The award to the Austerlitz Historical Society was accepted by the society’s Vice President, Mrs. Denise Dunne. The Austerlitz Historical Society is well known for their successful community events, including the Blueberry Festival and the Autumn in Austerlitz celebration. These events support the society’s efforts to create Old Austerlitz Village, a collection of historic buildings including a church, public school building, a granary, a blacksmith shop, and private homes. The Austerlitz Historical Society has no paid staff but continuously offers consistently high-quality programs. They have set some very high goals are well suited to meet all of them entirely on volunteer support.

Hugh Howard accepted Red Rock Historical Society’s award. The society was recognized specifically for the restoration of the 170-year-old church, which is its headquarters. It is a superb example of late Federal, vernacular church architecture and one of only a handful remaining in the state in such pristine condition. Through largely volunteer effort, the Red Rock Historical Society has written successful grant applications to fund the stabilization of the building and restore the exterior. The CCHS was pleased to recognize the work by this society to preserve a vernacular structure. This project illustrates the important role local societies play in historic preservation and in saving the historic fabric of a community, which is often characterized by vernacular architecture.

The final Columbia County Heritage Award was presented to Mrs. Priscilla Frisbee in recognition of a lifetime of dedication to preserving the history of Columbia County. Mrs. Frisbee was a founding member of the Society’s docents group, which is today a vibrant and critical component of the Society’s operations. Mrs. Frisbee also started the Society’s holiday Greens Show, a successful partnership with Columbia County garden clubs, which this year will celebrate its 46th year. The Society’s Greens Show has been modeled by many others including the Albany Institute of History and Art. Mrs. Frisbee has shared her knowledge of the county as a contributor to the Society’s magazine Columbia County History & Heritage and author of a booklet on the history of the town of Stuyvesant and a book on Benjamin Franklin Butler. Mrs. Frisbee has been a leading force in historic preservation as well. For example, with her late husband Ed, she promoted the successful nomination of the Stuyvesant Falls Mill District in 1976 and later made sure the historic bridge over the falls in that district was not demolished and replaced when it was proposed.

The Columbia County Historical Society is a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the history and culture of Columbia County. It is the Society’s goal to encourage understanding, knowledge, and preservation of the county’s heritage through the acquisition and conservation of historic lands, buildings, objects and documents, and the sponsorship of research, publications, exhibitions, and educational programming. The Society owns the Columbia County Museum, the James Vanderpoel House, the 1737 Luykas Van Alen House, and the Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse. For more information please call the Society (518-758-9265) or visit our website: www.cchsny.org.