Columbia County

A Trip to Albany on the Steamboat James Kent, August 1823

August 21, 2026 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Yesterday afternoon we had the pleasure of visiting the new and beautiful steam boat James Kent, now lying at the foot of Liberty street [in the City of New York].

Through the politeness of Capt. Wiswall and Mr. Rhind, we enjoyed an opportunity of examining her from stem to stern, above and below, and of obtaining such facts, as will enable us to give a pretty accurate description of this superb vessel, which in many respects surpasses any boat, that has ever floated upon our waters. [Read more…] about A Trip to Albany on the Steamboat James Kent, August 1823

1832: A Stuyvesant Lighthouse Disaster Kills Four Children

July 19, 2026 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The following text is from articles printed in March 1832 about the destruction of one of the Hudson River lighthouses on a tidal marsh flat near Stuyvesant Landing, only shortly after its construction in 1830.

A massive, moving field of spring ice crushed the 20 by 34 feet stone structure and killed four children. [Read more…] about 1832: A Stuyvesant Lighthouse Disaster Kills Four Children

Hudson Valley Loyalists and the Violence of Revolution

July 6, 2026 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

In many respects the American Revolution was a civil war pitting Americans loyal to the Crown against other Americans loyal to the vision of a new nation they sought to create. Neighbor fought against neighbor, brother against brother, father against son. One of the epicenters of this desperate struggle was New York’s Hudson Valley.

Suffering for the Crown: The Hudson Valley Loyalists and the Violence of Revolution (University of Virginia Press, 2026) by Kieran J. O’Keefe details the extreme violence, persecution, and displacement experienced by white, Black, and Native American Loyalists during the Revolution. [Read more…] about Hudson Valley Loyalists and the Violence of Revolution

New Community Forest Honors Black Civil War Veteran

June 16, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

A new community forest in Germantown, in Columbia County, NY, has been named in honor of Theodore Robinson, a local Civil War veteran who was the only Black American from Germantown to serve in the United States Army during the war. [Read more…] about New Community Forest Honors Black Civil War Veteran

New York’s Revolutionary Committee Records: Correspondence, Safety & Conspiracies

June 4, 2026 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

For a century and a half prior to the American Revolution the people of New York had been accustomed to act through representative committees in order to win one concession after another for self-government.

During the Dutch period the Twelve Men (a committee chosen in 1641 by the residents to advise Willem Kieft on relations with Native Americans), the Eight Men (Remonstrance of the Eight Men, 1644), the Nine Men (Remonstrance of the Commonality, 1649, led by Adriaen van der Donck), and other groups, wrested rights for the people from autocratic New Netherland governors and the West India Company. [Read more…] about New York’s Revolutionary Committee Records: Correspondence, Safety & Conspiracies

Recently Upgraded Public Water Access Sites

May 26, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has expanded and enhanced several fishing and paddling access sites across the state, including those with universally accessible features.

Check out the list below for your next adventure: [Read more…] about Recently Upgraded Public Water Access Sites

Man Stuck Six Hours In Columbia County Cave Finally Rescued

May 22, 2026 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

An experienced caver was on a guided tour when he became trapped in Merlin’s Cave in the town of Canaan, Columbia County. On Sunday night, May 17 at about 6-7 pm, while crawling about 400 feet from the cave entrance, a Brooklyn man slipped into a tight crevice at what is known as the “Bear Trap.”

He was not injured but was wedged by the rib cage and pelvis and suffering hypothermia in the 50 degree temperature and near 100% humidity of the cave. Three of other cavers were with him in the cavern. [Read more…] about Man Stuck Six Hours In Columbia County Cave Finally Rescued

Season Opening of the Copake Iron Works

May 17, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Pomeroy Family Railroad at the Copake Iron Works, operated by the Friends of Taconic State Park, opens for its third year of operation on Saturday, May 23, 2026 (Memorial Day Weekend). The Railroad runs on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 2 pm to 4 pm through mid-October.

The Pomeroy Family Railroad is part of the Copake Iron Works National Heritage Area in Taconic State Park, which also includes the remains of the iron works, a museum, visitor center and 25 point historic trail. [Read more…] about Season Opening of the Copake Iron Works

Hudson River Steamboats & Stagecoaches, 1809-1810

May 5, 2026 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The following short news items about Hudson River steamboats were originally published in newspapers in 1809 and 1810.

The first commercially successful steamboat to travel to Albany was Robert Fulton’s North River Steamboat (often colloquially called the Clermont), which made its maiden voyage in August 1807. It departed the city of New York on August 17 and arrived in Albany roughly 32 hours later, proving the viability of steam-powered commercial vessels. [Read more…] about Hudson River Steamboats & Stagecoaches, 1809-1810

Recent Wildlife Rescues Around New York State

April 19, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

New York State Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) made several wildlife rescues recently including a Red-Tailed Hawk on Long Island, two rabbits in Erie County, and an Red-Necked Grebe in Columbia County. [Read more…] about Recent Wildlife Rescues Around New York State

Hudson Valley Architect Henry S. Moul

March 16, 2026 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

On July 13, 1905, the Columbia Weekly Republican reported that the prominent Hudson, NY architect Henry S. Moul (1857-1925) had prepared the plans and specifications for construction of the Railway Steel Spring Company’s new foundry building; he presumably also designed the sand house that supported its operations.

Moul was from a family with a long history in the Columbia County area. The son of a masonry contractor, Moul came to Hudson in 1875 and apprenticed with James E. McClure, a local carpenter and builder, while studying architecture in the evenings. He was subsequently employed by McClure and took over the latter’s business after McClure’s death in 1888. [Read more…] about Hudson Valley Architect Henry S. Moul

The Water Cure, Bottled Water & New York’s Local Bottling Industry

March 15, 2026 by Guest Contributor 3 Comments

The emergence of the bottling industry in New York State occurred due to the rise of the leisure economy and the fashion for the kind of mineral waters available at natural spas.

Prior to the availability of chlorinated water, inhabitants of many highly populated areas of the world avoided unmixed water from most sources for fear of contamination. [Read more…] about The Water Cure, Bottled Water & New York’s Local Bottling Industry

25 Properties Recommended to State, National Registers

March 15, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) have announced recommendations by the New York State Board for Historic Preservation to add 25 properties and districts to the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

The nominations include an intact 1905 metal casting foundry complex in Hudson, an 1873 house that reflects Syracuse’s layered history of immigration, urban renewal, and grassroots historic preservation, a cohesive group of Colonial Revival apartment buildings in Kenmore built during the 1920s and 1930s suburban housing boom, and an amendment to the 1971 nomination for Revolutionary-era Senate House in Kingston to include its 1920s commemorative museum annex. [Read more…] about 25 Properties Recommended to State, National Registers

William Smith Jr: America’s Most Prominent Loyalist?

February 18, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

One of the most prominent Loyalists during the American Revolution was William Smith Jr. (1728-1793), a member of the royal Council of the Province of New York from 1767 to 1783, and the Province’s last royal Chief Justice, from 1780 until his departure for England in December, 1783.

He spent the early years of the American Revolutionary War in self-imposed exile and was later placed under house arrest at the Hermitage, formerly located on Wire Road in Livingston, NY. [Read more…] about William Smith Jr: America’s Most Prominent Loyalist?

An 1805 Visitor to the Springs in Ballston and Saratoga

February 12, 2026 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

On Friday, August 30th in 1805, Matthew Prendergast set off on horseback from Sharon, Connecticut. Matthew was about 50 years old, a resident of Amenia in Dutchess County, NY, just across the state line from Sharon. He was comfortably well off, but definitely not super rich, and he suffered from rheumatism.

He had a few errands to do on the way, but he was planning on heading north and taking the waters at Ballston Springs, where he had visited in the past. He took his time, stopping several times, including at Kinderhook, Albany and Troy. [Read more…] about An 1805 Visitor to the Springs in Ballston and Saratoga

From Crown Point to Boston: The 1920s Henry Knox Trail

December 5, 2025 by Editorial Staff 3 Comments

In 1926, New York State Historian Alexander C. Flick recommended to the State’s Advisory Board on Battlefields and Historic Sites, created earlier in the 1920s to oversee the marking and potential acquisition of historic sites, particularly those related to the American Revolution, that the historic route of Henry Knox‘s “Noble Train of Artillery” be marked for the public.

A series of stone monuments with bronze plaques were planned by a committee from New York and Massachusetts to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Knox’s expedition. The project – dubbed the Henry Knox Trail – was one of the earliest heritage trails in the United States. [Read more…] about From Crown Point to Boston: The 1920s Henry Knox Trail

The Ecological Impacts of 200 Years of Hudson River Dredging

November 13, 2025 by Guest Contributor 2 Comments

The navigable portion of Hudson River provides a unique ecosystem with highly diverse habitats, despite being dramatically impacted by 200 years of dredging, retaining walls, and industrial development.

More than 85% of the river’s islands have been eliminated and most of the river’s side channels have been filled in. About half of the river shoreline between Troy and the Mario Cuomo Bridge (formally Tappan Zee) has been engineered. [Read more…] about The Ecological Impacts of 200 Years of Hudson River Dredging

NY Severe Weather Events Increasing, Costs Soaring

October 30, 2025 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

A new report from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli found the frequency of severe weather in the state is growing, taking a toll on New York’s residents, property and economy.

“Extreme weather events are happening more and more often and inflicting financial and emotional stress on New Yorkers from loss of life to property destruction,” DiNapoli said. [Read more…] about NY Severe Weather Events Increasing, Costs Soaring

Dutch Doors in Colonial New York

October 28, 2025 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

The term “Low Countries” is a political and historic concept rather than a geographic one. Prior to modern nation-building, it referred to an area of northern Europe roughly stretching from Pas-de-Calais in France to the area of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, including French-speaking Wallonia and Dutch-speaking Flanders.

Born in Ghent in 1500 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, ruled over the vast Habsburg Empire that included the Low Countries. Flanders was crucial to its economy. [Read more…] about Dutch Doors in Colonial New York

Were Slaves Living in Your Cellar? A Look At Hudson Valley Slave Quarters

October 24, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Have you ever been curious whether your cellar was once used as living quarters or a hiding spot for enslaved people? For many years, our understanding of places where enslaved people lived was shaped by southern examples — often small, rundown houses set apart from plantation mansions.

However, recent research into Dutch communities in the Hudson Valley has revealed a much different reality. [Read more…] about Were Slaves Living in Your Cellar? A Look At Hudson Valley Slave Quarters

Columbia County

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