, 1797. The public is encouraged to attend. Admission is $2. Free for Stewards and Students. For more information contact www.sca-peterboro.org, Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark, 4543 Peterboro Road, Peterboro NY 13134-0006, mail@sca-peterboro.org, 315-684-3262.
 In 1998 the Governor of New York created Heritage NY Trails to increase recognition of New York State’s rich history and to boost heritage tourism. The second trail, the NYS Underground Railroad Trail, developed in three stages: designation, site development, and site interpretation. 26 sites became part of the UGRR Trail. At 11:00 a.m. Sunday, October 24 two sites on the trail will celebrate the completion of the three stages with people and agencies who assisted the accomplishments. Cordell Reaves, Historic Preservation Program Analyst, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, will describe the Underground Railroad Project. Following a presentation of the colors by the 12th U.S. Infantry Co. A (Reenactors), Steve Joeckel, President of the Smithfield Community Association, and Rick Bargabos, Town of Smithfield Supervisor, will welcome those in attendance to Peterboro and the special occasion. John Reinhardt, Board of Madison County Supervisors, and Matthew Urtz, Madison County Historian, will describe the county’s role and value of the project. Assemblyman Bill Magee and Senator Dave Valesky will present a legislative citation for the eventful weekend. Ivy Biswas, representing the Central New York Community Foundation, will describe the PACE grant received by the Smithfield Community Association. Max Smith, a Steward of the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark will sing songs of patriotism, slavery, and freedom. After the symbolic ribbon cutting, CNY Bounty will provide refreshments from local producers.
Following the ribbon cutting there will be open houses and tour. The exhibits at the Smithfield Community Center will remain open hosted by members of the Cabinet of Freedom for the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum. Stewards at the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark will be at The Lodge / Visitor Center, The Barn, and The Land Office. Beth Spokowsky, President of the Peterboro Area Museum, will conduct a tour of the Gerrit Smith Estate at 1:00 p.m. and Norm Dann, Gerrit Smith biographer, will conduct a tour at 2:00. Donna Dorrance Burdick, Town of Smithfield Historian, will also host the Peterboro Area Museum until 4:00 p.m.
The public is encouraged to attend – and to wear mid 19th Century clothing if inclined. All events, programs, exhibit, and refreshments are free.
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