New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Hudson Valley - Catskills

Rangers Recover Body, Make Rescues In Adirondacks, Prospect Mtn & Catskills

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Potsdam drowning victim recovery in May 2023New 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 Rangers Recover Body, Make Rescues In Adirondacks, Prospect Mtn & Catskills

New York State Historic Newspapers Website Upgrade Underway

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New York State Historic Newspapers websiteSince its launch in 2014, New York State Historic Newspapers has provided free access to a wide range of newspapers chosen to reflect New York’s unique history. This now includes 920 titles from all 62 counties comprising over 11.7 million pages of historical content. In these years, the content has been hosted on servers located in Potsdam, St. Lawrence County, New York. [Read more…] about New York State Historic Newspapers Website Upgrade Underway

America & New York’s 250th Birthdays

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250th Anniversary of Revolutionary New YorkNew York is slowly preparing for the 250th anniversary of both the birth of the United States (July 2, 1776) and the birth of New York State (April 20, 1777, the day the first state constitution was approved). [Read more…] about America & New York’s 250th Birthdays

Slavery, Segregation & Staatsburgh State Historic Site

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Slavery, Segregation & Staatsburgh May GraphicThe Staatsburgh State Historic Site will hosts a virtual talk, “Slavery, Segragation & Staatsburgh,” on slavery in the Hudson Valley, and the birth of a free Black community, set for Thursday, May 11th, and Wednesday, May 31st. [Read more…] about Slavery, Segregation & Staatsburgh State Historic Site

Hudson River Steamboats & Gibbons v. Ogden: 200 Years of the Commerce Clause

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Historical Society of the New York CourtsOne of the world’s first steamboats successfully completed a maiden voyage on the river Clyde in Scotland in 1798. That same year, Chancellor Robert R. Livingston proposed to the New York Legislature that he would develop a new form of public transportation, the steamboat ferry, in return for a monopoly on steam navigation in New York waters. Despite the Legislature’s skepticism that steamboat technology was viable, legislation granting Livingston the monopoly was enacted. [Read more…] about Hudson River Steamboats & Gibbons v. Ogden: 200 Years of the Commerce Clause

Historic Huguenot Street Planning Virtual Tours

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huguenot street signHistoric Huguenot Street in New Paltz, NY, has announced that the site has been selected as a 2023 Americana Corner Preserving America Grant Program recipient. Historic Huguenot Street, one of 119 grant awardees across 35 states, received $7,500 in grant funding to develop virtual tours of the historic site. [Read more…] about Historic Huguenot Street Planning Virtual Tours

Historical Society of Woodstock Recent Acquisitions Exhibit Opens Saturday

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farm tools courtesy Historical Society of WoodstockThe Historical Society of Woodstock (HSW) in Ulster County, NY, will open their 2023 program season with the exhibition “In with the Old: Recent Acquisitions of the Historical Society of Woodstock,” on Saturday, May 6th. “In with the Old” offers a glimpse at recent donations, including artifacts, artwork, letters, photographs, clothing, and more that are now part of HSW’s diverse collection representing Woodstock’s unique story. [Read more…] about Historical Society of Woodstock Recent Acquisitions Exhibit Opens Saturday