History, Natural History & the Arts
On October 29, 1857 Frederick Douglass spoke in Oneonta, in southern Otsego County, NY.
The visit appears in few historical sources, no doubt because it was long-held belief that it was not wise to identify Underground Railroad agents or their locations as a precaution against pro-slavery advocates attacking them. [Read more…] about Frederick Douglass & Oneonta’s Underground Railroad
During the American Revolution in August 1778, given advanced warning of an impending raid by Loyalist and their Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) allies, scores of families around Pakatakan (Margaretville, in the town of Middletown, Delaware County, NY) began leaving their homes to seek shelter with families and friends near Kingston.
Finding such shelter was not an easy task when so many frontier families descended on the more settled parts of Ulster and surrounding counties. Fortunately for the Henrich Yaple clan, even though Henrich has been taken captive, they had an existing place to welcome them. [Read more…] about New York’s Oldest Standing Log Cabin?
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced what she called the largest state investment in renewable energy in United States history.
The conditional awards include three offshore wind and 22 land-based renewable energy projects totaling 6.4 gigawatts of clean energy, enough to power 2.6 million New York homes and deliver approximately 12 percent of New York’s electricity needs once completed. [Read more…] about New York State Makes Large Investment in Renewable Energy
On July 13th, New York State Environmental Conservation Officer (ECO) Lieutenant Unger and ECO Kochanowski responded to a Nassau County, Long Island residence after receiving a report that the homeowner wanted to turn in a 14-foot Burmese python. [Read more…] about New York Snake Stories: Burmese Python Seized; ‘Rattled’ Service Workers
Wildfires burned more than 25 acres in six Upstate New York counties over the past week, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The wild land fires were the latest of dozens of fires started by inattentive campers, illegal brush burning and other causes that have rapidly spread in unusually hot and dry conditions across the state. One fire spread into Hudson Highlands State Park; another burned in the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest. [Read more…] about Wildfires Continue To Burn Upstate New York State
With the arrival of Black History Month, the 2023 theme, “Black Resistance,” will certainly emphasize the standard bearers of freedom seekers. Most noticeable will be the attention devoted to Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. There will also be discussions about the 1619 Project and the Critical Race Theory. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ attack on the teaching of the AP course in African American History will surely be debated.
Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, were two personalities that Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson honored in 1926 with his launching of Negro History Week. He selected the second week of February as the time of the annual celebration since it coincides with the birthdays of Douglass and Lincoln. [Read more…] about Black History Historiographic Genealogies: Sources & Resources
From Friday, November 4th through Monday, November 7th, New York State Forest Rangers responded to at least nine wildland fires in nine different counties caused by campfires, debris burning, and power lines. [Read more…] about Wildfires Fought In Nine New York Counties Last Weekend
A Delaware County, NY man reported missing over the summer may not have wanted to be found. Reported missing on August 31st after failing to return home, multiple law enforcement agencies searched for the man and his vehicle. [Read more…] about Missing Man Found Unlawfully Harvesting Wild Ginseng
According to a press release issued by DEC, on July 6th at approximately 3 am, NYS Environmental Conservation Officer Osborne responded to a complaint of a rattlesnake in a residence in the town of Hancock, Delaware County, NY. [Read more…] about Rattlesnake Makes Surprise Visit to Delaware County Living Room
This Memorial Day week, Kaatscast visited two cemeteries where historians are taking steps to memorialize former Catskills residents in the towns of Delhi and Roxbury. At the Roxbury Methodist Church cemetery, gravestones obscured by years of algae and lichen growth are being restored with a special cleaning agent and elbow grease. And in Delhi, a poorhouse cemetery lost in time is finally getting the recognition and care that it deserves. [Read more…] about A Delaware County Cemeteries Podcast