New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Capital-Saratoga

The Schenectady Fire of 1861

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Painting of Dutch Reformed Church on fire in 1861The City of Schenectady is no stranger to fires. Every school child learns of the destruction of the fledgling village in February 1690 at the hands of the French and their Native American allies.  Many know the story of the Great Fire of 1819, which started in a currying shop (where the stretching and finishing of tanned leather was carried out) on Water Street, was spread by strong winds in a northeastern direction, and ultimately destroyed most of the buildings in city west of Church Street from Water Street to the Mohawk River.

The Schenectady Fire of 1861 however, marked a turning point in fire containment as the city’s hose and ladder companies, assisted by fire crews and equipment from Albany, Troy, and Amsterdam. [Read more…] about The Schenectady Fire of 1861

The Rise and Fall of Charles Willson Peale’s Museum

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Behind the Crimson CurtainCharles Willson Peale was an American painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolution, and for establishing one of the first museums in the United States.

In 1786, Charles Willson Peale created what is considered the most important — and most famous — museum in Revolutionary era America. A fusion of natural history and art, Peale’s Philadelphia Museum was meant to be an embodiment of the Enlightenment. [Read more…] about The Rise and Fall of Charles Willson Peale’s Museum

Preparing For The Upcoming Snowmobile Season

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Snowmobilers clear a trail near Nicks Lake in the winter of 1966-67The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Snowmobile Bureau is reminding snowmobilers that despite the large snowfalls in the Tug Hill and in western New York, snowmobile trails are not open at this time.

For public safety reasons, grooming generally may not begin until the closure of Big Game hunting season. Snowmobilers should exercise restraint when operating snowmobiles before the start of the season. [Read more…] about Preparing For The Upcoming Snowmobile Season

The First Dutch Translation of the U.S. Constitution

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Title page of De Ronde’s translation of the U.S. ConstitutionThere are a few topics that guarantee a historian an audience. Write a decent biography of Abraham Lincoln or James Madison, for example, and you are bound to have readers. Or, write something new and interesting about the Constitution and you might attract some attention. [Read more…] about The First Dutch Translation of the U.S. Constitution

The Capitol Region’s Race Course: Island Park

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Island Park racing notice published in the Troy Daily TimesThe Hudson River in New York’s Capital Region has always been a vital transportation link, and it also provides a conduit to undertakings of the past. The area presently occupied by Interstate-787 and its connectors to NY-378 were constructed on what had been a cluster of islands in the Hudson River, near Menands, between Albany and Watervliet.

Even in the 1820s, the road here became noted for unofficial, and illegal, horse racing. [Read more…] about The Capitol Region’s Race Course: Island Park

Turkey Day History: The Two Thanksgivings of 1871

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1871 turkey plucking harpersFor about a week in 1871, New Yorkers were in a quandary about Thanksgiving. On October 25, New York Governor John T. Hoffman designated Thursday, November 23 as Thanksgiving Day for the state.

In his Thanksgiving Day proclamation, the Tammany Hall Democrat urged New Yorkers to spend time on that day to declare “their gratitude to God for all his mercies” and to “remember especially the poor.” [Read more…] about Turkey Day History: The Two Thanksgivings of 1871

Revolutionary Thanks: America’s First National Thanksgiving Holiday

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Thanksgiving Holiday PostcardAmerica’s first national Thanksgiving holiday was declared by the Continental Congress to commemorate the victory of the American army of General Horatio Gates over British forces commanded by General John Burgoyne in Saratoga, New York on October 17, 1777.

The triumph at Saratoga, America’s turning point in the eight-year War of Independence was the first time in world history an entire British army had been captured. What’s more, the victory reversed a long string of humiliating defeats for the 13 rebellious colonies, including the loss of the revolutionary capital in Philadelphia. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Thanks: America’s First National Thanksgiving Holiday

An Albany Gravestone Goes Home

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Mary McConnell gravestone being movedOn August 25th, 1823, Mary McConnell, wife of Teunis Vandeveer, died at the age of 28. Her body was laid to rest in the Second Presbyterian Church’s lot at the State Street Burying Grounds in Albany, NY. Laid to rest until 1868, that is.

When the City closed the old Burying Grounds to make way for Washington Park to be developed, her grave was one of 14,000 transferred to the Albany Rural Cemetery, which had been established in 1844.

Her headstone did not make the journey with her coffin until last fall. [Read more…] about An Albany Gravestone Goes Home