TROY – The Rensselaer County Historical Society is entering the final stretch of its drive to raise money to buy an 1840s portrait of Peter F. Baltimore, who was deeply involved in the local abolitionist movement during the 19th century.

RCHS has raised $9,000 of the $15,000 it needs to buy the rare watercolor portrait of Baltimore, a barber who was a prominent member of the city’s African-American community before and after the Civil War. Now in its “Bring Peter Home” drive, the historical society wants to raise the remaining $6,000 it needs to make the purchase by the April 24 deadline.