D&H Canal Historical Society Concierge Nancy Bachana on The D&H Canal Made the Sullivan County Tanning Industry Possible.
The DePuy Lecture Series 2025 is made possible by the M&T Bank Foundation.
Nancy Bachana brings a unique blend of expertise in urban planning, public history, and storytelling to her work as an interpreter and a children's author. As a volunteer with the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, Nancy leads historic tours in Sullivan County, NY, interpreting the artifacts of former lumbering and tanning hamlets. For the International Hildreth Meière Association, she leads tours showcasing large-scale public murals by the Art Deco artist. Her free virtual tour, History While You Hike, is available through theclio.com, continues to evolve as a resource for educators, hikers, and history enthusiasts. In summer 2024, Nancy worked as a visitor experience associate at the D&H Canal Interpretive Center in Summitville, NY, where she combined her passion for canal history with engaging public programming. Nancy’s first children’s title due in March 2025 is a puzzle mystery set along the D&H Canal in New York, titled The Key to Puzzler’s Lock (March 2025). She is hard at work on the second book in the series, continuing her mission to bring canal history to life for new generations.
In her prior career, Nancy spent ten years at the NYC Mayor’s Office and Department of Transportation, including a role improving customer service and communications aboard the Staten Island Ferry. Before that she worked in advertising and sales for Little, Brown, & Company Books and Martha Stewart Living Magazine.
Nancy earned a BA in English from Bryn Mawr College, and a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from NYU, earning the “Best Written Work” award for her history and re-imagining of ferry service in New York Harbor, entitled Ferry Tales. In 2023 Nancy earned the advanced certificate in Public History at CUNY Staten Island. She is on the Committee for the D&H Canal Bi-Centennial Celebration Committee and sits on the D&H Canal Transportation Heritage Council.