New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

This page includes all our stories about New York State history.

Boscobel Offers Free Westchester County Day

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On Sunday, May 1, simply show proof of your Westchester residency and admission to Boscobel House & Gardens is free. It’s a wonderful opportunity to get to know one of the Hudson Valley’s most interesting historic sites.

Set upon 68 acres of landscaped grounds, Boscobel House contains a collection of furniture and decorative arts from the Federal period. Collections include rare china and glassware, antique books and fine art, including a Benjamin West painting. An exhibition about the rescue and restoration of Boscobel may also be seen in the Visitors Center at the Carriage House. [Read more…] about Boscobel Offers Free Westchester County Day

Schoharie: ‘Canals during the Civil War’ Exhibit

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The Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center is presenting a temporary exhibit entitled “Canals during the Civil War” in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. This small exhibit opens May 4th and runs through October 29. The exhibit includes photos and maps of the Erie Canal, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and Grant’s Canal near Vicksburg. The exhibit can be viewed during regular Visitor Center hours. [Read more…] about Schoharie: ‘Canals during the Civil War’ Exhibit

May Day Family Day at Buffalo & Erie Historical

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On Sunday, May 1, from 1 to 4 pm, the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society, 25 Nottingham Court, Buffalo, will host their first 2011 Family Day, presented with support from Northwest Buffalo Community Center. All ages are welcome and the grand opening of the newly refurbished Pioneer Life Gallery will be featured. [Read more…] about May Day Family Day at Buffalo & Erie Historical

Submitting Your News For Publication

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If you are interested in having your organization’s news or event noticed at the New York Almanack, be sure to send a press release following these simple steps:

1. Focus on a single subject.  Keep press releases to one subject – a lecture series, a single event, exhibit, conference, etc.

2. Be sure your press release is complete. In at least three paragraphs describe the what, when, where, and why of your event. Always include a paragraph describing your organization that includes a URL to your website, the location, hours, and admission fees. Spell out acronyms.

3. Write press releases journalistically. The best press release is one that the media reprints verbatim. Provide an easy-to-use, ready-made story. Write your press release to read as though you were a reporter. Avoid unnecessary hyperbole and never use all caps, italics, bold, or other strange formatting except where grammatically correct. Avoid exclamation points and rhetorical questions. Avoid “you” in favor of “participants” or “visitors”.

4. Include photos. If you don’t have at least one photo, find a relevant public domain image, or send along your logo.  ALWAYS include a caption with the source for your image. Send images as a jpg.

5. Provide enough lead time. Send your event notices two weeks in advance. If you are sending a late announcement be sure to indicate the event date in the subject of your e-mail.

Questions? Comments? Drop the editor an e-mail at nyalmanack@gmail.com.

 

Iroquois Indian Museum Early Technology Day

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The Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave, NY has announced their 2nd Early Technology Day on Saturday April 30 from 10 am to 4 pm. Put on your warm clothes and waterproof boots and head to the museum for flint knapping demonstrations, atl-atl shoot with Mike Tarbell, Mohawk educator and various demonstrations of early technology. [Read more…] about Iroquois Indian Museum Early Technology Day

Books: A History of the High Peaks and The 46ers

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A remarkable book of Adirondack history has been published. Heaven Up-h’isted-ness! The History of the Adirondack Forty-Sixers and the High Peaks of the Adirondacks is a collection of well researched essays on the highest Adirondack peaks, written by 18 members of the storied Adirondack 46ers, along with a short history of the club.

Part meticulously footnoted history of the mountains, trails, and the club itself, and part trail guide, this new volume is a landmark in Adirondack history. Heaven Up-h’isted-ness! is a long-awaited update of Russell Carson’s Peaks and Peoples of the Adirondacks, first published in 1927. [Read more…] about Books: A History of the High Peaks and The 46ers

Fort Ticonderoga Names Interpretation Director

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Fort Ticonderoga has announced the appointment of Stuart Lilie to serve as Director of Interpretation at Fort Ticonderoga, one of the oldest and most significant historic sites in North America.

“Stuart Lilie arrives at the Fort,” said Beth Hill “with tremendous vision and enthusiasm for the Fort’s future. He is extremely competent as a leader in the profession and has a clear commitment to the high quality historic interpretation required for the Fort to attain its vision to be the premier military historic site and museum in North America.”

He will begin work at Fort Ticonderoga on April 25, 2011 and will be responsible for the development and implementation of Fort Ticonderoga’s Interpretive Department.

With a Bachelor of Arts in History from The College of William & Mary, Stuart Lilie has extensive knowledge of material culture, trades and historic interpretation. He has worked in several interpretive and trades positions at Colonial Williamsburg and served as an apprentice archaeologist with the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities at Jamestown. An accomplished horseman and saddler, Mr. Lilie began and currently operates the only 18th century reproduction saddle company. He has consulted on historical equestrian matters for films at Mount Vernon, 96 Battlefield, Moore’s Creek, Vicksburg and Cowpens National Park.

An avid Revolutionary war and Seven Years war re-enactor for 15 years, Mr. Lilie has taken his belief in high standards of authenticity to work on the development of educational programming for many national sites including Colonial Williamsburg, Putnam Memorial State Park, Fort Dobbs State Historic Site, Minute Man National Park, Endview Plantation, Virginia War Museum, and Middleton Place. “I am both honored and excited to be part of such a great team, making such a huge difference at one of America’s most historic sites.”, said Mr. Lilie about his new post.

Photo: Fort Ticonderoga’s Director of Interpretation, Stuart Lilie. Lilie will begin work at the Fort on April 25, 2011.

Albany County Hall of Records Open House

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In honor of the Albany County Hall of Records (ACHOR) 10th Anniversary at 95 Tivoli Street, Albany County Clerk Thomas G. Clingan has announced that there will be an open house at the Hall of Records on April 27, 2011 from 2-4 PM. This current location is the third home of the Hall of Records; the first was the Albany High School Annex at 27 Western Avenue from 1982 -1986, followed by 250 South Pearl Street from 1986-2001.

Exhibits and tours of the Hall of Records will be available, including areas normally off-limits to visitors. ACHOR presently holds 12,890 cubic feet of archival records and 75,025 cubic feet of inactive records, all stored in a secure warehouse setting that is significantly more cost-effective for records storage than regular office space. A 992 square-foot concrete vault located within the building stores the most rare and valuable records, including the original 1686 Dongan Charter of the City of Albany.

ACHOR is a joint program of the County and City of Albany, making records available to the public in a state-of-the-art facility. Among the items on special display on April 27 will be: Albany County Sheriff’s Department Bertillon Mug Shots, 1896; Civil War Allotments and Bounty Records, 1862-1864; Register of Manumitted Slaves, 1800-1828 and the Court of Fort Orange and Beverwijck Minutes, 1652-1656.

Further information about the Albany County Hall of Records and directions to the facility can be found online.

If you are interested in attending the open house or a tour of the Hall of Records, please contact Deputy Director Craig Carlson at 436-3663 ext. 204 or ccarlson@albanycounty.com

War of 1812-Like Quilts Sought for Bicentennial Event

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It’s “a once-in-200-years” opportunity. The Seaway Trail Foundation is asking quilters and non-quilters, to make quilts with War of 1812-era colors and patterns for the Great Lakes Seaway Trail 2012 War of 1812 Bicentennial Quilt Show and Challenge event.

Organizers are reaching out to American history enthusiasts and re-enactors, children and people of all ages from the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Native nations, and internationally to enter and attend the commemorative event to be held March 17-18, 2012 at the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Discovery Center in the War of 1812 heritage community of Sackets Harbor, New York.


Guidelines for making “cot to coffin”-size (30 inches x 70 inches) quilt using a variety of fabrics, including cotton, linen, silk, wool and linsey-woolsey, and patterns common to the 1812 period are online. Entries must be committed to the show by January 15, 2012; quilts must be completed by March 3, 2012.

The Great Lakes Seaway Trail 2012 War of 1812 Bicentennial Quilt Show and Challenge guidelines suggest studying the research works and books of noted quilt historians Barbara Brackman, Anne Orr and Pepper Cory.

Brackman of Lawrence, Kansas, suggests that a quilt in medallion or strip format would be a good patchwork design for the historical era. Brackman says, “Patterns that were popular during the 1812 time were simple stars and basic nine-patch and four-patch variations. The War cut into fabric imports into America but well-to-do women already had stashes of imported French, English and Indian chintzes and calicoes in a variety of colors, and loved to mix large-scale and small-scale prints. For those thinking of using fabric reflecting the domestic prints of the time, indigo blues, browns and a touch of pink would be among the best colors.”

Brackman has designed a reproduction collection of prints from the era for Moda Fabrics; the “Lately Arrived from London” collection should be available in quilt shops by the end of the summer of 2011.

The Seaway Trail Foundation is sponsoring the event as part of a host of War of 1812 Bicentennial commemorative plans for tourism, cultural heritage and military history programs in 2011-2014. The March 2012 show will be the kickoff for a 2011-2014 traveling educational exhibit of the War of 1812-like quilts.

The 518-mile Great Lakes Seaway Trail along the freshwater coastline of New York and Pennsylvania is a National Scenic Byway offering authentic American travel experiences

Illustration: War of 1812 attack on Oswego from the Paul Lear collection.

Hyde’s Rembrandt on Loan to Louvre

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The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls has announced that its prized Christ with Folded Arms by Rembrandt van Rijn is now on display in the Louvre in Paris as part of a landmark exhibition titled “Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus.”

The Hyde masterwork plays a key role in shaping the thesis of the exhibition, which will be seen in three major museum venues. When the exhibition closes at the Louvre, it travels to the Philadelphia Museum of Art where it will be shown from August through October, 2011 and then to the Detroit Institute of Arts for exhibition beginning in February, 2012. [Read more…] about Hyde’s Rembrandt on Loan to Louvre