​Sunday March 15, 2026
African American Archive of Columbia County
by Lisa Fludd Smith and Victoria Jimpson Fludd

Lisa Fludd Smith –Lisa and her mother Victoria Jimpson Fludd - founded the African American Archive of Columbia County in 2021 to forge a deeper understanding of the lived historical experience of Black people in the Hudson Valley. The African American Archive of Columbia County, New York exists to document, preserve, and share the deep history of Black people in the upper Hudson Valley.  From their arrival with the Dutch Patroons in the 17th century, through today, the roots of our African forebears have been profoundly intertwined with the land and people of Columbia County.  While hardly secret, this narrative is seldom told or taught in schools.  Our mission is to lift the voices of our ancestors, bring our stories to light and life, and create a living chronicle that will honor our past and enlighten our future.

Sunday May, 2026:
Marilyn Sassi – Toys

Past Programs:
Sunday September 21, 2025: Tom Ragosta, Watervliet Historian, The Erie Canal

Sunday October 19, 2025: Marilyn Sassi -- Earliest Dutch Houses in New York 

Sunday November 16, 2025: Kathy Sheehan
How we commemorated momentous occasions in the 19th and 20th centuries

Sunday January 18, 2026: Bobbie Reno
Henry Knox's 300-mile trek with cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Cambridge, Massachusetts in the winter of 1775 - 1776 and Cuff Ashport. 
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Sunday February 15, 2026:
Jill Knapp and Cheryle Webber – Nijmegen Netherlands, Albany’s Sister City, and the start of Albany’s Annual Tulip Festival.