JEFF OCONNORS BOOK ABOUT THE OLD STONE FORT BACK IN PRINT

SCHOHARIE – Historian Jeff O’Connor, of Turning Point 1777, announces that his book “The Old Stone Fort – Guardian of Schoharie County History Since 1772” is back in print.  First published in 2020, the book has been unavailable for several years.  It can now be found at The Old Stone Fort Museum, Schoharie Valley Farms, The Fort Plain Museum and the author’s own website at www.turningpoint1777.com.

The familiar story of a church that became a fort, state arsenal, and museum, according to O’Connor, “was anything but inevitable.  On several occasions, its existence was threatened.  A prominent battle scar sustained during an October 17, 1780 attack, a visible connection to the American Revolution, saved the building each time.” 

The “Old Stone Fort – Guardian of Schoharie County History Since 1772” chronicles the first in-depth history of the building, from its Palatine backstory to the present.  Highlights include its architectural and ornamental elements, as well as fresh perspectives on the earliest High Dutch Reformed Churches of Foxes Dorf, the David Williams Monument, the Lower Fort, and Sir John Johnson’s Raid of 1780.  Included are the most complete histories to date of the Schoharie County Historical Society and Company B of the 108th Regiment, NYS National Guard.   In addition, the appendix offers a full list of names chiseled on the façade, what a rare illustration may reveal, a salute to the monuments on its lawn, a treatment of whether the fort is haunted, and a photo essay featuring the Zimmer Collection of photographs that shows over 150 years of change to the fort and grounds.  

At 160 pages, with 79 maps, illustrations, and photographs to help narrate the history of the Old Stone Fort, the book explores a historical journey that has never been fully revealed before.  As historian O’Connor says, “The Old Stone Fort is Schoharie County’s largest and most important surviving Revolutionary War artifact, yet its story had previously been very incomplete and quite scattered among various documents and historical works. What happened on October 17, 1780 became the stuff of legend; the journey that followed made the building a cherished shrine.”

Jeff O’Connor is an accomplished historian and author, whose publications include the three-volume series “Skohere and the Birth of New York’s Western Frontier 1609-1731”.  He formed Turning Point 1777 with his wife Pam, which provides walking and driving tours of Schoharie County, publications, and historic flag reproductions. This husband and wife team has a long association with the historical community of Schoharie County and serves on the Revolutionary Schohary 250 Committee.