William Hart Hill

William Hart Hill. Fort Edward, New York. , Historian and author William Hart Hill was born in Fort Edward, New York on April 29, 1891. His parents, Almon Perry Hill and Mary Northup Hill were both from nearby Hartford, New York. The Hill family name was originally Hills. At the time there was another Hills family in Hartford, so the family decided to change their surname to Hill. On his mother's side of the family lies a relation to James M. Northup, Hartford's famous Potato King. During the Civil War era Northup, who was William Hill's great-uncle, persuaded local farmers to grow potatoes as their main crop, and in time Washington County became the nation's leading producer of potatoes., The first house William Hill lived in was a Greek Revival-style home on the corner of Spruce and Washington Streets, where he was born. He then moved to East Street. In 1910 the family moved to a home on Broadway, and the next year Almon built a house next-door for his parents, Lorenzo and Laura. William Hill went on to marry Elsie Warren Norton of Granville, New York in 1916. The following year Elsie gave birth to their daughter, Jean Norton Hill. Then in 1930, Hill began to build their own home on Broadway shown here, on the site of his Grandparents' former home., The Newton and Hill Hardware store is a well-known business in Fort Edward, and William Hill's family has had its ties with the firm for most of its existence. In 1882 Hill's father, Almon came to Fort Edward and began working for the hardware firm originally founded by George Newton and Chris Partridge. Soon after, the firm's name was changed to Newton and Hill and Partridge. The store's original location was south of Underwood Park, and by 1890 it moved to its current site on Broadway. The business was a major distributor of dynamite for the DuPont Corporation: the Hill family profited as the sole supplier for the Adirondacks., Hill's greatest undertaking was his work with the Fort Edward Historical Association (FEHA). Hill was a founding member and served as Vice President under John P. Burke. The first meeting was held on November 5, 1925 and in 1927, FEHA was chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. During the Depression era the association lay dormant. A fire in 1943 nearly destroyed the Old Fort House, Mr. Hill was given the unique position of overseeing its stabilization. The idea to purchase and restore the house to serve as a museum and local history repository began to take shape in the post-war era. Mr. Hill was one of the group of founders who put up the money to purchase the museum property. On July 12, 1953, FEHA was given the deed to the Old Fort House property, which officially opened to the public as museum on that date., William Hill died on November 26, 1959. His bequest provides a portion of FEHA yearly endowment income which helps the association function. His widow left a portion of his collection to FEHA, the New York State Library, and Adirondack Community College for what is today known as The Hill Collection., [Top right portrait caption reads] William Hart Hill, 1891-1959. This portrait of William H. Hill hangs in the Old Fort House Museum in Fort Edward. It was painted by a local artist by the name of Higgins., [Bottom right photo caption reads] This model of Fort Edward is still on exhibit at the museum today. It was created by Hill in his own basement with the assistance of technician, Alex VanPomer.