Perlee to speak on Albany County’s celebration of nation’s semiquincentennial
Enterprise file photo — Michael Koff
“It’s a little ironic that, when people think of the Revolution, they think of Boston and Philadelphia,” Jeff Perlee said on July 10 when he was named to chair a commission laying plans to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026. “The fact of the matter is, no place in the United States was more significant to the American Revolution than New York state and the Hudson Valley specifically.”
To the Editor:
July 4, 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of the USA. To prepare for this historical milestone, on July 10, 2024 at the Ten Broeck Mansion in Albany, Albany County swore in a commission to plan the county’s celebration.
Led by county legislator Jeff Perlee, the commission includes Maeve McEneny-Johnson, vice chairwoman and director of Community Engagement with Discover Albany; Jack McEneny, Albany County Historian and former Assemblyman; Brian Fessler, New York State School Boards Association director of Government Relations; Paul Stewart, co-founder of the Underground Railroad Education Center; Mark Frederick Jones, small-business owner; Jennifer Dorsey, Siena College professor of history; Joe Boehlke, Coeymans town historian; and Sandy Zerrillo of the Albany County Society of Mayflower Descendants and the Gansevoort chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
On Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m., for a New Scotland Historical Association program, Commission Chairman Jeff Perlee will discuss the work of putting together the Albany County Rev250 Commission and Albany County’s efforts to begin the commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution.
He will also share how we, as interested citizens and a local historical association, can get involved and stay informed during the early planning stages.
The meeting will be held at the Wyman Osterhout Community Center in New Salem at 7 The Old New Salem Road. The program is free and open to the public.
Through education and heritage tourism, this celebration aims to go beyond nostalgia, reconnecting people to American history and the role the people of Albany County played in establishing this country, giving us a purpose for today and for the future.
As Vice Chairwoman Maeve McEneny of Discover Albany expressed, visitors coming to this area are looking for authentic stories, and our ties to the Revolution are “beyond authentic.”
Please come join us as Commission Chairman Jeff Perlee shares the work and plans going into the development of “Albany County Rev250.”
Besides chairing the semi-quincentennial commission, Jeff Perlee represents the 31st Legislative District, which includes Altamont, Guilderland Center, Knox, and East Berne. He and his family have lived in the Altamont area for many generations.
The New Scotland Historical Association Museum will be open for a half-hour before the program.
Judy Kimes
Publicist
New Scotland
Historical Association
