Altamont Village Museum

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The Altamont Village Museum, located in the Altamont Village Municipal Building at 115 Main Street, exists to record the cultural, educational and municipal history of the Village of Altamont incorporated in 1890.

Altamont was the first and only village to incorporate in the Town of Guilderland. The incorporation was the culmination of a great period of growth since early settlers first built on land at the foot of the Helderberghs.

In 1767, only three homes were located on lands now within the Altamont corporation limits, according to the Bleeker Map dated that year. The Jacob Kidney farm on the Northeast corner of Route 146 and the Schoharie Plank Road, the Jurie Severson House on Brandle Road, and a then unidentified farmhouse located on the Southeast corner of Maple Avenue and Gregg Road were the properties that were the first to populate the area.

The coming of the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad in 1863 and the Albany and Schoharie Plank Road in 1849 encouraged residential and business development and a thriving hamlet was established as a result. The hamlet was known in those years as "Helleberg", "West Manor", "West Guilderland," and the village was first named "Knowersville" and then officially "Altamont."

Visitors to the Altamont Museum, open to the public on Wednesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., can view over 1,000 photographs of early and latter day Altamont scenes. The museum also houses archival documents of Altamont municipal history, Altamont School history and documents and letters of residents along with many relevant artifacts. There are two display cases in the museum lobby that hold a variety of exhibits, usually produced by Village residents.

The latest addition to the museum is the "Altamont Mayors' Wall." It is a permanent collection of framed photographs of the 35 chief executives of the village since its incorporation in 1860. Museum volunteers are presently working on written profiles of each mayor to be assembled in a volume to accompany the Mayors' Wall.

The museum can also be viewed by appointment by calling 861-8554. Come visit us!

Museum Hours:  Wednesdays 10 AM to 2 PM or by appointment.

E-Mail:  historian@nycap.rr.com

Alice Begley

Museum Director and Altamont Village Historian