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
East Greenbush
Rensselaer County Search and Rescue Marks 50 Years
Rensselaer County Search and Rescue (RCSAR) is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Established in 1976, RCSAR has been finding missing adults and children across the northeast for decades.
RCSAR started with a local family, the Onderdonks, and a bloodhound named Boozer, who arrived in a whiskey box. [Read more…] about Rensselaer County Search and Rescue Marks 50 Years
A Teenager’s War of 1812 at Sackets Harbor, Plattsburgh & Greenbush
The Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site’s digital archive holds over 11,000 names of military personnel who served at, or passed through, Sackets Harbor during the War of 1812.
Sackets Harbor became a strategic location in 1808 when the military arrived to enforce the Embargo Act of 1807. With the outbreak of the War of 1812, the harbor became the US military headquarters for the northern frontier on Lakes Ontario and Erie. [Read more…] about A Teenager’s War of 1812 at Sackets Harbor, Plattsburgh & Greenbush
Albany-Hudson Electric Trail 2023 Trail Use Report Released
The Hudson River Valley Greenway (HRVG) released the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail 2023 Trail Use Report. The report includes visitation numbers to eight different trail sections on the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail (AHET) from 2022 to 2023 using automated counters to count users and a visual trail use survey to analyze user types. [Read more…] about Albany-Hudson Electric Trail 2023 Trail Use Report Released
Albany-Hudson Electric Trail 2022 Use Report
The 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
James Hall: New York’s First State Geologist & Paleontologist
James 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. [Read more…] about James Hall: New York’s First State Geologist & Paleontologist
Simeon Ford: Deserter & War of 1812 Hero
In 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
The War of 1812 in the Capital District
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
Uncle Sam: Progenitor of America’s National Symbol
Uncle Sam, an American icon and a national symbol for the United States of America, is believed to have originated during the War of 1812.
Samuel Wilson was a meat packer and inspector of beef and pork at the E&S Wilson Company, owned by Samuel and his brother Ebenezer. After the United States declared war against Great Britain on June 18, 1812, the E&S Wilson Company was chosen to supply meat for the northern army of the United States. [Read more…] about Uncle Sam: Progenitor of America’s National Symbol
Shirley Dunn’s Book: Fort Crailo and the Van Rensselaers
Although it played a highly significant role in the settling and development of the Capital Region, Fort Crailo, the birthplace of “Yankee Doodle” and the manorial seat for generations for one branch of the Van Rensselaer family, remains relatively little known, even within the Capital Region itself.
Shirley W. Dunn’s new book, Fort Crailo and the Van Rensselaers: The Dutch Colonial Origins of Greenbush & the City of Rensselaer (Black Dome Press, 2016) traces the history of Crailo and the Van Rensselaers from the years leading up to the building of Fort Crailo in 1663, through the war years and through the many additions and renovations over the centuries and generations of Van Rensselaers, to the present day in its role as the museum of Dutch history in the Hudson River Valley. [Read more…] about Shirley Dunn’s Book: Fort Crailo and the Van Rensselaers
Shirely Dunn’s History of the Mohican in the Capital District
Shirley W. Dunn’s The River Indians: Mohicans Making History (Purple Mountain Press, 2009) presents a stirring look at the historic events in which the Mohicans, living along both banks of the Hudson River, participated.
Leaders among the native nations on the Hudson, Mohicans welcomed Henry Hudson, who visited them for 13 days. They initiated the upriver fur trade and continued it for a century, especially from Dutchess County to Lake Champlain. [Read more…] about Shirely Dunn’s History of the Mohican in the Capital District