To the Editor:
Unless you buy your Thanksgiving turkey from a very old farm on the east end of Settles Hill, partake of wine-tasting at a vineyard on the western end, or take your family to the country for some old-time Christmas cheer, you may not know much about Settles Hill, an oft-forgotten part of the town of Guilderland.

Settles Hill, squeezed between the Helderberg escarpment to the south and the Schenectady County line, and comprising all the old farms between Lainhart Road to the east and Schoharie Turnpike to the west, was home to many of our town’s earliest settlers. Van Auken, Scrafford, Gray, Westfall, Bond, Young, and Van Aernam are some of the farms named on the 1854 map by surveyor Jay Gould.

But what about the name “Settles” in Settles Hill? In my youth I always believed it was short for “Settlers’ Hill” — which it’s not!

Bryan Swift, a 38-year resident of Settles Hill, will offer his thoughts on the origin of the name “Settles” and, with maps and images of some early homes and cemeteries, will take us on a historical exploration of the area, at the Guilderland Historical Society program “Searching for History on Settles Hill.”

His presentation is free and open to the public, at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 16, at the Mynderse-Frederick House at 451 Route 146 in Guilderland Center. Bryan extends a special welcome to anyone willing to share their own information, photos, or stories about the Settles Hill area.

There will be an opportunity for sharing at the presentation itself, or feel free to contact him any time before or after the presentation also, at 518-894-6498 or at .

Tom Capuano

Vice President

Guilderland Historical Society