One of the most precious books in our Grems-Doolittle Library is a 420-page Genealogy of the prolific Schermerhorn family compiled by Richard Schermerhorn Jr. and published in New York City in 1914. Its relevance to the present is that the Society has now acquired its third major parcel of real property, a large historic home on 2.3 acres at 71-73 Schermerhorn Road in Rotterdam, NY, Schenectady County. The home, which was built in 1885 and occupied in 1887 by one of the long line of Simon Schermerhorns (14 and counting), comes to us through the generosity of Marjorie L. Schmid of that town. The (Symon) Schermerhorn known to all Schenectadians was, of course the intrepid soul of the famous ride of 1690 to warn Fort Orange (Albany) that French and Indians had ransacked our Stockade and were headed their way.

Once, the adjacent Teller-Schermerhorn cemetery with its 18th century graves was part of this parcel, and we are exploring with the Town of Rotterdam the strong possibility that it will be deeded back, along with another larger parcel of over an acre. Then, the plan is to form a historic district that includes the Simon Schermerhorn house and a cluster of nearby homes that are even older than Simon’s

When renovated, the new home and some of the outbuildings will provide some badly needed storage for the overflow of artifacts from our Schenectady History Museum, and, when furnished in the grand Victorian manner, will some day be opened to the public on a limited basis. That might be years away, however; our current priority for fund raising is the Franchere Education Center at the Mabee Farm.

1997