Mabee Farm Historic Site — Local services in Town of Rotterdam

My daughter had a wonderful wedding at the Mabee Farm in October 2015. The setting along the river made for once in a lifetime pictures. If you are interested in having a wedding at this beautiful venue keep some things in mind. This is not a cheap wedding venue, this is a “make it your own” distinctive wedding venue. The Mabee Farm rents you the beautiful setting. Like other alternative wedding venues it is up to you to make it work. My daughter and her husband had specific ideas on how they wanted their wedding. The ceremony was held in front of the barn with the reception held inside. This is an historic site NOT a restaurant or banquet hall so all the work to arrange it is on you - decorations, extra lighting, photographer, flowers, catering, DJ and set up. You can tailor it the way you want. Spend a lot of effort or a little. I recommend visiting the site a few times before set up and take some pictures of the barn interior. The barn rental specifically states that historic artifacts remain in parts of the barn and smoking is not allowed. That being said we worked with Total Events in Schenectady NY (who are familiar with the venue) for the tables, linens and lighting. We had a guest list of about 120 which I think is about capacity. For a bigger dance floor our caterer Ruggiero’s of Glenville suggested that we have a food tent adjacent to the back entrance so that we had more room inside the barn. Ruggiero’s have a working relationship with Total Events so Total Events also handled the food tent and had serving dishes ready for the caterers. By doing so we had plenty of room for the dance floor, DJ, a bar, candy bar, and a photo booth. To serve food inside comfortably I would suggest keeping your guest list to 75. There is a helpful member of the staff available for assistance on site during setup and during the wedding. This is a uniquely beautiful wedding venue with many creative options. You won't be...

Mabee Farm is a one of a kind historic site in Rotterdam Junction, NY. The Mabee Farm was built around the year 1700 (possibly earlier) and was lived in by many generations of the Mabee family all the way until the early 1990’s. The Mabee Farm site features historic houses, a nice museum, walking trails, great views of the nearby Mohawk River, a historic cemetery, and a Dutch Barn. There are also farm animals for all to see. The tour here was very well put together and the guide was knowledgeable and friendly. The original house is a Dutch Colonial Cottage. Over the years extensions were added onto the house. Upon seeing the original house, which consisted of one room, it is amazing to think that as many as 10 people shared this one room when the house was originally built. The other rooms in the house have interesting histories as well. In one of them, you can see the initials of Mabee family member, Jacob Mabee (JPM) branded onto the window. If you get a chance, look at the incredibly steep and narrow staircase that is a part of the house. Founding father Philip Schuyler also stayed at this house briefly on a visit. Outside the main house, you will notice a building called the brick house. It was here where slaves lived on the property. The tour was honest and accurate about the history of slavery here. Before or after your tour be sure to check out the museum. It has many displays and exhibits about farming and farming equipment through the ages. The walking trails on the property were nice, had good views of the Mohawk River, and the buildings on the property. Check the website or call ahead to see when they’re open for tours. At this time tickets are available at the door. The staff here was friendly and helpful. Add this to your list of great places in the Capital...

This place is fantastic. The main building is the oldest farm in the Mohawk Valley built in 1705. The site is run by the Schenectady Historic Society. The Dutch barn is one of the other main buildings I was surprised to find it was move to this site and not originally here. The Dutch barn is from the 1760’s. Also they a modern build visitors center and pavilion for food and drinks behind it. The best events are the Fall Foliage festival that they hold in October on one weekend. Which is a celebration of all things fall. They have music, hay rides, horses, goats, a petting zoo, sheep dog-herding demonstrations, owls, birds of prey, pumpkin painting, vendor, cider, beer and food.

They also put on the Howlin’ at the Moon convert series each month on the full moon and CanalFest. The Howlin’ at the Moon summer and fall concerts take place in Mabee Farm’s historic 1760s Dutch barn. The winter concerts are held in the Franchere Center (modern visitors center) at Mabee Farm. They have beer and wine available for purchase. The bands change monthly but are normally bluegrass or folk music. CanalFest that they put is similar to the Fall Foliage festival. It is in the summer (normally July). This has included music, a petting zoo, rehabbed wild animals, food and craft beer, kid’s activities, craft vendors and ice cream in the past. CanalFest is inspired by the Erie Canal and they had...