Queensbury Historian Dr. Marilyn VanDyke Retires
Queensbury Historian Dr. Marilyn VanDyke has retired after serving for 25 years as dedicated Historian for the Town of Queensbury.
Dr. VanDyke has been a tireless and dedicated steward for preserving and sharing our history. During her tenure as Town Historian, Dr. VanDyke has collected, preserved, and disseminated the history of the town; answered queries related to the history of Queensbury, helped students, assisted researchers with family history, provided research and advice to the town and its residents on historic preservation planning.
A few of her achievements:
- Applied and received recognition on the National Historical Register our town founders’ cemetery, the Quaker Cemetery
- Helped research and preserve our Civil War Monument
- Was one of the founders of the Warren County Historical Society
- Worked on the naming of four local women named to Hall of Fame for Celebrate ’98 in Seneca Falls (Harriet Wing, Caroline Fish, Lillian Baker and Fran Walter)
- Participated in writing the 50 Year History of Queensbury School
- Helped organize and present Queensbury’s 250th Anniversary
- Helped organize and present Warren County’s Bicentennial
- Taught a course titled History of Warren County at SUNY Adirondack
- Wrote Chapter 24 in the book Warren County History
As part of her commitment to preserving our history, one of Dr. VanDyke’s projects included scanning and processing over 3000 photos to a database, preserving memories, information and data from a host of different sources.
Among her many accomplishments:
- Appointed Town Historian (1991)
- Chapman Museum Preservation Award (1997) Named Outstanding Historian by NYS Association of Municipal Historians (1998)
- President of the Warren County Historical Society (2001)
- Trained new historians at the Association of Public Historians of NY (2003)
- Named Registered Historian (2003)
- Appointed to represent Queensbury for Lakes to Locks (2004)
- Named Woman of Distinction by the Adirondack Girl Scout Council (2007)
- Named Executive Director of the Warren County Historical Society (2008)
- Honored by Chapman Museum for Outstanding Contribution to Local History (2009)
Dr. VanDyke was honored with a Proclamation signed by Supervisor Strough and the Queensbury Town Board during a ceremony at the Town of Queensbury offices on January 20, 2017. We thank her for her hard work and dedication to serving our community for the past quarter century!
(Click on photos to open slideshow…)
