Charles Mitchell, Ph.D., will explore "The History of Niagara Falls Reservation State Park," Thursday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m. at the Niagara History Center. Mitchell will discuss America's oldest state park as landscape, retreat, resource and more. He will address how and why the geographic area was given the identity of a park, the public's relationship with the parkland, and the landscape's significance to Native Americans, settlers, early tourists and modern-day visitors. He will also speak on park management, ecology and other issues.
This lecture is funded by a grant from the Speakers in the Humanities program.
Mitchell is an associate professor of American studies at Elmira College. He teaches courses in American history, with special emphasis on environmental history, history of concepts of nature, and how landscapes are represented in art and literature.
Beginning in 1983, Speakers in the Humanities brings grant-funded programs by humanities scholars to not-for-profit cultural organizations throughout New York state. Events are free and open to the public.