New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Capital-Saratoga

New York’s Anti-Mask Law Has Roots In The Anti-Rent War

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murray249Halloween has swung the spotlight of history back on New York’s anti-mask law.

It was one of the first tools used by New York City police to break up the Occupy Wall Street in 2011. Within days of donning Guy Fawkes masks, demonstrators were charged by police for violating the anti-mask law, section 240.35(4) of the New York Penal Law. Its origins go back to a statute passed in 1845 to suppress armed uprisings by tenant farmers in the Hudson Valley who were using disguises to attack law enforcement officers. [Read more…] about New York’s Anti-Mask Law Has Roots In The Anti-Rent War

New Board Members at Rensselaer County Historical Society

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image001(3)The Rensselaer County Historical Society (RCHS) announces the appointment of Douglas Bucher, Phyllis Conroy, Christina Kelly and Robert Matthews to the Board of Trustees. They were elected to their terms at the 86th Annual Meeting held on September 9, 2013.

The Rensselaer County Historical Society and Museum, located at 57 Second Street in Troy, is a not-for-profit educational organization established in 1927 to connect local history and heritage with contemporary life. [Read more…] about New Board Members at Rensselaer County Historical Society

35 Boats Confirmed at the Waterford Tugboat Roundup

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front121_9G_RALLYThis weekend, nearly three dozen boats are expected along the Waterford wall, in front of the Visitor’s Center, for three days as the town relives its canal heyday for its annual tugboat round-up. Now in its 14th year, the Waterford tugboat Roundup and has become one of the four premier waterfront festivals in New York State and the largest maritime festival north of New York City.

Family-friendly music plays from Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon, tugs will be open for tours, kid’s games and activities, tour boat rides, line-tossing, tours of the tugs and more. Shuttle busses will run from remote parking. There is no charge for the event (other than a nominal charge for the tour boats). [Read more…] about 35 Boats Confirmed at the Waterford Tugboat Roundup

Canal Splash Set For This Weekend

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442Celebrate the history, culture, recreational appeal, and beauty of the New York State Canal System and Erie Canalway Trail during Canal Splash!, a coordinated series of locally organized events and activities, including nature and history walks, museum and gallery exhibits, rowing regattas, kayak and canoe outings, musical performances, boat tours and more. [Read more…] about Canal Splash Set For This Weekend

Schuylerville to Fort Edward History Bicycle Tour

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canalridersOn Sunday August 11, enjoy a 28-mile guided bicycle tour along the Champlain Canalway Trail between Hudson Crossing Park in Northumberland and Fort Edward.

This tour will take bikers past historic sites of interest related to the Revolutionary War and the Champlain Canal. Learn about Rogers Rangers, Jane McCrea, the route that General John Burgoyne’s army took on the way to the Battles of Saratoga and the development of the Champlain Canal. [Read more…] about Schuylerville to Fort Edward History Bicycle Tour

The Troy Draft Riot and Father Peter Havermans

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havermanWhen what has been described as “the second most destructive draft riot in the nation” broke out in Troy on July 15, 1863, worried city residents, especially African-Americans, wondered if the Dean of the Roman Catholic churches in Troy, Father Peter Havermans, would, or could, do anything to calm the rioters and curb anticipated violence.

The bulk of the two to three thousand angry protestors in the streets were Catholics who worked in the city’s mills, factories and iron works. [Read more…] about The Troy Draft Riot and Father Peter Havermans

The Leadership Role of Municipal Historians

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19120822As the new year gets underway, it is appropriate to pause and reflect on open issues from years gone by. I am referring now to the role in 2013 of the county historian as a custodian for New York State history as we forge ahead with our Path through History Project.

The starting point for this investigation is an article which appeared on September 12, 2012 just after the summer launch in August entitled “New York State’s Curious, Century-Old Law Requiring Every City and Town to Have a Historian” by Amanda Erickson in The Atlantic Cities. [Read more…] about The Leadership Role of Municipal Historians

Bob Weible: Making History in Difficult Times

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I was disappointed to hear the recent news that Schenectady County officials have chosen to cut funding for their county historian. This decision appears to have less to do with the historian than it did with the county’s fiscal problems.

Many of us are familiar with the state law that requires municipalities to appoint historians, and as Gerry Smith has pointed out, NYS County Law, section 400, also requires counties to make similar appointments. Many counties and many municipalities comply with these laws. Many don’t. But that’s not what’s at stake here. [Read more…] about Bob Weible: Making History in Difficult Times

The Impeachment of Governor Sulzer

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Impeached New York State Governor William Sulzer political historyWhen William Sulzer was elected to the office of Governor of New York State in November 1912, it represented the culmination of a long and successful career in politics.

The son of a German immigrant father and a Scotch-Irish American mother, Sulzer (1863–1941) rose through the powerful Tammany Hall machine to become the youngest man ever to serve as speaker of the New York State Assembly. In 1894, he was elected to the U.S. Congress, where he served with distinction for eighteen years, rising to chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

When he became Governor, it was with the support of the Tammany Hall machine, and everyone expected that he would duly perform his duties under the direction of Tammany boss Charles F. Murphy. [Read more…] about The Impeachment of Governor Sulzer

NYS Museum Sponors Adirondack Day

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The New York State Museum will celebrate the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain on Saturday, November 3 with “Adirondack Day,”an inaugural daylong event that will complement the Museum’s exhibition on iconic Adirondack photographer Seneca Ray Stoddard.

The free event, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will include a concert, lectures, displays, tours and films presented by the New York State Museumand many of the North Country’s leading educational and cultural institutions. Participating are the New YorkStateMuseum, AdirondackMuseum, Adirondack Life magazine, Fort Ticonderoga, Great Camp Sagamore, John Brown Lives, Lakes to Locks Passage, MountainLakePBS, Paul Smith’s College, The Wild Center, and the Trudeau Institute.

The highlight of the day will be a 2 p.m. concert by award-winning Adirondack folk musician, educator and story teller Dan Berggren. Berggren’s roots are firmly in the Adirondacks where he was raised, but he has entertained audiences across the country and overseas in Belgium, Bulgaria, Romania and Central Africa.

Hearing stories and songs from local friends and neighbors, he has developed a style that captures the spirit of the mountains. He has produced 14 albums and has won awards from the NYS Outdoor Education Association, the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks, the Adirondack Mountain Club and SUNY Fredonia.

Guided tours will be offered of the Seneca Ray Stoddard: Capturing the Adirondacksexhibition. Stoddard’s photographs provide a visual record of the history and development of the Adirondacks. His work was instrumental in shaping public opinion about tourism, leading to the 1892 “Forever Wild” clause in the New York State Constitution.

The exhibition includes over 100 of Stoddard’s photographs, an Adirondack guideboat, freight boat, camera, copies of Stoddard’s books and several of his paintings. These and other items come from the StateMuseum’s collection of more than 500 Stoddard prints and also from the collections of the New York State Library and the ChapmanHistoricalMuseum in Glens Falls. An online version of the exhibition is also available on the StateMuseum website at http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/virtual/exhibits/SRS/.

The events are presented by the New York State Museum with the support of sponsors Paul Smith’s College and Stewart’s Shops.

The State Museum is a program of the State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving,  Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.