History, Natural History & the Arts
A lecture on the geology of the Oneida Carry has been set for May 31st at 7 pm, at the Rome Historical Society.
The region of the Oneida Carry offers one of the few easily traveled routes from the east coast to the interior of the United States. The Mohawk River has carved this pathway through the bedrock of the Appalachian Plateau that has aided transportation and migration for thousands of years. [Read more…] about Geology of the Oneida Carry Lecture Set for Rome, NY
A Fort Bull Day Fundraiser has been set for Saturday, May 26 from 10 am to 3 pm at the Rome Historical Society located at 200 Church Street in Rome NY.
This event, which coincides with the annual French and Indian War weekend at Fort Stanwix National Monument, is a collaborative effort between the Rome Historical Society and the Fort Bull Research Group with a goal to raise funds for the continued preservation and maintenance of the Society’s Fort Bull Property. [Read more…] about Fort Bull Day Fundraiser in Rome NY
A new study of the economic impact of events and tours in the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor estimated $1.5 billion annually is generated by events, boat tours, bicycle and paddle-sport rentals and historic site/museum tours along the Erie, Champlain, Owsego and Cayuga-Seneca Canals. Events and tours drew 3.3 million visitors in 2017.
The economic analysis was conducted by Level 7 Market Research for the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor through its nonprofit affiliate, the Erie Canalway Heritage Fund, Inc., and supported by a grant from Market New York through I LOVE NEW YORK, the state’s Division of Tourism, as a part of the Regional Economic Development Council awards. [Read more…] about Report: Canal Events Generate $1.5B Annually
Sixteen inches of snow in June. Killing frosts in August. The mystifying weather, known as eighteen-hundred-and-froze-to-death, swept the Northeast in 1816. Unbeknownst to those who suffered from it, the climactic quirk was the result of a volcanic eruption in the distant Dutch East Indies a year earlier.
That summer, Joseph Smith Sr. threw in the towel. The Vermont farmer joined the exodus of his neighbors who were determined to find a life with more promise than they could scratch from the rocky New England hill country. It was rumored that land was more fertile in the western New York State. Men there were already surveying for a canal to connect that country to East Coast markets. [Read more…] about The New York Origins of Mormonism
This week on The Historians podcast Norm Bollen of the Fort Plain Museum outlines the events of this year’s American Revolution Mohawk Valley Conference.
The fourth annual conference takes place from Thursday, June 7 through Sunday, June 10 at various locations including Fulton-Montomery Community College in Johnstown. There will be speakers, a bus tour, dinner and a genealogy day. Listen to the podcast here. [Read more…] about Norm Bollen Talks 4th American Revolution Conference
The New York State Museum is has opened a new exhibit, Art of the Erie Canal.
On display through September 23, 2018, this companion exhibition to the State Museum’s current Enterprising Waters: New York’s Erie Canal looks at the art inspired by the canal and the opportunities it afforded artists, both trained and untrained, working in a variety of media, such as paintings, photographs, sketchbooks, ceramics, and beadwork. [Read more…] about State Museum Opens Erie Canal Art Exhibit
The Annual Spring Membership Meeting of the Schoharie County Historical Society will be held on Monday, April 30 at the Schoharie Fire Department, located at 114 Fort Road in Schoharie, NY.
The evening will begin with refreshments at 6:30 p.m., followed by the 7 p.m. membership meeting, a program on the history of the Schoharie Fire Department and tours of the new fire house. The public is invited and encouraged to attend. [Read more…] about Fire Dept History Focus of Schoharie Co Historians Spring Meeting
The Fort Plain Museum’s American Revolution Mohawk Valley Conference has been set for June 7-9, 2018.
The conference will include 11 presentations, a Bus Tour of 1778, a new Genealogy Day, a new fundraising dinner featuring portrayals of George Washington and James Madison, a presentation by Russell Shorto, and more. [Read more…] about American Revolution Mohawk Valley Conference Set
On Saturday, January 27 at 1 pm, the Oneida County History Center in Utica is planning to host the event “What Happened to Downtown Rome? Urban renewal in Rome, NY 1958-1977.”
Between 1958 and 1977 the city of Rome underwent an aggressive urban renewal program covering over eighty acres that forever shaped the growth of the city. Patrick Reynolds, Educator at the Rome Historical Society, will discuss what worked, what didn’t, and why. [Read more…] about Urban Renewal in Rome, NY 1958-1977
On the morning of August 28, 1888 residents of Dimmock Hollow (Ostego County) woke up knowing that it was going to be a memorable day. They couldn’t have known how right they were. [Read more…] about A Cannon Explodes: 19th Century Electioneering In Otsego County