Celebrating 

the 

Heritage 

 

This year, Slate Valley Museum celebrates its 15th year of exciting range of programs, exhibitions, and special events that share its mission to collect, catalogue, conserve, exhibit, and interpret materials, artifacts, machines, and information that demonstrate the geology of slate and the history of slate quarrying and the quarrying community in the Slate Valley of New York and Vermont. 

We invite you to join us and...
explore...

  • exhibits of historic artifacts from the area's renowned slate quarries and mills

  • displays revealing the science and art of slate quarrying, and its influence on the Slate Valley culture

  • a quarry shanty, complete with all the machinery and tools used in traditional slate quarrying

  • a geological display illustrating the natural history of slate

  • examples of how slate has been used in the structure and decor of local buildings and as an inspriration for artworks in various media

  • and our new multi-media exhibit:

 HEAVY LIFTING: 

A Human and Technological History of Moving  Slate from Quarry to Market, 1850-Present

experience the distant and recent past through...

  • videos of quarry workers in action that show how slate is processed

  • an extensive collection of documentary photographs that reveals the people, atmosphere, and traditions of 150 years of slate quarrying

  • a WPA Federal Art Project mural created in 1939 for the local high school that commemorates "Men Working in Slate Quarry"

  • art and paintings by local artists that celebrate the impact of slate quarrying on community life

  • a schedule of engaging public programs ranging from quarry and mill tours to industrial archeaology walks, from lectures to workshops and demonstrations

      

           
discover...

  • how slate formed within the Earth

  • why slate comes in different colors

  • how the discovery of slate in the Slate Valley forever changed the region

  • why the Slate Valley is truly unique in all the world

  • how slate was first quarried, and the impact of modern technology on quarrying today

  • how slate has been and continues to be used both for its strength and beauty in architecture, including national landmarks such as the White House

  • why immigrants came to the United States from many different parts of the world to work in the Slate Valley, and the histories of those who settled in the area

 

  

Slate Valley Museum  | 17 Water St., Granville, NY 12832  | Phone: (518) 642-1417 | E-mail: mail@slatevalleymuseum.org