City Hall Hosts Educational Exhibit on the Normanskill Farm

Free informational exhibit on the City of Albany’s historic Normanskill Farm runs throughout October; reception and farm tour events planned for later this month

Albany, NY – As part of the ongoing monthly series of community events in Albany City Hall Rotunda, the City of Albany and Friends of the Normanskill Farm host a free educational exhibit weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.throughout the month of October highlighting the resources and history of the City-owned Normanskill Farm.

Established in 1892 and eventually acquired by the City under Mayor Erastus Corning, the Normanskill Farm is made up of 145 acres situated off Delaware Avenue in the southwest corner of Albany, bordering the Normanskill Creek. Maintained by the City of Albany Department of General Services and Farm Manager Tom Gallagher, the Farm hosts historic barns and one of the country’s oldest surviving iron bridges, a blacksmith shop, a public dog park, a two-acre organic community garden, hiking trails, a green house and the home of the Albany Police Department’s horses and K-9 unit dogs. An important mission of this Albany asset is education; each year, approximately 700 Albany schoolchildren visit the Farm, and various local colleges conduct research programs on its grounds.

In addition to the daily display, two free public events are planned this month:

·         A reception at Albany City Hall with Mayor Kathy Sheehan and Farm Manager Tom Gallagher on Tuesday, October 14 at 11 a.m. The reception includes a question and answer session on the Normanskill Farm’s history, mission and programs. 

·         A tour of the Normanskill Farm on Thursday, October 16 at 5:30 p.m.Attendees will learn the history of the farm and its buildings, meet the blacksmith and find out about the historic Whipple Bridge. The tour is sponsored by Friends of the Normanskill Farm and the Historic Albany Foundation; to register, email info@historic-albany.org or call 518.465.0876, ext. 10.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information on the Normanskill Farm, visit www.albanyny.gov or call 518.434.5075.