Dr. Joseph Warren exhibit leaving Warren Co.

QUEENSBURY | The Warren County Historical Society was informed by their partner in the formerly proposed Joseph Warren Museum project, Shane Newell, that he will be transferring his prized collection of Dr. Joseph Warren paintings and memorabilia to Hillsdale College's Blake Center for Faith and Freedom in Somers, Conn., this week. He expects to have his collection move on to Boston by 2027 for display as part of the nation's 250th commemoration of the American Revolution. The collection has been on exhibit at the WCHS since 2022 pending placement in the proposed museum to honor the county's namesake. Beginning in 2021, the WCHS, Mr. Newell and Warren County partnered in developing a one-of-a-kind heritage tourism destination here on its Gurney Lane campus at Exit 20 off the Adirondack Northway that would showcase the history of Dr. Joseph Warren, the namesake of Warren County. Martyred in the Battle of Bunker Hill at the young age of 34, Warren was a noted medical doctor, orator, writer, member of the Sons of Liberty, and leader of the revolt against the British in the early years of the formation of our American democracy. The original Joseph Warren Museum proposal was a three-phased project to include a period house featuring Newell's extensive collection of paintings, portraiture, and memorabilia about Warren's life and times; a center for history and leadership; and an apothecary garden to include herbs and plants that Dr. Warren would have used in his medical practice. By April of this year, the design was complete, and construction was to begin in renovating the 100-year old house adjacent to the Society's headquarters to create the Joseph Warren Museum. The cost of the design was approximately $142,000, over half of which was funded by American Rescue Plan (ARPA) monies. The period house was to be in an 18th century colonial architectural style, with a replica of the Warren living area, library, and Dr. Warren's medical office. Funding for the renovation was estimated at $996,000 and was to be funded primarily by county occupancy tax monies, and the project had garnered support by the Warren County Board of Supervisors over the past three years, led by Supervisors Frank Thomas and John Strough and DPW Superintendent Kevin Hajos. Shortly before the construction on the renovation was to begin in April, the County Board of Supervisors reported that another county occupancy tax-funded project in the amount of $3 million, which took place last winter, had not met expectations, and a majority of the members then registered their opposition to the museum project, indicating they did not wish to dedicate future occupancy tax funds to it. The WCHS and Shane Newell were deeply disappointed in the reversal of the county's posture on the Joseph Warren Museum and feel that the opportunity for a beneficial heritage tourism site that would have been an economic boon to the county was lost. With the removal of the Joseph Warren collection from the WCHS in Queensbury and its relocation to Hillsdale's Blake Center in Connecticut, the WCHS laments that important history devoted to the namesake of our county will now be located elsewhere.

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Dr. Joseph Warren exhibit leaving Warren Co.

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