Gilboa Museum & Juried History Center

The Gilboa Museum is internationally recognized for its exceptional collection of Devonian-era fossils, among the oldest known plant fossils on Earth. Many of these specimens were discovered just a few hundred yards from the museum site, on a 385-million-year-old forest floor and in nearby Schoharie Creek. The Juried History Center offers visitors insight into daily life in 19th- and early 20th-century upstate New York, interpreting the founding, growth, and eventual destruction of an important Catskills community. In 1917, the village of Gilboa was condemned to make way for a reservoir designed to supply fresh water to New York City. The museum documents the construction of the Gilboa Dam, a project that led to the town’s destruction. Quarrying undertaken during the dam’s construction unearthed many of the fossils now on display. The museum’s Community Room serves as a gathering space for films, presentations, workshops, and art exhibitions featuring regional artists. A current schedule of events is available on the Gilboa Historical Society’s Facebook page.