Escape From the Sugar House with Author and Historian Tim Duerden

In this episode, Brett Barry visits the Delaware County Historical Association to talk with historian Tim Duerden about Escape From the Sugar House, his first work of historical fiction. The book follows Levi Hanford, a Connecticut teenager swept into the Revolutionary War and imprisoned in a New York City "sugar house" — one of several makeshift prisons where thousands died from disease, starvation, and neglect. Duerden discusses the Revolution as a civil war, the economic forces shaping Loyalist and Patriot strongholds, and the postwar migration that brought veterans like Hanford to the Catskills. The conversation centers on a unique artifact: a cane crafted from a Sugar House beam and gifted to Hanford late in life. A compelling blend of history, storytelling, and regional heritage.