A Historians Search for a Celebrity Canine - Kelli Huggins to Speak at Pratt Museum

PRATTSVILLE — On Saturday, September 21st, 1-3 pm, the Zadock Pratt Museum will feature Looking for Railroad Jack: A Historian's Search for a Long-Lost Canine Celebrity by historian and educator, Kelli Huggins.

In the 1880s and 1890s, there were few dogs as famous as Albany, NY's Railroad Jack. Along with his contemporary, the Postal Service's Owney, Jack captivated the public with his train-riding antics. When he died in 1893, his body was taxidermied and, subsequently, lost from the historical record. This talk will explain what Jack and fellow animal celebrities tell us about the history of the Gilded Age and will explore attempts to figure out what happened to him.

Kelli Huggins is a historian, museum professional, and artist with a penchant for the bizarre and forgotten. Her current book project is about canine celebrity in the 1800s, focusing on Railroad Jack and Owney, two real-life, famous train-riding dogs. She has a Master’s in History from the University of Delaware.

The Zadock Pratt Museum’s mission is to excavate, elevate, and share the rich histories and cultures of Prattsville and the greater tri-county Catskills region. With the life and legacy of Zadock Pratt at our core, it aims to be a critical beacon of local research and education; serve and preserve through community-minded programming, events, and encounters that tell expansive stories; and to contextualize and cultivate ideas that matter.

The Zadock Pratt Museum is located at 14540 Main Street, Prattsville, NY 12468. Admission is Free. Refreshments are served. Visit us at zadockprattmuseum.org or on Facebook @ Zadock Pratt Museum for more