Victorian Waterford Garden

Welcome back to WHMCC! 

Our 2019 season is open for visitors to stop by the Homestead in Northside Historic District

The Waterford Historical Museum is presenting "A Place For Nature In Victorian Waterford" this season. As you might expect with "nature" in the title, there are lots of pretty flowers and other plants to add a little color to the room.

While WHMCC is an exhibit-based museum (aka there are no rooms set up like the White family just stepped outside for moment), these kinds of exhibits are a fun way to bring to light the history of the house too. This exhibit is set up like a 19th century indoor garden space, complete with palm plants, orchids and, of course, a fern. You can't not have a fern!

Gardens were in public and private spaces during the Victorian era, as people attempted to bring nature more into their lives and into their personal space. Indoors gardens were a popular way to do so, sometimes with the effect of being surrounded by plant life in your own parlor. The importance was not just having a garden to show off to everyone that you could afford to maintain it (or just were able to not kill the plethora of plants....as some of us may or may not be able to make even the hardiest of plants give up after too much TLC...).

Nature in this era was simultaneously symbolic of the wild and untamable and the carefully cultivated; the romantic and spiritual qualities of connecting with nature on another level, and yet obsessively scientifically cataloging individual aspects of the world.

 

Sketch of estate taken from History of Saratoga County
by Nathanial Bartlett Sylvester

The White estate in Waterford is a great example of the craze for gardens. Hugh White had his house built in 1830 along Saratoga Avenue/NY R32 with other mill/business owners in what is called "Mill Owner's Row". Coming from the founding family of Whitestown, Hugh operated the Harmony Mills factory and a variety of other businesses in addition to being a Congressman representing Saratoga County. The White Homestead is built in the popular Greek revival style for this time and had a conservatory attached to the southern end of the mansion (demolished 1950s), with several graperies and greenhouses on his meticulously tended land. He had the added pleasure of having his father-in-law move in across the street from him in a building with a matching façade and his own outdoor garden. Their gardens become known as a "friendly" rivalry (it was his father-in-law after all) between the two properties that were the first thing introducing anyone coming from the bridge connecting to Cohoes to Waterford.

This period also saw the development of the natural sciences, the park movement, the rural cemetery movement, and a boom in American art culture and literature all relating to nature - Herman Mellvile's house in Lansignburgh is celebrating his bicentennial this year! Waterford wasn't isolated enough not to be affected by these trends, with its impact still able to be seen in the landscape today.

This exhibit will run the museum season until October 27
 Admission $6 adults $5 children/seniors(65+)

Upcoming spring & summer events:

Paint & Sip on the Porch - June 8
12:30pm-2:30pm(RSVP Required - limited seating) $25 non-members $20 members

Waterford Steamboat Meet - July 6 
10am to dusk. WHMCC is not a vendor at this event, but it's a great way to view some interesting boats and the museum is just a short walk or drive away to come visit us!

"Along the Erie Canal" Author Open House - July 20 
1pm-2:30pm. $6 adults $5 children/seniors - Author Marvin Bubie will be on site to sign copies of his book and to discuss his research on the towns and villages that he's done along the Erie canal.

Waterford Porch Crawl - Sept. 14
1pm-4pm. Registration at the museum 1pm-3pm. $5 per person
Volunteer your porch in the event today! Learn more by contacting info@waterfordmuseum.com

Waterford Tugboat Roundup - 20th Anniversary - Sept. 6-8
Waterford Harbor Visitors Center -Stop by the museum's booth during the day.

Tugboat parade on Friday (usually around 6pm) & Fireworks on Saturday (around 9pm).

WHMCC doesn't have the daily schedule - we're just a participant! - so double check times with the Town

Special Thanks To Exhibit Sponsors:

One Day Signs

Valoze’s Greenhouse, Inc.

Felthousen’s Florist

Hewitt’s Garden Center

The Garceau Family

Patricia Burke

Teri Patton

Dopplegangers & Crystals & Waterford, NY

Meeting someone with the same name as you can be funny and maybe even a little frustrating given the right circumstances. Bob, meet Bobby; Cathy meet Kathy. Same thing goes for towns, villages and cities. That's not as much fun if the high school exchange students fly into Albany, Georgia without realizing that particular Albany airport was a few hundred miles off the target (true story).

So just how many Waterfords are there? Well, there's probably a Waterford in nearly every state (CT, OH, MI, PA, & NC the most recent WHMCC encounters with dopplegangers), and there are a lot of places that start with "Water" that may confuse people looking for say, Watertown.

View of the confluence of the Mohawk & Hudson Rivers in Waterford.
This picture was taken prior to the 2000 construction of the Visitors Center and
 waterfront park area that is open for visitors to the canal

WHMCC is also very often misidentified online with the Waterford Museum of Treasures and the Waterford County Museum - both of which are located in Waterford, Ireland. There have been instances where people have made appointments to meet with the WHMCC director only to learn they've been speaking with the United States of America rather than Ireland. Probably a slightly longer commute to reach us...

In case you're interested here are a few snapshots of a few of such conversations:

Waterford didn't take on its current name until 1794 when the village was incorporated. The Town of Waterford remained a part of Halfmoon until 1816 when the Town Board members living in what is now Waterford had enough of having to travel up to Halfmoon for monthly meetings. it was only thanks to the frequent use by European and then American military forces using the "Great Highway" route from Albany into Canada (Second Street in Waterford from Peebles Island State Park) during colonial times through the early 19th century that the area being known as "the fording place" really stuck as its name.

Before, different areas of Waterford under the Van Schaick Patent, otherwise known as the Halfmoon Patent, went by "Halfmoon On The Hudson", "Halfmoon Point", "Halfmoon Fort" (which was allowed to fall to ruin and be buried and built over to the effect that its actual location is not verifiable today), and....Northside. Northside is still a community in Waterford today and  National Historic District of which WHMCC is a part.

The name Northside refers to being the "north side of Cohoes" despite its location in the southernmost part of Waterford. It was called this due to the many owners of the mills/businesses of Cohoes living in this area of Waterford and a strong desire to be a part of the Cohoes mailing district rather than relying on the Waterford post office. Despite the anomaly that is Northside in name only, of course), the area was generally known as Halfmoon until the American Revolution put more emphasis on its strategic location for movement of troops and supplies than its connection to Henry Hudson and his "Halve Maen" ship's voyage in 1609 that reached to just about modern-day Stillwater. Having a common enough name - Waterford is a descriptive name of a place that can apply to many locations after all - it probably shouldn't be that surprising WHMCC get a lot of questions about Waterford Crystal too. That just seems like an obvious connection since it's a very popular and well-known company.

So, is it some sort of unspoken understanding it's a requirement to have a glass crystal manufactory within your borders to be able to call yourself a true Waterford?

A laughable question at first, but it is a very common request for information on identifying patterns. Or worse, asking WHMCC to repair your crystal...

WHMCC can't offer any other suggestions to help you aside from try using a strong adhesive (Gorilla Glue in its clear form is great for odd jobs around the museum) - it's not that we don't want to help with your valued treasures - we just...can't. We don't have the funds, staff, or resources and....

we honestly have absolutely nothing to do
with Waterford Crystal. 

Unless you'd like to donate a piece to the museum's collection of items, we'll just be oohing and ahhing over the admittedly beautiful glasswork with you.

Seriously - as far as Australia contacts us for a potential discount on an item or repair that's "cheap" - aka "free" since we're a museum and a lot of assumptions are made about the lack of price at a museum or historical society or any other 501 (c)(3) organization.

And for some reason, WHMCC comes up in search results on Bing for anything with "Waterford", "history" and "crystal" in your search. This screenshot is from just typing in something that you might enter if you were looking to learn more about a family heirloom, using the phrase "Waterford history crystal". Not really sure why we're so close to the top of the results, but the highlighted site is the one that is typically the reference shared with those who ask WHMCC about Waterford Crystal. Occasionally, we also get asked to help identify a piece of Waterford Crystal. That's understandable since it's not a far reach that if you need help with researching something you contact a library or museum.

So, when yet another request came in from someone out of state looking for a way to identify and possibly repair a cracked Waterford Crystal pitcher, it sparked the creation of this blog article. All in good humor towards those mistaken.

It's not surprising that we get a lot of questions about Waterford Crystal. After all, every Waterford is the same, right? Relax, that's a joke. We're obviously the best.

 But in all seriousness, WHMCC looks to help whenever it can with whatever we can do - just keep in mind a couple of very important details that may influence your planning (just in case this is something that needs a quick fix).

1. There is a staff of 1 part-time museum professional. Our volunteers make up the rest of the museum by assisting with special events and acting as a docent...not as researchers. Typically, these sorts of questions that really don't fall into WHMCC's area of expertise are only given a very quick internet resource search that you probably have already done as well.
2. WHMCC does not take on research project requests - we'll schedule a visit for you to come use our O'Connor Research Library & Archive if your questions relates to Waterford NY history (click HERE to learn the difference between a Museum Library VS public library.)
3. Researchers can check out our online database to view a portion of WHMCC collections 
4. Double-check which Waterford you're trying to reach - if you're out of state (or country) it's understandable that you can't stop by WHMCC for a quick visit. Researchers asking WHMCC for assistance on research relating to Waterford, NY should understand, if your request is taken:
   A: All items have a reproduction fee including digital copies of photos/docs
   B: Research time is $20 an hour regardless if relevant info is found
   C: Min of 2 months for any material (not charged daily, just asking for patience please)
   D:WHMCC has NO GENEALOGICAL RESOURCES = no obituaries, birth/death                certificates, marriage certificates, cemetery records, property deeds, town/village directories...
   
5. WHMCC does not repair any items, historical or otherwise. We don't regularly undertake conservation efforts for the already bemoaned reason of funds, so we don't have a go-to person or business to direct you to for these questions. The best we can recommend is to look at a variety of places instead of just your "Museum Professional" as there are state agencies that may be able to assist you (Peebles Island is the home of the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation) with much better resources and there are private agencies like appraisers and private conservators who may be able to recommend alternatives.

WHMCC is always - stress on the always - open to your questions. Whether through a direct email, our contact form on our website, or through our Facebook and Instagram accounts, we're listening!

We love to share the history of Waterford, new York, for those just browsing the many different avenues to travel to those needing some help in starting the sometimes daunting-appearing task of research or have already been wading around in those waters for a while. Please reach out to us and if we can help provide answers or recommendations or directions to where you might want to look, we'll do our best to make it happen.

And explore Waterford, NY to see what makes this Waterford stand out from all the rest!