A New York State historical marker commemorating the founding of Hamilton College by missionary Samuel Kirkland will be rededicated on the Hamilton campus on Sunday, July 2, as part of Historic Clinton Week.
The brief ceremony begins at 1:30 p.m. adjacent to Couper Hall on College Hill Road. Participants in the ceremony include Town Historian Dick Williams, Clinton Historical Society President John Fitzpatrick, Town Supervisor Annette Foley and Hamilton President Joan Hinde Stewart. Clarence Aldridge, who spearheaded the effort to have the marker replaced, will serve as master of ceremonies.
The new marker is an exact replica of the original, which has been missing for more than 25 years. It reads: "Hamilton College: Founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy, 1793, by the Rev. Samuel Kirkland. Chartered as Hamilton College May 26, 1812."
Following the ceremony, Aldridge will lead a walking tour of the college's historic main quadrangle. The tour will include a visit to the Kirkland Cottage, the home of Samuel Kirkland, which was moved from the foot of College Hill Road to its current location in 1925. Sidney Wertimer Associate Professor of History Doug Ambrose will then offer a brief talk in the Emerson Gallery about Kirkland. A reception will follow.
Other events planned to commemorate Historic Clinton Week include open houses at the Clinton Historical Society on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, July 4-6, and a walking tour of the village's historic district on Thursday, July 6, at 7 p.m.
