Raging Erie at Schoharie Crossing
“Raging Erie” Discussion with Author Mark Ferrara
Fort Hunter, NY –Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site will host SUNY Professor and author Mark Ferrara to discuss his recent book, “The Raging Erie: Life and Labor Along the Erie Canal” as part of the Bicentennial celebrations of this important waterway. The program will take place inside the Enders House, adjacent to the Visitor Center and Museum on Schoharie Street in Fort Hunter on Saturday, September 27th at 1:00PM.
In the book, Ferrara tells the stories of the ordinary people who lived, worked, and died along the banks of the canal, emphasizing the forgotten role of the poor and working class in this epochal transformation. “The Raging Erie” chronicles the fates of the Native Americans whose land was appropriated for the canal, the European immigrants who bored its route through the wilderness, and the orphan children who drove draft animals that pulled boats around the clock. Ferrara also shows how the canal served as a conduit for the movement of new ideas and religions, a corridor for enslaved people seeking freedom via the Underground Railroad, and a spur for social reform movements that emerged in response to the poverty and suffering along its path.
Mark S. Ferrara is professor of English at the State University of New York.
He received his Ph.D. from the University of Denver in 2004, and is author of seven books, including Palace of Ashes (Johns Hopkins UP, 2015), Sacred Bliss (Rowman and Littlefield, 2016), American Community (Rutgers UP, 2020), and most recently, The Raging Erie (Columbia UP, 2024). Ferrara has also published fourteen peer-reviewed articles on literary and cultural studies and was appointed Visiting Scholar in the Department of English at University of California, Berkeley during the spring 2015 semester.
In addition, Ferrara has taught for universities in South Korea, China, and on a Fulbright scholarship in Turkey. His courses are internationally focused, interdisciplinary, and aim to raise critical insight of other cultures through their literatures.
This program is free and open to the public. For more information, please call the Visitor Center: (518) 829-7516, email SchoharieCrossing@parks.ny.gov or find Schoharie Crossing on Facebook.
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 parks, historic sites, recreational trails, golf courses, boat launches and more, which saw a record 88.3 million visits in 2024. For more information on any of these recreation areas, visit parks.ny.gov, download the free NY State Parks Explorer app or call (518) 474-0456. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and the OPRHP Blog.
