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Agricultural History

Big Fires At Bloodville: An Industrial History

November 3, 2022 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

Remains of Bloodville Scythe Factory after 1900 FireThe fires that destroyed both the axe and scythe factories in Bloodville in Saratoga County did not completely end the industrial era of the hamlet, as is widely believed.

There were actually a few valiant efforts to reestablish manufacturing in the years that followed. [Read more…] about Big Fires At Bloodville: An Industrial History

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Agricultural History, Ballston Spa, Fires, Industrial History, Kayaderosseras Creek, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable

Cranberry Bogs of Long Island: Some History & Natural History

October 15, 2022 by Tim Huss 2 Comments

A Suffolk County Cranberry Bog in the early 20th century (courtesy Suffolk County HIstorical Society)Nearly everyone has enjoyed the several products derived from the fruit of the cranberry, but few people are familiar with the ecology of this interesting plant or the role it has played in many local economies and histories.

Today the cranberry industry is an important. part of the agricultural economy only in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Wisconsin. But many other parts of the country were at one time in­volved in cranberry production. [Read more…] about Cranberry Bogs of Long Island: Some History & Natural History

Filed Under: Food, History, Nature, New York City Tagged With: Agricultural History, Christmas, Culinary History, Fruit, Islip, local farms, Long Island, Native Plants, Peconic River, Riverhead, Thanksgiving

Pig Tales From Historic New York Newspapers

October 1, 2022 by Maury Thompson 1 Comment

Domestic pigs in a wallow courtesy Mark Peters Poplar Spring Animal SanctuaryThis little piggy was not impressed with being invited to the reception.

H.W. Kathan gave a “unique” wedding gift to Anna, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ottis Ellithorp of Conklingville, in Saratoga County: a Sandy Suffolk pig. [Read more…] about Pig Tales From Historic New York Newspapers

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Agricultural History, local farms

Forgotten Farms of Schenectady County

July 12, 2022 by Guest Contributor 2 Comments

pine grove farmSchenectady County is in a state of revival. New events, businesses, initiatives and people have been coming to the city and surrounding communities to make their mark on one of the oldest settlements in New York State.

As a native to the area, I see two sides to this; it is great to see a new swing of development, making Schenectady attractive to those who don’t already call it home. However, as developers seem to be changing the cityscape ever faster, it is interesting to note where nature has taken its course. [Read more…] about Forgotten Farms of Schenectady County

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Food, History, Mohawk Valley Tagged With: Agricultural History, Diary Industry, local farms, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society

Saratoga County Fair: A Tumultuous Two Years

July 1, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Saratoga County Fair Grandstand2020 was an unusual year for the Saratoga County Fair. Due to the corona virus pandemic, the Saratoga County Agricultural Society, operators of the Fair, felt they had to enact changes. When large public facilities began to close and large public events were canceled, the Society’s Board of Directors unanimously voted to cancel the fair.  They did however, open the grounds to the public and some food vendors with no entrance fee.

Another important issue that occurred in 2020 was discussions about the fate of the Fair’s historic grandstand, which was in very poor condition. [Read more…] about Saratoga County Fair: A Tumultuous Two Years

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Agricultural History, Ballston Spa, Historic Preservation, Saratoga County, Saratoga County Agricultural Society, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable

NYS Historic Barn Tax Credit Program Informational Session

May 16, 2022 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Otsego County barn getting repairedOwners of historic barns (built before 1946) may be eligible for New York State’s new Historic Barn Tax Credit program for qualifying expenses to rehabilitate or maintain their barns.

The 25% credit, available to barn owners who pay New York State income tax, can be applied to qualifying barn rehabilitation and/or maintenance expenses incurred in the previous five years. [Read more…] about NYS Historic Barn Tax Credit Program Informational Session

Filed Under: Events, History, Western NY Tagged With: Agricultural History, Historic Preservation, Otsego 2000

Leland Stanford, The Bull’s Head & Albany’s 19th Century Cattle Market

May 11, 2022 by John Warren Leave a Comment

Leland Stanford portrait by Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier, 1881, courtesy Stanford MuseumCalifornia’s 8th Governor and long-time Senator Leland Stanford, namesake of Stanford University and one-time president of the Central Pacific Railroad, has a unique connection to New York State’s Capital District.

Leland was born in Watervliet in 1824, the son of Josiah Stanford and Elizabeth Phillips. Among his seven siblings were New York Senator Charles Stanford (1819-1885) and Australian spiritualist Thomas Welton Stanford (1832-1918). The elder Stanford was a wealthy farmer in the eastern Mohawk Valley before moving to the Lisha Kill in Albany County where Leland was born. [Read more…] about Leland Stanford, The Bull’s Head & Albany’s 19th Century Cattle Market

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Agricultural History, Albany, Albany County, Colonie, Gambling, Gold Rush of 1849, Horses, Political History, Transportation History, Troy, Vice

The Night the Lights Came On: Electricity on New York State Farms

May 1, 2022 by Milton Sernett 4 Comments

Few New York State farms had electric power in the 1920s. Even as late as 1930 ninety percent of farm families nationwide had no line-run electricity. On long winter evenings city dwellers could read and sew long past sunset, but farm families sat in near darkness and did chores, such as milking the cows, in the dim light of kerosene lanterns.

Some farmers used Delco-Light Plants made up of ranks of glass-jarred lead-storage batteries located in dirt-floored basements for electric power. As Delco’s slogan was, “Delco systems sell best by night,” Delco salesman cleverly arrived at dusk with small Delco systems to demonstrate to farmers how these DC-units, when sufficiently massed, could bring to the farm what folks in the cities enjoyed. But Delco systems were expensive, and the batteries had to be recharged with a generator powered by a gasoline engine. [Read more…] about The Night the Lights Came On: Electricity on New York State Farms

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Western NY Tagged With: Agricultural History, energy, General Electric, George Westinghouse, Industrial History, local farms, Nikola Tesla, Political History, Thomas Edison

The Destruction of Gerrit Smith’s Mansion

April 21, 2022 by Milton Sernett 3 Comments

SmithMansionFTT copyHistorical research using old newspapers fascinates but also frustrates me. Had you read the March 5th, 1936 edition of The Cazenovia Republican you would have learned that the historic Gerrit Smith mansion in Peterboro, New York, burned to the ground two days earlier. [Read more…] about The Destruction of Gerrit Smith’s Mansion

Filed Under: History, Western NY Tagged With: Abolition, Agricultural History, Architecture, Fires, Gerrit Smith Estate, Madison County, Peterboro, Smithfield, womens history

Crimes Against Butter: The Oleomargarine Controversy

April 12, 2022 by Milton Sernett 7 Comments

Hippolyte Mège-MourièsThe butter trade was once so important to dairy farmers in Orange County, NY that the bank in Goshen, the county seat, printed its currency on yellow paper. Popularly known as “butter money,” this currency symbolized how significant the trade in butter was to dairy farmers in dairy regions across the state prior to the introduction of refrigerated railroad cars to ship raw milk, first using blocks of ice and then mechanical cooling.

The original shipment of milk from Orange County to New York City is believed to have taken place in the spring of 1842 via the New York & Erie Railroad. Prior to this raw milk could be transported only short distances by farm wagon.

Butter, however, could be transported to markets many miles from the farm or factory where it was produced. As symbolized by “butter money,” blocks of butter were once as good as gold. [Read more…] about Crimes Against Butter: The Oleomargarine Controversy

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Food, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Agricultural History, Chicago, Culinary History, Cultural History, Dairy, French History, Goshen, Industrial History, Legal History, Madison County, Orange County

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