The Saratoga County History Center has announced the forthcoming release of their latest documentary, Bacon Hill, a Forgotten Crossroads. The program showcases the rich history and plans of the Bacon Hill farming community in the eastern Saratoga County town of Northumberland through the eyes of three generations of residents. [Read more…] about Saratoga County’s Bacon Hill Documentary Premiere
Capital-Saratoga
Hudson River Towing: Austin’s Albany & Canal Line
Jeremiah J. Austin, Jr. was born in 1819, just 12 years after the first commercial steamboat trip on the Hudson River and two years after construction of the Erie Canal began at Rome, New York. His father Jeremiah J. Austin Sr. was a prominent Albany businessman involved in Hudson River commerce.
After the Erie Canal opened, freight could be transported all the way across the Great Lakes to the entrance to the canal at Buffalo and then along the canal to Albany where it was shipped down the Hudson River to New York Harbor. From there freight could be fairly easily transported to any port on the East Coast, Europe or the Caribbean. [Read more…] about Hudson River Towing: Austin’s Albany & Canal Line
The Saratoga County Roots of Mott’s Apple Empire
You may have noticed that “Since 1842” appears on the label of all Mott’s apple products. That was the year Samuel Mott began selling apple cider and vinegar to his neighbors in Halfmoon, Saratoga County, NY. The Mott’s apple processing empire we know today grew from that humble beginning. [Read more…] about The Saratoga County Roots of Mott’s Apple Empire
The Slow Death of Slavery in Dutch New York
The Dutch had an important influence in developing and maintaining slavery in what is now New York State. Indeed, to understand the history of slavery in New York we need to recognize it as more distinctly Dutch.
Dutch attitudes about the utility and morality of slavery presented a major roadblock in attempts to end slavery in New York State through gradual abolition, by resisting the political and legal changes that ultimately brought about the end of slavery in the state in 1827. [Read more…] about The Slow Death of Slavery in Dutch New York
Battlefield to Stage: The Lives of John Burgoyne
The new book From the Battlefield to the Stage: The Many Lives of General John Burgoyne (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2023) by Norman S. Poser provides a rounded biography, covering not only the Saratoga campaign but also elements of General John Burgoyne’s eventful life that have never been adequately explored. [Read more…] about Battlefield to Stage: The Lives of John Burgoyne
The Green Mountain Boys & The Evolution of Vermont’s State Flag
If you walk into the Vermont Historical Society’s museum in Montpelier, you’ll a flag hanging from the wall behind the admission desk: the blue and green Green Mountain Boys flag.
It’s a flag that’s been wrapped up with a hefty dose of legend and mythology. [Read more…] about The Green Mountain Boys & The Evolution of Vermont’s State Flag
NYS Senate, Assembly Budget Plans Add Millions For Adirondack Priorities
Adirondack Park advocates are applauding the NY Senate and Assembly one-house budget proposals, each of which proposed millions of additional dollars to Adirondack and environmental investments above current funding levels put forward in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent budget plan. [Read more…] about NYS Senate, Assembly Budget Plans Add Millions For Adirondack Priorities
The Anniversary of the State of Vermont
On March 4th, the State of Vermont celebrated its 232nd birthday. March 4th, 1791 is the formal start of what we now know of as Vermont: the 14th state in the union, with a continuity that has withstood the last two centuries. But the idea of Vermont had its own torturous birth in 1777, the result of land grants from the colonies of New Hampshire and New York, and those settlers making those lands their own. [Read more…] about The Anniversary of the State of Vermont
State Museum Acquires Women’s Rights Pioneers Central Park Monument Model
The New York State Museum in Albany has acquired the Women’s Rights Pioneers Central Park Monument model. The statue features three nationally recognized leaders of the women’s rights movement, all hailing from New York State: Sojourner Truth (Ulster County), Susan B. Anthony (Rochester), and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (Johnstown, Seneca Falls, and NYC). It will be included as part of the Museum’s new exhibition, “Women Who Lead.” [Read more…] about State Museum Acquires Women’s Rights Pioneers Central Park Monument Model
Aircraft Production in NYS During WWII
The Empire State Aerosciences Museum, located at 250 Rudy Chase Drive in Glenville, Schenectady County, NY, will hold its monthly Fly-In Breakfast on Saturday, Saturday, March 18th, from 8:30 am to 10:30 am. [Read more…] about Aircraft Production in NYS During WWII