The rail line between Boston and Albany dates back to the birth of American railroading in the 1830s. Its construction was fueled by the economic rivalry between New England and New York exacerbated by the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825. Today, a new effort is underway to better link Albany and Boston by passenger rail. [Read more…] about Historic Boston and Albany Railroad Revival Efforts Underway
Albany
Exploring Rare New York Pine Barrens
New York pine barrens are unique woodland communities made up of pitch pine, scrub oak, and grassy areas. Blueberries and ferns blanket the ground. Dozens of threatened or endangered creatures prefer this vegetation, making this rare community their home. [Read more…] about Exploring Rare New York Pine Barrens
New York Horse Ferries: A Short History
Early ferry travel across New York’s rivers and large lakes relied on rowboats, scows, barges, or sail ferries, which were vulnerable to shifting currents and bad weather. New York’s horse ferries bridged the gap between this unpredictable transportation and the mechanical age.
Known as “teamboats,” these vessels emerged in 1814 as a direct response to the commercial monopoly held by Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston over steam navigation in New York waters. [Read more…] about New York Horse Ferries: A Short History
New York’s Great Warpath & Historian Harrison Bird
Lake George, NY resident Harrison Bird (1910-2003) belonged to a rare class of historians, those whose situate the local within the continental and, indeed, the global.
In four books published by Oxford University Press – Navies in the Mountains (1962), March to Saratoga (1963), Battle for a Continent (1965) and Attack on Quebec (1968) – Bird wrote about Lake George, Lake Champlain, Fort Ticonderoga, Saratoga, Quebec and the northern waterways not as isolated historic sites, but as parts of one strategic corridor: the route by which empires, armies, navies and ambitions moved between Canada and the Hudson Valley. [Read more…] about New York’s Great Warpath & Historian Harrison Bird
With ‘Operation Rotten Apple’ Upstate Police Round-Ups Surge
Federal authorities arrested 2,197 people across New York last month during what they have derisively named “Operation Rotten Apple,” the highest monthly immigration arrest total since the Trump administration’s round-ups began in New York State. [Read more…] about With ‘Operation Rotten Apple’ Upstate Police Round-Ups Surge
New York & The Struggle to Finance the Revolutionary War
One of the earliest acts of the New York Provincial Congress was the promise on May 24, 1775, to repay all monies advanced for the resistance to British domination. When the old colonial government was gradually superseded in 1774 and 1775 by an extra-legal government of committees and congresses chosen by the people, these bodies were met immediately by the problem of financing both the political activities and the military operations. The latter began with the plans to seize Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point, shortly after the colonists had been electrified by the news of Lexington and Concord. [Read more…] about New York & The Struggle to Finance the Revolutionary War
Dr Helen Hosmer’s Rural Healthcare in the US & Canada
In 1934, Doctor Helen Hosmer opened a physician’s office on West Street in the Village of Galway, in Saratoga County, NY. Originally from Billerica, Massachusetts, when Hosmer arrived in Galway, she was 50 years old, and though an experienced chemist and scientist, she was just beginning her career as a physician. [Read more…] about Dr Helen Hosmer’s Rural Healthcare in the US & Canada
The NYS Cultural Education Center Turns 50
Half a century ago, New York State opened the doors to the Cultural Education Center in Albany, creating a landmark public home where generations of New Yorkers and visitors from around the world could explore the history, culture, scholarship, and heritage that define the Empire State.
Opened on July 1, 1976, the Cultural Education Center has served for 50 years as the home of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education, which includes the New York State Museum, New York State Library, and New York State Archives. [Read more…] about The NYS Cultural Education Center Turns 50
Erie Canal Lock One Could Anchor Albany Waterfront Redevelopment
Advocates and archeologists seeking to leverage the legacy and impact of the Erie Canal to imagine a brighter future for Albany, gathered Thursday at the site of Lock 1 in Albany’s Warehouse District to share initial findings of an exploratory excavation that confirms the lock’s location.
The initial excavation has uncovered the location of the lock walls where they were expected be found based on previous magnetic imaging and historic maps and surveys. [Read more…] about Erie Canal Lock One Could Anchor Albany Waterfront Redevelopment
The Christopher Yates Papers Reveal Revolutionary Details
Christopher Yates (1737-1785) of Schenectady was a surveyor by trade, a job that brought him into the frequent employ of Sir William Johnson. When the French and Indian War began in 1755, Yates joined the Second Albany Militia, serving under Johnson at some of the most crucial battles.
He was among the British troops defeated at Ticonderoga early in the contest during the July 8, 1758 Battle of Carillon, the bloodiest event of the war, with over 3,000 causalities. He later participated in the successful siege of Fort Niagara in July 1759. [Read more…] about The Christopher Yates Papers Reveal Revolutionary Details
Small & Scarce: Early New York Paper Making History
About 1768, New York’s first paper mill was established, but throughout the 1700s New Yorkers suffered from a lack of paper, no more so than during the American Revolution. The industry grew from the need for paper and owes its early history to the rise of printing in America. [Read more…] about Small & Scarce: Early New York Paper Making History
A New York State 19-Century Baseball All-Star Team
Major League Baseball’s annual all-star game (taking place Tuesday in Philly) invariably fosters debates. Who’s the more worthy first-baseman, Vladimer Guerrero Jr. or Ben Rice? Should Aaron Judge be on the roster if he hasn’t played in over a month? Why is Cody Bellinger starting in the outfield over Randy Arozarena?
Baseball fans love arguing these sort of questions every year as the midsummer classic approaches. They lead naturally to questions about who was the greatest of all time. Babe Ruth? Ted Williams? Barry Bonds?
I don’t have the answers, but I would like to recognize a class of players who are often overlooked in these debates: the nineteenth-century greats. [Read more…] about A New York State 19-Century Baseball All-Star Team
1960s & 1970s Historical Artifact Thefts
It was 1964, ten years after replica Fort William Henry Museum first opened its doors to tourists. It was also one of the years of the centennial anniversary of the American Civil War (1861–1865).
So, Fort William Henry, a museum that interprets the history of the French & Indian War (1755–1763), decided to also have an exhibit about our nation’s bloodiest conflict. [Read more…] about 1960s & 1970s Historical Artifact Thefts
Excavations To Begin At Albany’s Lock One
The NYS Department of Transportation (DOT) has granted a permit for an archeological excavation to confirm the location of historic Lock One of the Erie Canal in Albany’s downtown Warehouse District.
This according to a recent message to supporters of The Albany Waterway’s project to uncover the old lock, buried for a century, and transform the site. The lock was once connected to a boat basin, an associated weigh lock, and the Hudson River. [Read more…] about Excavations To Begin At Albany’s Lock One
Old Hudson Valley Churches Now Community Venues
Due to shrinking congregations and finances, many abandoned church buildings in New York’s Hudson Valley have been reused for other purposes. Some are now apartments or condominiums, fraternity houses, museums, historical societies, businesses and vibrant art venues and community centers. [Read more…] about Old Hudson Valley Churches Now Community Venues
Newly Conserved George Washington Portrait On View
The New York State Office of General Services (OGS) has revealed a newly conserved 1813 portrait of George Washington by Albany artist Ezra Ames (1768 – 1836).
The painting, a significant piece of New York’s artistic and historical legacy, has undergone extensive conservation and has returned to its prominent location in the State Capitol‘s State Street Lobby. [Read more…] about Newly Conserved George Washington Portrait On View
An 1869 New York Central Express Train Heist
During the summer of 1869, four men would occasionally meet at Dutcher’s Boarding House in Troy, New York. All were experienced railroad men; Charles Conklin was a baggage man with the New York Central Railroad, while brothers George and William Harrison were railroad hands. The fourth man, William Allen, who had a room at the boarding house, had once been a railroad brakeman.
During one of these gatherings, the conversation turned to robbery, and more specifically, the idea of stealing the gold and silver often carried in the American Express car on Conklin’s express train. [Read more…] about An 1869 New York Central Express Train Heist
New York’s Response to the Declaration of Independence
Conscious of the new political status which the Province of New York had attained by the adoption of the text of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4th, the deputies of the New York Provincial Congress voted unanimously on July 10th:
“That the style or title of this House be changed from that of the Provincial Congress of the Colony of New York to that of the Convention of the Representatives of the State of New York.” [Read more…] about New York’s Response to the Declaration of Independence
New York’s Revolutionary Provincial Congresses 1775-1776
By May 1775 civil war between the American colonies and the British government had begun. The Battles of Lexington and Concord, and the seizures of Forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point told the story of an appeal to arms.
Town, county, city and state committees, as representatives of the people, assumed the functions of government, took the initiative in opposing the objectionable acts of the British parliament, and gradually, perhaps more or less unconsciously, prepared the people for the Revolutionary War. [Read more…] about New York’s Revolutionary Provincial Congresses 1775-1776
William Gilliland: An Irish Immigrant Lake Champlain Settler
William Gilliland was born in 1734 in Caddy, Northern Ireland. His father died while he was a boy and his mother re-married. He was said to have been talented and ambitious and initially sought to establish himself in business and society in the city of Armagh.
However, a frowned-upon liaison with the daughter of a local upper class family caused him to seek his fortune elsewhere. [Read more…] about William Gilliland: An Irish Immigrant Lake Champlain Settler