I am delighted to tell you the Claverack Giant site is now live! You may recall that I received a grant from CREATE to create a digital collage project about the strange cryptozoological past of this small Columbia county hamlet. Our local history has all the usual elements of upstate New York — Mohican history, Dutch settlers, colonial invasions, even Alexander Hamilton — but we also have our own giant.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t really a giant. But what was it? What did people think about it? How did people use this discovery and what kinds of things resulted from the story/myth/legend?

Drop by the site to find out more as it progresses!

As you can guess, there has been a massive amount of research, writing, and planning going on behind the scenes, and there is a lot more to come. But don’t we have the coolest logo? Of course the fabulous Stephanie came up with a great design that uses the facts to capture the imagined reality (or what’s so weird about those bones?). Soon to be on stickers and whatnot, which will be available at our informational events this fall. Thanks to the Claverack Free Library for hosting an event.

There will be some virtual events too: the first one in September (fingers crossed). We will see where legend, archeology, history and just a touch of fanaticism take discovery into surprising places.