BARRYVILLE, NY – The Fort Delaware Museum of Colonial History in Narrowsburg, NY will have new on-site leadership beginning in 2022.

The Board of Directors of the non-profit education group, The Delaware Company, which will be operating Fort Delaware under contract with Sullivan County, has announced it has hired a Director and an Assistant Director for the Fort. Among other duties, the pair will develop programming, schedule events, and train and supervise the staff and volunteers.

Callison Stratton will serve as the Fort’s Director. Ms. Stratton is an experienced public historian and educator with a background in American History and museum education. She holds degrees from Skidmore College and Trinity College Dublin, and formerly served as the Curator of the Historic Clark Chateau Museum in Butte, MT, and as Director/co-Founder of the humanities nonprofit, The Root & The Bloom Collective. She has held positions at the South Street Seaport Museum, the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula (MT), and the National Library of Ireland, specializing in program development, education and exhibit curation. She is also an accomplished actress, singer and songwriter, performing onstage as Calla Sun, and in the folk duo Calico. Raised in New York City and Narrowsburg, she now lives in Damascus, PA with her husband and goldendoodle.

The Fort’s new Assistant Director is Alexis Patterson. Ms. Patterson is a native of Calhoun, Georgia. She graduated Cum Laude from the University of Kentucky in 2017 with a major in History and a double minor in English and International Studies. Accompanying her studies, she interned for the Lexington History Museum in its Department of Archival Research. She furthered her education by pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Modern European History from King’s College London in London, England, graduating with Merit in 2018. Her main area of study has always been British political history from 1914-1945, however, her dissertation was on film and its role within the historical narrative as a form of public history. She interned at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she dedicated her time to archival research within their Arts & Cultural Heritage department.

“The Board of Directors is very excited to have two such exceptional public historians to assist us in our quest to position Fort Delaware as a multi-day historical destination offering authentic, immersive programming,” said John Conway, Sullivan County Historian and President of The Delaware Company. “Personally, I am looking forward to working with them both to develop innovative programs and events for both children and adults, and to re-invent Fort Delaware as a serious living history museum that people will want to visit again and again.”

The Delaware Company is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 2012 with a mission to promote and support the history and historic landmarks of the Upper Delaware River Valley and beyond. It is solely supported by grants and tax-deductible contributions from its donors. To help The Delaware Company with its mission, donations can be mailed to The Delaware Company, P.O. Box 88, Barryville, NY 12719.