Telling The Stories of Johnson Hall
Successful fundraising and grant-writing by the Friends of Johnson Hall have underwritten creative and compelling interpretive programs that brought historic events to life for modern visitors.
Johnson Jog
For years the Johnson Jog, a 5k road race from Johnson Hall through the city of Johnstown and back, was a beloved local event coordinated by the Friends to raise money and awareness for the site and their work.
Hearth & Hall Foodways
Funds raised by the Friends have been used to purchase cooking implements and food for live exhibitions of colonial cooking and interpretation of the lives of the enslaved at Johnson Hall.
Trade Bale presentation with kids
Educational Outreach programming for hundreds of children a year in schools across the Mohawk and Hudson Valleys is enriched with funds raised by the Friends.
Sir William’s Funeral Procession
The 1774 Funeral for Sir William Johnson was recreated in 2024, along with programming discussing 18th century funeral practices. Friends underwrote the event with grants from the NY Council for the Humanities
Holiday Open House
Every December Johnson Hall is open for a candlelit night portraying 18th century holiday decorations and the Johnson family enjoying an evening of food, cards and music with a houseful of guests. Friends help staff the mansion and man the gift shop to raise funds for their work.
1774 Indian conference
The Anniversary of the 1774 Indian Department Conference on site brought Mohawks, natives of other tribes, and living historians together to recreate the last conference led by Sir William Johnson as British Superintendent of Native Affairs.