In the evening hours of April 14, 1827, a pair of lovers, both dripping wet, stumbled into Hills Tavern in Latham and spent the night.
What they didn’t know when they sought solace from the spring rainstorm was their tryst would become a damning piece of evidence in their murder trial.
“A number of people testified they stayed overnight and one resident of the inn said her room connected with the couple’s room and to leave the room she had to walk through their room,” said Rebecca Watrous, education director at Cherry Hill. “In the morning, she noticed there were two beds but only one bed was used.”
Watrous said the evening of lust provided a motive for murder and was just about the only solid evidence that proved the adulterous romance between Elsie Whipple, a member of the Van Rensselaer family, and Jessie Strang, a hired hand.
“It was absolutely sensational in its day; made the newspapers up and down the East Coast and reporters were sent from New York City and Boston,” said Watrous. “It’s a famous Albany event and … the last public hanging in Albany.”
Strang and Whipple were tried for the murder of Whipple’s husband, who prosecutors said Strang shot to death through a window in Cherry Hill three days after the Hills Tavern tryst.
Local actors will reenact the evening during “Rendezvous at the Hill,” a fundraiser for Historic Cherry Hill to be held on the 185th anniversary of the tryst on Saturday, April 14, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Tailored Tea in Latham, formerly Hill’s Tavern.
“It’s just a piece of local history that’s very vivid and interesting and I think people would really enjoy it and the tavern is so much like it was so you just get a sense of place,” said Watrous.
Liselle LaFrance, director of Historic Cherry Hill, said the fundraiser is sorely needed to support the institution’s preservation and educational efforts, as funds to support the historic landmark continue to dwindle.
“We continue to plug away at it but it’s a challenge and I know that’s partly due to the economy,” said LaFrance.
Cherry Hill, located on South Pearl Street in Albany, receives monetary support from the New York State Council on the Arts, grants from the City of Albany and competes for grants on the state and federal level. It relies on individual and corporate donations for the rest of its operating budget.
“Our individual support from community members has increased every year in the past several years. … It’s tougher in the corporate sector and that has not provided what we had hoped it would,” said LaFrance.
There are three full- and three part-time employees at Historic Cherry Hill to pay, as well as general costs. The April 14 fundraiser will raise money to support those day-to-day operations.
Historic Cherry Hill is simultaneously coordinating a capital campaign separate from what it takes to run the museum that will fund a $1 million restoration of the building.
“We received a federal challenge grant to start that campaign and received several state grants and are raising money within the community for that effort as well,” said LaFrance.
Tickets for the fundraiser are $50 and the event features wines, specialty teas, food, period music and “special appearances” by Jessie Strang, Elsie Whipple and 1827 tavern guests. For more information about Cherry Hill or the fundraiser, visit www.historiccherryhill.org or email [email protected].
