A total of $3.5 million in state funding was awarded to support environmental justice initiatives being led by more than 20 community-based organizations across the state. [Read more…] about $3.5 Million Awarded for Environmental Justice Initiatives
Capital-Saratoga
$28 Million for Recreation and Historic Preservation Projects
$26.6 million has been awarded for recreation and historic preservation projects through the state-funded Environmental Protection Fund to support 72 projects and $2.4 million from the federally funded Recreational Trails Program for 15 projects during Round XIII of the Regional Economic Development Council Initiative. [Read more…] about $28 Million for Recreation and Historic Preservation Projects
Parks-Bentley Annual Nativity Exhibition Now open
The Historical Society of Moreau and South Glens Falls in Saratoga County, NY, has opened its annual exhibition of nativity sets from around the globe. This year’s exhibition, “Forging Christmas: Nativities of Substance” will take a slightly different slant. [Read more…] about Parks-Bentley Annual Nativity Exhibition Now open
Charles Evans Hughes Documentary Now Available Online
The 43-minute documentary My Native Air: Charles Evans Hughes and the Adirondacks is now available for viewing free of charge on YouTube. [Read more…] about Charles Evans Hughes Documentary Now Available Online
Obstinate Becky Jones: At Home in Ludlow Jail
This week’s article was submitted during the summer by David Fiske who passed away on October 28 after a battle with cancer. We publish this story posthumously in his memory.
Rebecca Jones was born in Schoharie County, NY in the 1820s. Her family moved to Ballston Spa, in Saratoga County, where Becky attended a girl’s school. By 1850, she was living in the city of New York and working as a domestic servant for the family of Andrew Gordon Hammersley, a lawyer and banker. [Read more…] about Obstinate Becky Jones: At Home in Ludlow Jail
The Road to Ticonderoga: The Campaign of 1758 in the Champlain Valley
The British campaign to capture Fort Carillon on the Ticonderoga Peninsula in 1758 resulted in the largest battle of the French and Indian War. Crafted by Prime Minister William Pitt, the scope and scale of the British effort was staggering, calling for their northern colonies to raise 20,000 men to rendezvous with the British Regulars at Albany.
The directive would test the patience, resources, and will of the colonial governments as well as that of the newly appointed the British commander-in-chief, General James Abercrombie. [Read more…] about The Road to Ticonderoga: The Campaign of 1758 in the Champlain Valley
New Erie Canal Educational Resources Available
The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor and the New York State Canal Corporation have announced the release of new educational materials geared for fourth graders learning about the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal Adventure: Unlocking the Waterway Wonders includes a 40-minute video and two lesson plans.
The materials are available for free online at the Erie Canal Learning Hub. [Read more…] about New Erie Canal Educational Resources Available
Joshua Anthony: The Baking Powder King
In the 1800s, most of the commerce at Halfmoon in Saratoga County, NY, was located close to the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. Joshua Anthony however, developed his spice factory in a remote part of northern Halfmoon on his grandfather’s farm on Farm to Market and Anthony Roads.
The three-story tower in the center of the factory once boasted a windmill that provided power for the machinery. Anthony heated the farmhouse and buildings in the winter with steam from the factory. [Read more…] about Joshua Anthony: The Baking Powder King
Revolutionary Thanks: America’s First National Thanksgiving Holiday
America’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
The History of the ‘Lunatic Asylum’ in Ireland
In 1814, the Richmond Lunatic Asylum at Grangegorman in Dublin started an extraordinary program of asylum building across Ireland, aimed at alleviating the suffering of people with mental illness who were homeless, in prison, or confined in appalling circumstances. [Read more…] about The History of the ‘Lunatic Asylum’ in Ireland