The first item on our wish list is to have a place of our own. We plan on using this page to keep our members up to date on how we are doing.

Goal

A Town Museum / SLHS History Center that brings together current (and future) Town of Sand Lake and SLHS collections, artifacts and archives and makes them available to residents, students, researchers, and visitors, operated by SLHS in partnership with the Town and in cooperation other community organizations (school district, churches, businesses, etc.)

We are Serious

• Committee formed in September 2024 from SLHS membership at-large after latest WSLFD proposal “saved” the historic 1873 fire station and 1911 social hall and retains both buildings for WSLFD purposes
• “Museum Account” announced and established to begin fundraising efforts
• Contacts and inquiries made, including:
  • NYS Museum Association
  • Hart-Cluett Museum / Rensselaer County Historical Society / County Historian
  • Stephentown HS
  • SL Town Historian
  • TOSL Building Dept
• Begun inventory of collections, currently stored or displayed at Town Hall, with special attention to what “museum quality” exhibits would look like and resulting museum space needs (for both public exhibit and storage). 
• Identify various buildings / properties in town that might be suitable (based on size, historic character, availability, location, etc.), for rent / lease, donation, or purchase

On December 12, 2024 the committee had a very productive meeting with Sand Lake Town Supervisor Stephen Clemens. We very much appreciate his support and we are looking forward to our continuing discussions.

March 2025

Thanks to Bob Moore (and Dave Post), we had a brief tour and a very positive discussion with the Veterans of Sand Lake (American Legion & VFW) this past week about the possibility of partnering and locating “the town museum” in their building. It’s historic (former School 7), has the space (vacant and available), visible, has parking, and potential for “additional opportunities” in the future.

April 2025

From a SLHS Museum Committee internal email:
Thanks for arranging the visit to the Veterans post yesterday. It presents an exciting opportunity for a museum and for a good local partnership. It’s sadly obvious that Federal grant funding is disappearing and it’s hard to say how much the State or nonprofit orgs could fill the gap. We need a strategy that taps into more readily available resources first. In short, I recommend that the first joint effort be made on the upper floor, not the basement.
    

May 2025

From a SLHS Museum Committee internal email:
Things are moving quickly. The project has “gone public” with SL Town Historian Bob Moore posting on FB and SLHS spreading the word at the SL Merchant Spring Market. We need to get our heads around the building project — costs, etc. ASAP so we can begin to figure out how to do it. There are three distinct “cost factors”, first is the building itself (upstairs, the stairs, etc.), the second is the museum space (downstairs), and the third is the cost of exhibits, furnishings, etc.

We also have been discussing, as a first step, installing a vets-oriented exhibit upstairs, combining the town’s and SLHS materials with the American Legion / VFW’s. Hopefully with a Veteran’s Day reception / open house. November 11th also is a regular SLHS meeting night (2nd Tuesday).

Finally, last week the NYS Council on the Arts announced their 2025 community grant awards. This could be an excellent source of funds for us, particularly “the museum” aspects. These grants have no match but they do require “excellence in design” so we’d need to do a lot of work before applying (for 2026). Last year, capital grant applications were due in January and program grants targeting museums were due in July.

June 2025

6/3/25 We had a very productive meeting with a delegation from Veterans of Sand Lake. Topics of discussion included:

• 11/11/2025 SLHS Veterans Day “Open House”
• Can a student at ALN, RPI, or HVCC produce an Architectural Rendering of proposed museum
• The story of Sergeant Walter A. Adams presented as part of an upcoming “Amazing Graves”
• Current building expenses
• Insurance
• Museum Study Grants
• Partnering with Arts Letters & Numbers
• Partnering with theTown of Sand Lake

We welcome comments, suggestions, and help when the time comes

Thank you for your support.

~Bud Whitney