The Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) is seeking pre-proposals for projects and programs to protect, restore, interpret, and showcase the historical resources and cultural heritage of the Champlain Valley, the Lake Champlain Basin, and the Adirondack Park. [Read more…] about Champlain Valley Cultural Heritage Grants Available
Recreation Highlight: Lyon Mountain Fire Tower
With a rich history of mining, Lyon Mountain is a towering peak in the Chazy Highlands Wild Forest in Clinton County, NY.
The mining started in the 1860s and continued until 1967. It produced some of the purest iron ore in the world, and some of that ore was even used to build the Golden Gate Bridge. [Read more…] about Recreation Highlight: Lyon Mountain Fire Tower
Fire Destroys Lean-To; Pharaoh Lake Wildfire Ongoing; Injured, Lost Hikers Rescued
New 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 Fire Destroys Lean-To; Pharaoh Lake Wildfire Ongoing; Injured, Lost Hikers Rescued
Islands of Punishment and Exclusion
The exclusion of “undesirables” to remote lands has a long history. The shameful attempts by contemporary governments to “solve” the refugee problem in that manner has had precedents.
During the mid-1930s Mussolini dumped socialists and anti-fascists in the inaccessible and malaria-ridden southern areas of the country.
The use of islands as off-shore detention centers has a parallel history. The government of Charles I locked up its opponents at Jersey, Guernsey, or the Isles of Scilly. Having lost the English Civil War, Charles I himself was incarcerated in Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight. Faced with continuing sedition and agitation, Charles II sent several former leaders of the Interregnum into island isolation. [Read more…] about Islands of Punishment and Exclusion
Town of Clinton Cemeteries Tour Planned
The Clinton County Historical Association has announced a tour of Town of Clinton cemeteries, led by Town Historian Rebecca LeClair, set for August 20th. [Read more…] about Town of Clinton Cemeteries Tour Planned
Lake George Northway Bridges Being Replaced
A $21.1 million, two-year project to replace the two I-87 Adirondack Northway bridges between Lake George and Warrensburg in Warren County with one single span is now underway. [Read more…] about Lake George Northway Bridges Being Replaced
Benedict Arnold at Valcour Program in Ticonderoga
The Ticonderoga Historical Society will host “Benedict Arnold: The Traitor who saved Ticonderoga,” a free program with Brian O’Connor set for Friday, August 12th at the Hancock House in Ticonderoga, Essex County, NY. [Read more…] about Benedict Arnold at Valcour Program in Ticonderoga
Calvin Fairbank: Imprisoned 17 Years For Helping Enslaved People to Freedom
Rev. Calvin Cornelius Fairbank was born November 3, 1816 in Pike, Wyoming County, NY. He began his academic studies at a seminary in Lima, Livingston County, NY, and became a licensed preacher in 1840. In 1842 he was ordained an elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he graduated Oberlin College in Ohio two years later. At Oberlin he met John Mifflin Brown (1817-1893), a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and an Underground Railroad activist.
Fairbank was a radical abolitionist who not only spoke out against slavery, but actively worked to free as many enslaved people as he could. [Read more…] about Calvin Fairbank: Imprisoned 17 Years For Helping Enslaved People to Freedom
The War of 1812 in the Capital District
The War of 1812 began on June 18, 1812, when President James Madison signed a declaration of war which began: “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That war be and is hereby declared to exist between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the dependencies thereof, and the United States of America and their territories.”
The causes of the war are quite clear. [Read more…] about The War of 1812 in the Capital District
Municipal Historians Annual Conference Registration Open
The Association of Public Historians of New York State (APHNYS) will hold their 2022 Annual Conference of municipal historians September 19th through 21st, in Kingston, Ulster County, NY.
The conference draws more than 100 government-appointed historians and affiliates from across the state. [Read more…] about Municipal Historians Annual Conference Registration Open