Ever wonder about all the stories your house could tell? If so, please join the Every House Project, a community-wide initiative to capture and preserve the history of every house in and around the village of Altamont.
We will provide instructions, guidance, and a toolkit for researching the history of your house and the people who lived there in years gone by.
The facts, stories, images, etc. that are uncovered by participants will be saved in a common, sharable format so that we can create a collective digital body of work that will be archived and available to everyone interested in the history of our beautiful village.
The project is not limited to just the “historic” houses in Altamont; we are interested in telling and saving the story of every property whether it’s a Queen Anne Victorian on Main Street, a 1950s ranch on Sunset Drive, or a contemporary home in the Kushaqua development. We also invite participation from Knox, Guilderland Center, and Greater Altamont beyond the Village.
The Every House Project is jointly sponsored and coordinated by Altamont Free Library, County Legislator Jeff Perlee, and the Altamont Village Archives.
There is no charge to participate and the “work” involved is simple, straightforward, and fun. At the conclusion, you will have a published history of your home and the satisfaction of knowing that you helped document the history of our community in a fun and collective community-wide project.
Resources
Every House Project Facebook Page
House Histories Resources Sheet
Jeff Perlee Every House Project PowerPoint
Altamont Free Library Local History Resources Page
Altamont StoryMap
In 20024, a community group called Historic Altamont, Inc. launched a new website that is packed full of stories, maps and photos detailing the rich history of the Village and it’s surrounding communities. It’s called The Village of Altamont StoryMap, and it uses maps and information from the Albany County Geography Information System to precisely locate areas of historic interest around our fair village.
The text was derived by David Bourque from “Images of America: Altamont” by Keith C Lee of Many of the photos were supplied by Dan Barker of the Village Archives and Museum. You can find it online through Historic Altamont’s Facebook page, on the Village Website or by using the link above. The Village of Altamont StoryMap is a work in progress and new images and text will be continuously added.
House Histories
Building Our Altamont Castle by Thom Breitenbach (809 Township Road, Altamont)
The Hiram Griggs House (111 Prospect Terrace, Altamont)
Knower House (757 Route 146, Altamont)
Historic Maps
Burleigh Map of Altamont (1890) via the Library of Congress
Beers Map of Knox (1866) via the Altamont Enterprise
Gould Map of Guilderland (1854) via New York Public Library
Bleecker Map of Rensselaer Patroonship (1767) via New York Public Library
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map (1909) via Library of Congress
