History, Natural History & the Arts
Last year, archaeologists from the Public Archaeology Facility (PAF) at Binghamton University (SUNY) completed an exploratory cultural resources survey of Horse Island at Sackets Harbor.
Stewardship of the island by New York State Parks came after the American Battlefield Trust purchased the property as their first War of 1812 battlegrounds acquisition in the nation. [Read more…] about Horse Island’s War of 1812 Secrets Unearthed
The Arkell Museum and the Canajoharie Library were created by Bartlett Arkell, the founder and president of the Beech-Nut Packing Company as a gift to that community in 1927.
Arkell collected art work for the facility, much of it having a Mohawk Valley theme, with a zeal which can only be admired. His generous gift remains a very accessible collection to be appreciated by a grateful posterity. [Read more…] about Harriet Whitney Frishmuth’s ‘Humoresque’ Cavorting at Canajoharie
The 1816 Farmington Meetinghouse in Farmington will host “Fannie Lou Hamer: Is This America?,” a program set for Saturday, July 31st, at Wood Library in Canandaigua.
Fannie Lou Hamer was a giant in the continuing struggle for voting rights. She was a sharecropper in Mississippi in the segregated South. Voting was just one of the rights denied to Black people. [Read more…] about Fannie Lou Hamer Event in Canandaigua July 31st
Recently, volunteers from the bike group CNY D.I.R.T. worked together at Morgan Hill State Forest in southern Onondaga and northern Cortland counties to build an additional 1.3 miles of single-track multiple-use trail. The forest now hosts 10.8 miles of designated multiple-use trail, with another 4+ miles planned in the next few years. [Read more…] about Volunteers Improve Trails at Morgan Hill State Forest
The Western New York Land Conservancy and its design partners W Architecture, Hood Design Studio, and Green Shield Ecology presented their final concept designs for The Riverline at a press conference at the Tewksbury Lodge Pavilion in Buffalo last week.
The Riverline is the Conservancy’s proposed urban nature trail and greenway that stretches along an unused railroad corridor from Canalside at the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Terminal Terminal in downtown Buffalo to the Buffalo River across from Riverbend and Tesla. [Read more…] about Buffalo Riverline: A Unique Urban Nature Trail Design Unveiled
The Genesee Country Village & Museum (GCV&M) has announced their full schedule of events for the month of August, special discounts for families, and more. [Read more…] about August Events at Genesee Country Village & Museum
The Oneida County History Center (OCHC) will host its fifth annual Historical Selfie Scavenger Hunt, a county or city-wide scavenger hunt to learn about the people, places, and events that shaped Oneida County, starting August 2nd. [Read more…] about Oneida County Historical Selfie Scavenger Hunt
Shoemaking was a common trade for centuries, but quickly became a casualty of the industrial revolution in the 19th century. The development of the sewing machine in the 1840s, by Elias Howe, Isaac Singer (from Pittstown, Rensselaer County, NY) and others revolutionized the textile industry.
Machines that could stitch leather for shoes soon also appeared and events like the Civil War spurred the technology on. The U.S. Army ordered thousands of machine-made boots for its soldiers. During this time, Russel Crego (1820-1892) was one New York shoemaker who made a very successful leap from making shoes by hand to selling sewing machines, not only to factories but to the home market. [Read more…] about Shoemaking to Sewing Machines: One Central NY Cobbler’s Path to Prosperity
This week on The Historians Podcast, an update on a previous program on the origins of the New York State Thruway from Tim Tielman of the Campaign for Greater Buffalo-History, Architecture and Culture. Tielman explains why the Thruway was built some miles south of Rochester. He also delves into historic preservation in greater Buffalo. [Read more…] about Why Does the Thruway Avoid Rochester?
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents in the Adirondacks. 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 Rescue Hikers Around The State