DELHI - On a spring afternoon in the western Catskills, history will not sit quietly behind glass.
On Saturday, May 16, the Delaware County Historical Association will open its summer season with a living history program that invites visitors inside the 1797 Gideon Frisbee House, where costumed interpreters will recount stories rooted in the American Revolution and the region’s early settlers.
Among them is the story of Colonel Alexander Harper, a prominent figure in the county’s Revolutionary past, whose legacy will be brought to life through firsthand-style narration.
The event is part of a broader nod to the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary, but it also reflects a local effort to connect national history to the lived experiences of Delaware County residents — then and now.
Inside the association’s Elijah Thomas Gallery, a new exhibition titled Resist, Revolt, Reform will expand that lens. The show traces a lineage of upheaval and change, from the American Revolution to the Anti-Rent War, the women’s suffrage movement and the region’s milk strikes — moments when ordinary people challenged systems of power in ways both large and small.
Admission to the exhibit is free, while the living history program begins at 2 p.m. and is limited in capacity. Organizers are asking visitors to reserve a spot by May 14.
In a place where centuries-old walls still stand, the goal, organizers say, is not simply to preserve history — but to let it speak.
