FALL 2025 SCHEDULE

OCTOBER

Canoeing the Wilderness

The Northern Forest Canoe Trail is the longest inland water passage in the USA, following old trading routes of the indigenous peoples through New York, Vermont, Quebec, New Hampshire & Maine. Join Croton resident Bobby Nolan for a presentation on his solo, 6-week, 740-mile adventure from Old Forge, New York to Fort Kent, Maine. Learn about the rich history of the area, the people he met and the many challenges he faced along the way—including big lakes, fast rapids, upstream travel, freezing rain, snow and a close encounter with an angry moose!

Thursday, October 9 at 7:00 p.m.

SPECIAL EVENT

What Shall I Read? and Other Stories

Cornelia Cotton will read some selections from her second book, What Shall I Read? and Other Stories, recounting her experiences growing up in Germany during the rise of Nazism in the last years of Weimar Republic and emigrating to the United States. These memories are stitched together in moving observances, revealing the experiences that made her who she is today. Some recall small moments that were life changing, and others reveal the enormity of events during the war. A long-time Croton resident, Cornelia has also written They Lived in Croton—An Archive of Croton’s Visual Artists; Stepping Stones, an autobiography; and has given talks on the history of Mount Airy and the Old Croton Aqueduct.

Sunday, October 19 at 2 p.m.

NOVEMBER

Croton Point's Lost Colony

Every summer from 1926 until 1964, the Croton Point Park Association took up residence in their bungalow colony at Croton Point. They had a baseball team, a community center, weekly dances, a flourishing newspaper—until the county quietly evicted them. We wonder how this group lived, what life was like, and what happened after their houses were torn down. Join Jean Klurfeld, Assistant Curator of the Croton Point Nature Center, to answer these questions and uncover their forgotten history.

Thursday, November 13 at 7:00 p.m.

DECEMBER

The Week That Won the War:
The True Story of the Firing on The Vulture

On September 22,1780 a cannonade was fired from Croton Point (then Tellers Point) on the British ship The Vulture. This action stranded British spymaster Major John André, leading to his capture and thwarting Benedict Arnold’s plan to hand West Point over to the British. The story of The Vulture’s arrival in Haverstraw Bay on September 17 until she retreated downstream on September 22, involved privileged “white flag” communications, missed meetings, and a false flag offense by Americans—violating the customs of war. The dramatic week ended with success due to the persistence of an American colonel, who set in motion one of the most dramatic events in the Revolutionary War. This presentation by Char Weigel, VP of Special Projects for Revolutionary Westchester 250, and Marc Cheshire, Croton Village Historian, is based on new primary source research.

Thursday, December 11 at 7:00 p.m.