In 1844 New York State published a volume on birds in Natural History of New York. Written by James E. DeKay with hand-colored lithographs by John William Hill, it was the State’s first attempt at a comprehensive scientific cataloging of New York’s birds. At the time about 301 species of birds were known to be present in the state.
Sixty years later another effort was made to bring together the State’s bird knowledge. The first of the two-volume of Birds of New York – Water Birds and Game Birds – was published to much acclaim. The book was a collaboration between wildlife artist Louis Agassiz Fuertes and author Elon Howard Eaton. Birds of New York listed an additional 100 species – several of which were then “well known,” but unknown in the 1840s. The book would serve as a model for those that followed.
[Read more…] about Birds of New York: Scientific Cataloging In Historical Context
What really happened at Donnelly’s Corners in the spring of 1929?
April 11, 1919, New York Governor Al Smith signed the “Historians Law.” The first law of its kind in the United States, the Historians Law allowed for every village, town, and city in the state to have a municipal historian to gather and preserve historical records.
The New York State Museum has announced programming to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Beginning Friday, September 11, 2020, a display of World Trade Center artifacts will be added to the 
The Erie Canal Museum is set to open the new exhibit An Erie Canal Odyssey: The Photographs of Frank Forte, on Tuesday, September 15th, in the Link Gallery.