The Schenectady County Historical Society has announced their annual meeting, featuring a talk by Dr. Lucianne Lavin on Dutch-Native American Relationships in Eastern New Netherland, is set for Saturday, April 29th. [Read more…] about Dutch-Native American Relationships in Eastern New Netherland
Mohawk Valley
Bryan Erwin Named Chair of State Council of Parks
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul designated Bryan Erwin of Mattituck, Long Island, the new chair of the State Council of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The Council of Parks consists of the chairs of the eleven regional park commissions, the Commissioner of State Parks, the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Chair of the State Board of Historic Preservation. [Read more…] about Bryan Erwin Named Chair of State Council of Parks
Oneida Fish Hatchery in Constantia, Oswego County
The Oneida Fish Hatchery in Constantia, Oswego County, on the north shore of Oneida Lake, stocks waters from Central New York to the St. Lawrence River. The hatcheries’ rearing program is focused on walleye and includes egg collections from Oneida Lake (200-300 million eggs/year) from which it raises roughly 205 million walleye. It also raises the statewide supply of 100,000 tiger muskellunge and cultures rare or threatened fish such as 4,000 lake sturgeon, and 15,000 cisco (lake herring) a year. [Read more…] about Oneida Fish Hatchery in Constantia, Oswego County
Tips for Navigating Rental Scams
The New York Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection has announced the release of a comprehensive guide with practical tips to help New Yorkers identify and avoid rental scams. The guide is part one of a five-part consumer alert series to help New Yorkers navigate housing scams, which are a continuously growing risk for consumers. [Read more…] about Tips for Navigating Rental Scams
Bodies Recovered, Others Rescued From Icy Upstate Waters
Upstate New York first responders and water rescue crews spent a busy Saturday on April 1st as thin ice and frigid and swollen waters led to several incidents in which two people were drowned and six more and a dog were rescued. [Read more…] about Bodies Recovered, Others Rescued From Icy Upstate Waters
William O. Stillman: Leader of Humane Societies, Friend of Animals & Children
William O. Stillman was born on September 9th, 1856 in Normansville, now known as Elsmere in the town of the Bethlehem, Albany County, NY. His parents were Rev. Stephen Lewis Stillman and Lucretia (Miller) Stillman.
Rev. Stephen Lewis Stillman was a Methodist minister at the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Adamsville (now Delmar) and a descendant of a family that had emigrated from London, England. Lucretia (Miller) Stillman was of Dutch descent. Rev. Stephen suddenly died in 1869, when William was 12 years old. After his father’s death, William and his mother moved to Albany. [Read more…] about William O. Stillman: Leader of Humane Societies, Friend of Animals & Children
Recent Archaeology at the Joseph Yates House in Schenectady County
Daniel Mazeau and Aaron Gore, archaeologists with Beverwyck Archaeology, recently completed field investigations and research for the Yates house and property in Glenville, Schenectady County, NY, once home to the family of Joseph Yates (1707-1748). Yates was the grandfather of Joseph Christopher Yates (1768-1837), a lawyer, politician, statesman, founding trustee of Union College and longtime Schenectady Mayor who also served as the 7th Governor of New York in 1823-1824. [Read more…] about Recent Archaeology at the Joseph Yates House in Schenectady County
NYS Nominates 13 Places for State, National Registers of Historic Places
The New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended adding 13 properties to the State and National Registers of Historic Places and submitting one request to the Columbia Turnpike East Toll House to the National Park Service.
The nominations include a key site associated with Rochester‘s LGBTQ+ history, a historic synagogue in Manhattan‘s Upper West Side, a public park in Ithaca, a church connected to Yonkers’s civil rights history, a re-built Lustron House in Erie County, the Oneida County History Center, and more. [Read more…] about NYS Nominates 13 Places for State, National Registers of Historic Places
New York State Canals Bicentennial: Some History & Plans For Celebrations
The Champlain Canal turns 200 this year and the Erie Canal will celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2025.
The Champlain Canal between the Hudson River and Lake Champlain at Whitehall was the first to open. Worked started on the Champlain Canal in October, 1816. The first boats operated in November, 1819, and was fully completed in 1823, two years before the Erie Canal was finished. [Read more…] about New York State Canals Bicentennial: Some History & Plans For Celebrations
Iroquois and the Invention of the Empire State
From the Iroquois confederacy serving as a model for the US Constitution, to the connections between the matrilineal Iroquois and the woman suffrage movement, to the living legacy of the famous “Sky Walkers,” the steelworkers who built the Empire State Building and the George Washington Bridge, the Iroquois are viewed as an exceptional people who helped make the state’s history unique and forward-looking. [Read more…] about Iroquois and the Invention of the Empire State