Agricultural History

Grain Dust Dreams: A Short History Of Grain Elevators

June 14, 2015 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Grain Dust Dreams (SUNY Press, 2015) tells the story of terminal grain elevators – concrete colossi that stand in the middle of a deep river of grain that they lift, sort, and send on.

From their invention in Buffalo through a present-day operation in Thunder Bay, Ontario, David W. Tarbet examines the difficulties and dangers of working in a grain elevator – showing how they operate and describing the effects that the grain trade has on the lives of individuals and cities. [Read more…] about Grain Dust Dreams: A Short History Of Grain Elevators

Heritage Hops Benefit Madison Co Historical Society

June 11, 2015 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Potted hop plants are available to benefit the Madison County Historical Society in Oneida, NY for at least a five dollar donation. Hop plants are ready to be planted now.

Available hop varieties include Cascade and “Hedgerow Hops” from the wild stock of the old hop yards near Bouckville, NY where commercial hop growing was introduced to Central New York in 1808. These hedgerow hops are a hardy plant, having survived over 150 winters. [Read more…] about Heritage Hops Benefit Madison Co Historical Society

The Rise and Fall of NY’s Taylor Wine Company

February 28, 2015 by Editorial Staff 31 Comments

In 1880, Walter Stephen Taylor, a cooper’s son, started a commercial grape juice company in New York’s Finger Lakes region. Two years later, wine production was added, and by the 1920s, the Taylor Wine Company was firmly established.

Walter Taylor’s three sons carefully guided the company through Prohibition and beyond, making it the most important winery in the Northeast and profoundly affecting the people and community of Hammondsport, where the company was headquartered. [Read more…] about The Rise and Fall of NY’s Taylor Wine Company

Ice Harvest Festival at Hanford Mills Museum

January 20, 2015 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The first Saturday in February, people from across New York bundle up and head to Hanford Mills Museum for its annual Ice Harvest Festival. Using historic tools, children and adults can walk out on the frozen mill pond to cut and maneuver blocks of ice. The ice blocks are pushed up a ramp and then loaded onto sleds, which are hauled to a traditional ice house. [Read more…] about Ice Harvest Festival at Hanford Mills Museum

The Orphan Train Experience In NYS

January 9, 2015 by Bob Cudmore 1 Comment

This week “The Historians” podcast features an interview with Christina Baker Kline, author of the novel Orphan Train (William Morrow, 2013).

Kline’s book is the 2015 book selection of Amsterdam Reads, based at the Amsterdam Free Library. The orphan trains transported destitute children from New York and other Eastern cities to foster homes located largely in rural areas of the Midwest. Some of the children were placed on farms in upstate New York, according to Kline. The orphan trains operated between 1853 and 1929, relocating about 250,000 children.

Listen at “The Historians” online archive at http://www.bobcudmore.com/thehistorians/
[Read more…] about The Orphan Train Experience In NYS

Aerial Photos: New York Rural History From Above

January 5, 2015 by Bill Casey 54 Comments

Aerial photos can be helpful research tools for historians. Google Earth, which provides access to a vast collection of aerial photography stretching back 20 years, is just a sampling of the many aerial photos that have been made since French balloonist Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, known as “Nadar,” took a photo over Paris, France in 1858.

Much of New York Sate was photographed with the camera pointing straight down, an oblique presentation that is less useful to some historians. An effort to capture all of New York in an orthophotographic perspective (corrected to a uniform scale) started in 1936 with a contract to C.S. Robinson of Ithaca, NY. These images are particularly valuable resources for historians of all stripes. [Read more…] about Aerial Photos: New York Rural History From Above

The Historians: Hudson Valley Farms

December 5, 2014 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

This week on “The Historians” podcast, we look at the importance of farming in New York’s Hudson Valley. Local farm advocate Tessa Edick is the guest, author of Hudson Valley Food and Farming: Why Didn’t Anyone Ever Tell Me That (History Press, 2014).

Listen to the program at “The Historians” online archive at http://www.bobcudmore.com/thehistorians/
[Read more…] about The Historians: Hudson Valley Farms

Farmers’ Museum Conference Celebrates Agriculture

October 29, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

“A Celebration of Our Agricultural Community”, a conference on food and farming at The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, will inform and inspire farmers and the public, unifying and driving the agricultural economy in Central New York. The conference takes place Saturday, November 15 from 9:00 am-5:00 pm and is free to the public.

The conference’s keynote speaker is Richard Ball, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Addressing the topic of food systems will be Jason Evans, Assistant Professor of Agriculture, SUNY Cobleskill. Doug Thompson of G&T Farm will speak on the impact farming has on our communities and economies, as well as pasture management. [Read more…] about Farmers’ Museum Conference Celebrates Agriculture

Farms And Food:
Teaching the Hudson Valley from the Ground Up

June 28, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Educators and the public are invited to discover new and innovative ways to learn about the region’s culture, history, and future at Farms & Food: Teaching the Hudson Valley from the Ground Up, a conference to be held July 29-31 at the Henry A. Wallace Education and Visitors Center on the grounds of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home and Presidential Library in Hyde Park.

The keynote address, “Educating our Next Generation to Eat with Consciousness,” features Pam Koch, associate professor of nutrition education and executive director, Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education, & Policy, Teachers College, Columbia University. In addition, Koch will lead a workshop, “Empowered Eaters: Making Connections through Food and Nutrition Education.” To see Koch cooking with her own children, visit Kids Cook Monday. [Read more…] about Farms And Food:
Teaching the Hudson Valley from the Ground Up

Mount Lebanon Heritage Herb Festival Planned

May 30, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The third annual Mount Lebanon Heritage Herb Festival celebrates the illustrious past of herbs in town history as well as the Native American and Shaker traditions in the heart of the Lebanon Valley of New York, considered the birthplace of the herbal pharmacy in the United States.

The event takes place on Saturday, June 7, 2014 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the historic grounds of Darrow School, at Mount Lebanon Shaker Village. More than eighteen talks, walks and workshops explore the role of herbs in food, gardens, medicine and health from the early days of the Native Americans to current practices. [Read more…] about Mount Lebanon Heritage Herb Festival Planned