Conferences
2025 Annual Conference on Saturday, September 13, 2025
Was a grand success!
Thank you to the over 60 historians who attended.
Registration cost includes meeting materials, morning refreshments, beverages, and a buffet lunch (with vegetarian selections). Please advise of dietary restrictions in advance and we will do our best to accommodate. Checks from municipalities accepted.
2025 Program:
Theme: On the Ground in Your Community
9:30-10:00am Registration Check In and Refreshments
10:00-10:30am Poster Session and Networking
10:30-10:45am Welcome
10:45-11:45am Basics in Gravestone Cleaning and Restoration
Presenters: Kathryn Bovee and Jennifer Averill
Cemeteries are a core historical research tool, filling in where vital statistics don’t exist, documenting family connections, and even embodying cultural and artistic expression. This session will cover basic gravestone cleaning and repair to protect the stones’ information and honor those whose resting places they mark.
11:45am-12:45pm Lunch and Networking
Business Meeting
Julia Reinstein Award
12:45-1:00pm Break
1:00-2:00pm Researching Historical Properties 101
Presenter: Gary Goodridge, Chair of Henrietta Historic Site Committee
Interpreting land records and creating a chain of ownership for a property is a vital skill for a historian, but archaic units of measurement and convoluted legal terminology, understanding deeds, mortgages, and other records can be daunting. During this session, attendees will have a step-by-step training on property research to get them started.
2:00pm Meeting Wrap Up
2026 Conference Tentative Date: September 19, 2026
We’re already planning for next year and looking forward to seeing you again!
In the meantime, don't forget to connect with us for other virtual training and networking opportunities on our Useful Links page and Facebook page!
Previous Conferences
2024 GAHWNY Conference
Theme: Practical Pointers and Sensible Suggestions for Historians
9:30-10:00am Registration Check In and Refreshments
10:00-10:30am Poster Session and Networking
10:30-10:45am Welcome
10:45-11:45am What’s a New Historian to Do? Duties and Helpful Suggestions
Presenter: Sue Conklin, Retired Genesee County Historian
It can be difficult to know what a municipal historian’s responsibilities are and how to assess inherited collections. This program intends to be a guide for newly appointed historians and a refresher for seasoned historians.
11:45am-12:00pm Updates from the Office of the State Historian
Remarks: Devin Lander, New York State Historian
12:00-1:15pm Lunch and Networking
· Business Meeting and Officer Elections
· Julia Reinstein Award
· GAHWNY History Student Award
Remarks by Nathan Ryan, recipient of the 2023 GAHWNY History Student Award
1:15-1:30pm Break
1:30-2:30pm Preserving Historical Photographs
Presenter: Kathy Connor, Retired Legacy Curator, George Eastman House
Most historians are stewards of historical photographs, which provide invaluable insight into people, places, and events in our communities. This program will provide guidance for preserving and caring for your photographic collections so that they are protected now and into the future.
2:30pm Meeting Wrap Up
2:45pm Post-conference Tour of East Hill Creamery
An optional guided tour of the creamery facility led by an East Hill Creamery staffperson, highlighting its cheese production and community ties.
2023 GAHWNY Conference
October 7, 2023
"Be a History Ambassador for Your Community"
Batavia Country Club, Batavia, NY
2022 GAHWNY Conference
October 1, 2022
"Documenting the Rich Cultural Diversity of Your Community"
East Aurora, NY
…And so on, back to the beginning!