Ulster County and Shawangunk region historian Marc B. Fried is author of six books of local history and nature writing. In his 50 years perusing Dutch and English colonial manuscripts, court and church records and maps both ancient and modern, and in his extensive interviews with local huckleberry pickers and forest rangers and treks through the Shawangunk Mountains and Rondout and Wallkill valleys, Fried has solved many seemingly intractable historical and geographical mysteries and shed light on local legends and folklore.

In this talk, Fried will discuss some of the more dramatic discoveries he has written about and the sources, methods and perspectives that helped reveal the past and separate fact from fiction. A question and answer period and book signing will follow his talk.