New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Hudson Valley - Catskills

Cornwall-on-Hudson Historian Colette Fulton Being Honored

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Former Cornwall-on-Hudson Village Historian Colette C. Fulton has been named the 2023 Martha Washington Woman of History.

This award is given annually by Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site to a woman who has made a contribution to the history of the Hudson Valley through education, promotion, or preservation. The honor was inspired by Martha Washington, who resided in the Hudson Valley with her husband, General George Washington, during the last days of the Revolutionary War. [Read more…] about Cornwall-on-Hudson Historian Colette Fulton Being Honored

Neversink Chronicles Virtual Author Talk

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neversink chroniclesThe Neversink Chronicles by John Dwaine McKenna links together seventeen fictional stories (set from 1937 to 2003) tied together by real life events of residents in the Rondout and Neversink Valleys who were displaced by New York City for the building of the Delaware water system, needed to bring fresh drinking water from the Catskills to the city of New York.

Building on the Rondout and Neversink Reservoirs, the tunnels that connect them and the Catskill Aqueduct (which transports the water to NYC) began in the 1930s and finished in the 1950s. The five communities of Montela, Eureka, Lackawack, Neversink and Bittersweet were removed to create the reservoirs, permanently altering the lives of over 1,500 people. [Read more…] about Neversink Chronicles Virtual Author Talk

Inaugural Cycle the Hudson Valley Tour Registration is Open

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cycle the hudson valleyParks & Trails New York has announced that registration is now open for their inaugural Cycle the Hudson Valley tour, a seven-day, 200-mile recreational bicycle tour from the Capital Region of New York State to the Big Apple, set for July 29th through August 5th. [Read more…] about Inaugural Cycle the Hudson Valley Tour Registration is Open

Forest Rangers Spend Time Policing; Rescue Man From Newburgh

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forest ranger logoNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people.

What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers. [Read more…] about Forest Rangers Spend Time Policing; Rescue Man From Newburgh

Slavery, Segregation & Stattsburgh State Historic Site

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Depiction of Martha Church, a Black cook for a wealthy New York family, drawn by Baroness Hyde de Neuville ca 1808 Courtesy of the New York Historical SocietyIn 1810, there were nine Black people enslaved on the Staatsburgh estate in Dutchess County, NY. In 1910, the staff working inside Staatsburgh, now the Staatsburgh State Historic Site, was exclusively White and European – with only one documented Black resident in the entire hamlet. What happened?

Staatsburgh’s founder, Governor Morgan Lewis, enslaved people of African descent at Staatsburgh. Yet, when his great-granddaughter, Ruth Livingston Mills, lived at Staatsburgh at the turn of the 20th century, the staff was exclusively White and of European descent. At the same time, a free Black community was able to grow and thrive in the surrounding hamlet. [Read more…] about Slavery, Segregation & Stattsburgh State Historic Site

Trees, Knees, and Other Deep-Freeze Creaks

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Conifers in winter courtesy Wikimedia user Olga ErnstIn winter, when temperatures dip well below zero Fahrenheit, especially if they fall precipitously, things go bump in the night. Frozen lakes and ponds emit ominous groans, snaps and booms that reverberate through the ice. Wood siding and old knee joints might creak. And if soil moisture is high and snow cover sparse, the soil can freeze deeply, causing the earth to shift in a harmless, localized cryoseism, or “frost quake” that produces a nerve-rattling bang. [Read more…] about Trees, Knees, and Other Deep-Freeze Creaks

Racing Steamboats On The Hudson River

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American Steamboats on the Hudson - Passing the Highlands (Library of Congress)The following texts are excerpts from various descriptions of racing steamboats on the Hudson River in 1830s, during the heyday of such speed trials.

“Racing On The Hudson,” Cortland Standard, September 25, 1909: “When steamboating was successfully established on the Hudson River it was natural that the owners and skippers of the various crafts that plied between New York and Albany should turn their attention to speed. Racing between boats of rival lines soon became a matter of almost daily occurrence. [Read more…] about Racing Steamboats On The Hudson River

Documents Reveal More About Peter John Lee Kidnapping Case

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Kidnapping sketch from American Anti-Slavery Almanac for 1839 Information about the 1836 kidnapping of Peter John Lee was related in a recent article on the New York Almanack, “NY-CT Border Disputes & The Kidnapping of Freedom-Seeker Peter John Lee.”

Lee, an African American, was lured out of Connecticut, where he resided, to Rye in Westchester County, New York. Additional aspects of this incident can be gleaned from historical documents. [Read more…] about Documents Reveal More About Peter John Lee Kidnapping Case

Catskills Strategic Planning Advisory Group Submits Final Report

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catskills provided by DECThe Catskills Strategic Planning Advisory Group (CAG) submitted its final report on promoting sustainable recreation in the Catskill Forest Preserve to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Comprised of members from local government, recreation, natural resource protection, business and tourism, and other priority areas, the CAG was tasked in October 2020 with providing recommendations to DEC on how to address issues associated with increased public use of the Catskill Park in order to protect these areas. [Read more…] about Catskills Strategic Planning Advisory Group Submits Final Report