May 17, 2023

This week Heritage Masonry (Tom and Brian Dootz) has been crafting steps which make the ascent to the monument much easier.  The stones used for the steps are the broken stones which were removed when the Vault stonework was repaired.

September 8, 2021

The Slingerland Family Burial Vault was re-dedicated.  Speakers included descendant Frank Slingerland, Bethlehem Town Supervisor David VanLuven, Albany County Legislator William Reinhardt, Bethlehem Town Historian Susan Leath, descendant Susan Virgilio and Rev. Chris Vande Bunte of Delmar Reformed Church.  Visit our YouTube channel to view the event.

June 4, 2021

Four classes of fourth graders walked over from Slingerlands Elementary School.  Town Historian Susan Leath shared stories that connected topics they have studied this year (Native Peoples,  Early Settlement and the Revolutionary era) to the Slingerland family, including family members’ service in the Revolution and of course, the story of Teunis Slingerland, trader at Beverwyck.  The students asked many questions and were very curious about the vault, how it was constructed and who is buried there.  An enjoyable and educational time was had by all.  Many thanks to the teachers and their helpers for bringing the students over, and especially Mr. Rankin for coordinating the event.  A special thank you to Stewart’s Shops for providing ice cream coupons for every student. 

February 24, 2021

The door was installed today!  Adnak Contracting Services LLC, a Women Owned Business located in Saratoga NY, did an incredible job fabricating and installing this beautiful, secure door.  

Due to past vandalism at the site, this was built with security in mind.  The new stainless steel door weighs nearly 250 pounds and has a very secure locking mechanism.  Keys can only be duplicated by the manufacturer.  The cut outs are needed for ventilation and are backed by security grade stainless steel screening.

It is estimated the disintegrating iron door was installed in the early 1900s and was not part of the original vault construction.

October 22, 2020

We hosted "Dinner and a Movie" which was the premier of our movie "A Slingerlands Walking Tour".  We partnered with Romo's Pizza who generously donated a percentage of dinner sales toward restoration of the Slingerland Family Burial Vault! 

July 31, 2020

The engraved stone lintel was installed on the face of the vault today by Ganem Contracting Corp.   Work continues on the stonework and things are looking great!

May 27, 2020

We are very excited to announce that the stonework rebuild has started!  Ganem Contracting Corp. brings 50 years of historic restoration experience to this project and they began work today.  The engraved stone lintel which will identify the burial vault is on order.  An opening will be left for the door, which is a separate effort.

This is the most expensive part of the project, so please consider a donation to help cover the cost.

May 19, 2020

Christopher White of Albany Grave Digger volunteered to clean the monument which sits on top of the burial vault and it came out beautiful!  Thank you Christopher!

May 18, 2020

Bethlehem Highway Superintendent Marc Dorsey and Highway Foreman Peter Schmidt joined our socially distant meeting at the vault to discuss plans for the upcoming stonework repair.  Check back soon for photos of the stone front repair since we hope to start soon!  We placed updated signs near the vault for walk up visitors to enjoy.  The sign series entitled "Slingerland Stories" was created by Town Historian Susan Leath.  They are best seen in person while visiting the vault, but are included here for those who can't make it.

October 6, 2019

Today we repeated our very successful fundraising event entitled "A Visit with Slingerlands' Founding Family".  This event included a walking tour with first person presentations by costumed performers.  We opened the vault for this event, allowing participants to look inside.  A very special thank you to Rita Michin who played Leah Britt Slingerland, Bill Douglas who played John I. Slingerland, Peter Crouse who played William H. Slingerland and all of the volunteers who who made this event possible!  The $1,405 raised from this event will entirely go toward restoration efforts.

June 28, 2019

The Friends held a fundraising event entitled "A Visit with Slingerlands' Founding Family" which included a walking tour with first person presentations by costumed performers.  A very special thank you to Rita Michin who played Leah Britt Slingerland, Brian Dollard who played John I. Slingerland, Peter Crouse who played William H. Slingerland and all of the volunteers who who made this event possible!  The $1,115 raised from this event will entirely go toward restoration efforts.

June 6, 2019

Civil War veteran John H. Slingerland rests in a sarcophagus inside the burial vault.  At some point, vandals removed his marble marker which resulted in collapse.  We are happy to report that the weather finally cooperated and Bruce Bourque was able to complete the repair.  A new marble marker was donated by his direct descendants and will be installed when it arrives in a few weeks.

March 27, 2019

We were invited to share our progress at the Bethlehem Town Board Meeting, where we unveiled two very important items:

• Retired Slingerlands Elementary teacher Evonne Lutkus' donation of a historical marker.

• Local artist Peter Keitel's donation of a watercolor which envisions the vault after restoration.

Thank you Evonne Lutkus & Peter Keitel for caring so much about local history!

January 21, 2019

The structural report has been received from Jack Healy, P.E. of Ryan Biggs | Clark Davis Engineering & Surveying D.P.C. regarding the indentation on top of the vault.  On August 16, 2018 Jack supervised the excavation of soil to expose the top of the vault structure.  The report concluded "Based upon the observations, the structure of the vault roof appears to be in good condition and there are no obvious signs of distress or deterioration."

Thank you Jack Healy, P.E. and Ryan Biggs | Clark Davis Engineering & Surveying D.P.C. for your volunteer efforts to this project!

May 5, 2018

Thank you to the archaeologists who volunteered their time on a beautiful Saturday to clean the floor of the vault.  Recovered artifacts include bottle fragments, glass, a golf ball, shoes and other generic refuse.

April 10, 2018

The Town of Bethlehem Highway Department did a great job removing stumps today.  A stump grinder was used to gently get the stumps below ground level.

April 5, 2018

The Bethlehem Superintendent of Highways, John "Tiger” Anastasi, and the Highway Department have been busy today regrading the front entrance of the vault and preparing access to the site for future restoration and maintenance.

March 29, 2018

The Town of Bethlehem spent all day removing trees from the vault site.  Trees and their roots have caused damage over the years, so we are very happy to see them removed.