About the archives
The Charles and Ouida Schwartz
Memorial Conference Archives
The United Methodist Book of Discipline requires that every annual conference maintain an archive. Located in the basement of the Troy Conference Center at 396 Loudon Road, Saratoga Springs, N.Y., the Troy Conference Archives is a repository for all records of all the churches of the Conference which no longer exist, either due to closing or merger.
However, dwindling congregations, the confusion of mergers or federation with other denominations, and sometimes haphazard administration of the archives means that the archives hold only some records from some closed and merged churches.
Holdings vary from a single folder containing a picture of the church to several cartons containing membership, trustees, Women’s Society of Christian Service (WSCS), Sunday school and other records. From some churches we have no records at all.
In addition to records from churches, the archives hold records of some of the Conference Boards and Agencies. The archives also have a collection of printed materials intended to support records collections:
- A complete set of Troy and Vermont Conference Journals
- Methodist periodicals
- General Minutes
- Books about Troy and Vermont Conferences and member churches
- Books by or about conference pastors
The books were catalogued and the collection initially organized through the work of Rev. Charles and Ouida Schwartz, authors of A Flame of Fire and The Spreading Flame on the history of Troy Conference and its churches. Their work on the archives was an enormous gift to the conference.
Holdings
The Conference Archives serves all the United Methodist churches in northeastern New York and all of Vermont. Housed in the Conference Center lower level, the archives were substantially renovated in recent years. Appropriate shelving was installed, cataloging was updated and research on proper storage methods led to climate and dust control systems that better protect the historical holdings.
The archives are the repository for United Methodist Church and its predecessors' records when a church closes. Records include files on open local churches, records of closed and merged churches, pastors, Conference boards, agencies, etc. Complete collections of both Troy and Vermont Conference Journals, Methodist periodicals, General Minutes and other books about the Troy Conference area and Methodist history.
