BALDWINSVILLE —The Beauchamp Historical Club was founded on July 6, 1958, and is named for historian, archaeologist and clergyman, Dr. William Martin Beauchamp (1830-1925). Rector of the Grace Episcopal Church from 1865 to 1900, he was a prolific researcher and writer about our local history, especially archaeology and Indigenous peoples. The club is dedicated to the study and preservation of the history of the towns of Lysander and Van Buren, and the village of Baldwinsville.
Meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesdays in the months of September, November, January, March and May in the Community Room of the Baldwinsville Public Library at 33 E. Genesee St. Annual dues are $10. All are welcome to attend. You can view live presentations from our past few seasons online at PAC-B TV’s YouTube channel.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, our meetings must follow the same rules that govern operation of the library. Currently, these rules include social distancing and masking, but they are subject to change and beyond our control.
The schedule for the 2021-22 season is as follows:
Nov. 9, 2021: “The Free-Loving Bible Communists” presented by Steve McMahon
The Erie Canal opened up upstate New York’s Burned-Over District to new social and religious ideas and movements, prompting some families to leave their traditional lives in antebellum Baldwinsville behind.
Jan. 11, 2022: “The Baldwinsville Homicide” presented by Steve McMahon
In 1873, a local farmhand disappeared from his home out near Dead Creek, leading to a sensational trial in the city of Syracuse that made national headlines and sealed the fates of one farmer and his hired man.
March 8, 2022: “The Patriot & The Pirates” presented by Steve McMahon
The discovery of an 1846 letter penned by George Robinson of Baldwinsville to his congressman reveals a strange link between this early veteran, settler and surveyor, and two of history’s most notorious pirates.
May 10, 2022: “Carpe Diem, Baldwinsville” presented by Steve McMahon
In 1890, one local entrepreneur’s early experiment in aquaculture spawned an invasive species that once threatened our native fish stocks, but now draws anglers from around the world to The Wild Carp Classic.
