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
Mohawk Valley
1947 Utica Blue Sox: A Baseball Season to Remember
The 1947 Utica Blue Sox laid the foundation for the team that would go on to become the 1950 National League baseball champion, the Philadelphia Phillies.
A new book, The 1947 Utica Blue Sox: A Season To Remember (self-published, 2022) is a detailed account of the players and personalities that captivated Utica, NY, a slice of life that takes the reader back to a nearly-forgotten time, viewed through a lens of reverence, respect, and a genuine love of the game. [Read more…] about 1947 Utica Blue Sox: A Baseball Season to Remember
Alcohol, Sovereignty, and Social Segregation in New Netherland
Alcohol was a subject of deep concern for Indigenous nations and settler governments in early America, but, though all agreed that the alcohol trade was dangerous, they did not assess the problem or its remedies in the same ways. [Read more…] about Alcohol, Sovereignty, and Social Segregation in New Netherland
Van Hornesville Fish Hatchery: A Profile
The Van Hornesville Fish Hatchery is located in the town of Stark in Herkimer County, and stocks New York’s Capital District.
The hatchery raises rainbow trout – roughly 97,000 yearlings (8-9″) and 80,000-100,000 fingerlings (3-5″), for transfer to other hatcheries or stocking. [Read more…] about Van Hornesville Fish Hatchery: A Profile
Schenectady Stories, America’s Birthday, Adk Plane Crash & More
This week on The Historians Podcast, a recent highlights edition. Bob Cudmore revisits Bill Buell’s Schenectady stories from the 1920s, NYS Historian Devin Lander on America’s 250th anniversary, Jerry Snyder on the founding of Historic Amsterdam League, Jon Sorensen’s book When Mommy Was a Commie, Alan Maddaus on a jet bomber crash in the Adirondacks and Mark Dawidziak on Edgar Allan Poe. [Read more…] about Schenectady Stories, America’s Birthday, Adk Plane Crash & More
Women at Seneca Knitting Mill in Seneca Falls
Since its construction in 1844 the Seneca Knitting Mill has always been a prominent landmark in the Seneca Falls community in Seneca County, New York. Throughout the history of the Mill, it has been a place of employment, advancement, and change, especially for the many women who worked there. [Read more…] about Women at Seneca Knitting Mill in Seneca Falls
The Mystery of Joseph Brant’s Watch
![Evening journal (Wilmington, Del.), 1888-07-14, [p ]](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Wilmington-Deleware-Evening-journal.-volume-July-14-1888-Brants-watch.jpg)
There was a story that had been passed down in the Minthorn family for generations. It told of how an ancestor had hidden her two infants under the roots of a tree to save them during the Revolutionary War attack on Cherry Valley, NY, in 1778. It was said that in her zeal to quiet her children, the youngsters were rendered unconscious, being revived only after the attackers had departed.
While this story is most likely fiction, there is some truth mixed in. [Read more…] about The Mystery of Joseph Brant’s Watch
Sean Kelleher Appointed to Erie Canalway Commission
Sean Kelleher, the vice president of the Saratoga County History Center, has been appointed to the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Commission. This federal commission works with communities along the Erie Canal to celebrate and promote the Canal’s heritage. [Read more…] about Sean Kelleher Appointed to Erie Canalway Commission
Revolutionary War Conference 250 in the Mohawk Valley
The Fort Plain Museum has announced their Revolutionary War Conference 250 has been set for June 9th through 11th at the Fulton-Montgomery Community College’s Theater in Johnstown, Fulton County, NY.
[Read more…] about Revolutionary War Conference 250 in the Mohawk Valley
Revolutionary Roads: Searching for the War That Made America Independent
The new book Revolutionary Roads: Searching for the War That Made America Independent… and All the Places It Could Have Gone Terribly Wrong (Twelve, 2023) by Bob Thompson takes readers on a time-traveling adventure through the crucial places American independence was won and might have been lost. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Roads: Searching for the War That Made America Independent