History, Natural History & the Arts
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 Rangers Respond to Injured, Lost Hikers, Wildfire
Joseph Urban may be a somewhat forgotten figure in America’s annals of culture, but during his lifetime he enjoyed an almost legendary reputation. An all-round creative talent, Urban was a prolific Gilded Age illustrator, set designer, and architect of private dwellings, theaters, and a university building in the city of New York. His Gingerbread Castle was built for a fairy tale themed amusement park in Hamburg, New Jersey.
His feeling for color and choice of materials did much to revitalize American stage design and architecture. The contrast between two of Urban’s extant buildings shows the range of his talent as an architect. It goes beyond that: the marked stylistic difference seemed to foreshadow the divisiveness of contemporary society. [Read more…] about The Architecture of Joseph Urban: Mar-a-Lago & The New School
Maps and charts have always played an important role in the planning and execution of military operations. Military maps, nautical charts, and fortification plans form a significant part of the holdings in the Cartographic Branch of the National Archives.
Among these records include a recently digitized series of World War II Records from the Adjutant General’s Office of the War Department (Record Group 407). These records are available to view and download from the National Archives Catalog. [Read more…] about Mapping World War II: Archival Resources
The Ticonderoga Historical Society (THS) will host “The Last Days of John Brown,” a free program set for Friday, June 24th, at the Hancock House in Ticonderoga. [Read more…] about ‘The Last Days of John Brown’ in Ticonderoga Friday
The Time and the Valleys Museum in Sullivan County in the Catskills will host “Discover WATER!,” a program about watersheds, the water cycle and anything to do with Catskills water, set for Sunday, June 26th. [Read more…] about Discover Water Kids Afternoon in the Catskills
When he died in 1848 Cornelius Heeney, an Irish emigrant of the late 18th century to the USA, was among the wealthiest and most influential men in the country, yet his story goes far beyond wealth or influence.
Over the course of his life, Heeney contributed land and money to many churches and orphan asylums in New York and Brooklyn, including New York’s first Catholic Church, St Peters. [Read more…] about Cornelius Heeney: Irish Immigrant, Philanthropist
The Saratoga County History Center has announce the publication of Off the Northway (Saratoga County History Center, 2022), a compilation of 83 articles written by longtime local journalist Stephen Williams, who retired after a 42-year career at the Daily Gazette in Schenectady, NY. [Read more…] about Off the Northway: A New Book by Journalist Stephen Williams
Imagine the Mohawk River flowing with more force than Niagara Falls. Around 22,000 years ago, that’s exactly how it was. During the last ice age, the Laurentide Glacier began to melt, forming a large lake atop the glacier. As the glacier receded north, it opened access to the Mohawk River, which for thousands of years had been buried beneath the two-mile thick block of ice. Suddenly, all that lake water had somewhere to go.
The deluge of water that was released was so great that it carved an entirely new riverbed. It was so great in fact, that geologists gave the river a new name; the Iromohawk. Water rushed down the valley, carving away the cliffs of Clifton Park, the gorge at Cohoes, and the channel at Rexford. The river also curved back onto itself, creating the bend around Schenectady that the Mohawk follows today. [Read more…] about A Brief History of the Mohawk River
The Sembrich, in Bolton Landing on Lake George, will host “The Fascinating Life of Katrina Trask,” a presentation on one of the regions most noted philanthropists by Betty Spinelli, set for Wednesday, June 22nd.
Best known as the founder of Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, American author and philanthropist Katrina Trask led an accomplished and intriguing life with many Lake George connections. [Read more…] about The Fascinating Life of Katrina Trask
New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang has released the first annual report of gaming investigations since the Gaming Inspector General’s duties and responsibilities were transferred to the Offices of the Inspector General last year as part of the 2020-21 State Budget. [Read more…] about NY Inspector General Releases First Gaming Annual Report