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East Greenbush

Albany-Hudson Electric Trail 2022 Use Report

January 4, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Albany-Hudson Electric TrailThe Hudson River Valley Greenway (HRVG) has released the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail 2022 Trail Use Report.  HRVG constructed and operates the Albany–Hudson
Electric Trail (AHET), a 36–mile recreational “rail trail” in Rensselaer and Columbia Counties.

The report includes visitation numbers to four different trail sections on the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail (AHET) using automated counters to count users and a visual trail use survey to analyze user types. [Read more…] about Albany-Hudson Electric Trail 2022 Use Report

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Albany-Hudson Electric Trail, biking, Chatham, Columbia County, East Greenbush, hiking, Hudson, Hudson River Valley Greenway, Kinderhook, Nassau, Rensselaer County

James Hall: New York’s First State Geologist & Paleontologist

December 12, 2022 by Peter Hess Leave a Comment

James Hall at age 85James Hall was born on September 12, 1811, to James and Susanna Hall of Hingham, Massachusetts. His father was a weaver trained in England who was making a comfortable living. One day he opened his newspaper and noticed a “help wanted” ad posted by a textile mill in Massachusetts. The salary was far better than James Hall, Sr. could earn in England.

After some inquiry, Hall heard that land in America was more cheap and plentiful than land in England, which was, in most cases, held by the same families for generations. He also heard that food was plentiful and less expensive than England. Like so many other Europeans looking to improve their lives, Hall packed up his family and they departed for the United States.

In 1826, when son James Jr. was 15, he learned of a new school, the Rensselaer School (later Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or RPI) just started at Troy, New York by the Patroon of Manor of Rensselaerswyck, Stephen Van Rensselaer III, and under the academic direction of Amos Eaton. This new school was a departure from conventional classical schools that Eaton called “a kind of literary bondage.” Eaton’s new plan was for a scientific school centered on the “useful arts” and “adapted to the native curiosity and ardor of youth.” [Read more…] about James Hall: New York’s First State Geologist & Paleontologist

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Nature Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Albany Rural Cemetery, Dudley Observatory, East Greenbush, Ebenezer Emmons, Fossils, Geology, Joseph Henry, Louis Agassiz, New York State Museum, Paleontology, Rensselaer County, Rensselaerswijck, Roswell P. Flower, RPI

Simeon Ford: Deserter & War of 1812 Hero

November 13, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Plattsburgh Republican, August 27, 1814In August 1814, Capt. Opie of the 5th Regiment of U.S. Infantry placed a bounty in the Plattsburgh Republican offering a $200 reward for the return of four deserters, including Simeon Ford, who was accused of deserting for the third time.

Ford was described as 24 years of age, 5-feet-7 and a half inches tall, with dark hair and eyes and a fair complexion. His occupation: brick layer. He was also described as a cunning, artful, imposing fellow possessing a “superior degree of loquacity” which he used “in a most imposing manner.” [Read more…] about Simeon Ford: Deserter & War of 1812 Hero

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Ballston Spa, Battle of Queenstown Heights, East Greenbush, Fort Columbus, Governors Island, Military History, New York Harbor, Niagara River, Old Fort Niagara, Rensselaer, Rensselaer County, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable, War of 1812

The War of 1812 in the Capital District

August 8, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

USS Constitution vs Guerriere in the War of 1812 by Michel Felice Corne (1752-1845)The War of 1812 began on June 18, 1812, when President James Madison signed a declaration of war which began: “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That war be and is hereby declared to exist between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the dependencies thereof, and the United States of America and their territories.”

The causes of the war are quite clear. [Read more…] about The War of 1812 in the Capital District

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Albany County, Battle of Queenstown Heights, East Greenbush, James Madison, John E. Wool, Maritime History, Military History, Naval History, Rensselaer County, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society, Utica, War of 1812, Whitehall

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