History, Natural History & the Arts
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) is developing a Master Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (MP/EIS) for Clermont State Historic Site, located in the Town of Germantown, Columbia County.
Interested parties will have the opportunity to contribute to the master planning process during an online public workshop to be held Thursday, May 12th, at 5:30 pm. [Read more…] about Comments Sought On Clermont State Historic Site Management Plan
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the grand opening of the Hudson Valley segment of the New York State Birding Trail to highlight the State’s world-class and wide-ranging birding opportunities.
The Hudson Valley segment includes 39 locations on public lands throughout six counties, providing a variety of quality birding experiences for New Yorkers and visitors to enjoy. [Read more…] about Hudson Valley Segment of Statewide Birding Trail Opens
In the first days of August, 1777, Albany seemed doomed to be overrun by the British. General John Burgoyne had taken Crown Point, Fort Ticonderoga, Fort George, Fort Anne, Fort Edward and Fort Miller, the last substantial fortified place protecting the city from the north. To the west at Fort Stanwix, a siege was underway requiring many of General Philip Schyuler’s troops being sent to that fort’s defense from their camp on Van Schaick Island, now in the city of Cohoes.
Burgoyne however, had severely stretched his supply line. He was now having problems bringing up food and supplies over primitive roads that had been severely rutted and nearly destroyed by the Revolutionaries. He had to slow down to wait for food and had to keep his supply line protected all the way back to Canada, spreading his troops more thinly. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Albany: The Battles of Saratoga & Loyalist Opposition
Former New Lebanon resident George Clark, a member of the community’s Floyd Carlton Post of the American Legion, has been working to identify the graves of Revolutionary War soldiers for many years.
Helping him has been his friend Dale Ackley. Former town historian Sharon Moon and Cemetery of the Evergreens board members have been working at it, too. The undertaking has been immense, and, if they succeed in their goal to restore headstones, it will be very costly. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Veterans in New Lebanon’s Cemetery of the Evergreens
The Hudson Area Library will host “History of the Black Community in Hudson: A Discussion of the Black Legacy Association of Columbia County (BLACC) Collection,” an introduction to the library’s website dedicated to the Black Legacy Association of Columbia County (BLACC) Oral History Project Collection set for Thursday, March 3rd. [Read more…] about Hudson, NY Black History Online Archive Launching with Panel Discussion
One of the iconic stories of the American Revolution is the laborious trek of a contingent of newly-minted patriots, led by Henry Knox, lugging cannon from the fort at Crown Point and Fort Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights, forcing the British to abandon Boston, an important early victory is our long fight for freedom.
Few may realize that important decisions while the expedition was in Saratoga County were key to the success of the mission. [Read more…] about Henry Knox, Phillip Schuyler and Lake Champlain’s Cannon in Boston
The Columbia County Historical Society (CCHS) has announced a new permanent outdoor exhibit featuring eight narrative panels set along the treeline of its rural properties on Roue 9-H: the c.1850 Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse and the 1737 Luykas Van Alen House located at 2589 Route NY-9H in the Town of Kinderhook. [Read more…] about Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse & Luykas Van Alen House Get Interpretive Panels
Responding to the ever increasing interest in the history of Hudson, NY, and the surrounding area, the popularity of its local history talks, and the increasing use of its archives, the History Room of the Hudson Area Library has launched its own website. [Read more…] about Hudson Area Library History Room Website & Online Shop Launched
In 1620, the English Puritans landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts and the following year the Dutch West India Company was chartered and given the exclusive right to conduct trade in New Netherland.
In 1624, eight families joined the Dutch traders at Albany arriving on the ship New Netherland captained by Cornelis May.
These settlers built homes and cultivated farms; they also constructed Fort Oranje (Fort Orange) on the west bank of the Hudson River. [Read more…] about Early Settlers at Albany: The Founding of Rensselaerswyck
The Columbia County Historical Society (CCHS) has announced the newest itinerary in its ongoing Drive Through History series, which offers free, self-guided driving tours of Columbia County history. “Exploring Federal Architecture,” the new road trip, visits houses and other structures built during the Federal period. [Read more…] about Federal Architecture Explored in Columbia County Driving Tour