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Fires

A NY Woman Who Belongs On The $20 Bill

December 24, 2015 by James S. Kaplan 9 Comments

800px-Frances_Perkins_cph.3a04983Recently the Treasury Department has announced its intent to place a prominent woman of historical importance on the U.S. currency. There is no one who is more deserving of this honor than Frances Perkins, a New York woman, who was probably the most significant and important female government official of the 20th century.

As Secretary of Labor throughout President Franklin Roosevelt’s four terms and the first woman ever to hold a cabinet position, Frances Perkins designed most of the New Deal Social Welfare and Labor Policies, such as social security, the minimum wage, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and protections for unions, and reshaped America. [Read more…] about A NY Woman Who Belongs On The $20 Bill

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Columbia University, FDR, Fiber Arts - Textiles, Fires, Frances Perkins, Gender History, Labor History, Manhattan, New Deal, New York City, NYC, Political History, Tammany Hall, Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, Urban History, womens history

Sullivan County’s First African American Firefighter

February 25, 2015 by John Conway 2 Comments

MontMansionHouse2During the night of April 26, 1874, fire broke out in the livery stables of LeGrand Morris’ Exchange Hotel in Monticello, NY. Village residents were roused from their beds to form a bucket brigade to battle the blaze, but were unable to keep it from spreading to, and destroying, the hotel itself. A number of other businesses, including George Hindley’s saloon, Kent’s Barber Shop, Billing’s Flour and Feed Store, and the printing plant of the George M. Beebe’s Republican Watchman newspaper, were also consumed.

Largely because of that fire, the third major blaze in three years to rock the small village of about 900 residents, Monticello organized its first fire department less than a year later. [Read more…] about Sullivan County’s First African American Firefighter

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Black History, Fires, Sullivan County

Hudson Valley Docs From 1911 Fire Being Digitized

February 11, 2015 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

document_reinforcementAT&T has given a $20,000 contribution to support the conservation and digitization of documents burned in the 1911 New York Capitol Fire.

The documents are expected to be conserved and digitized are badly fire damaged and contain information about life in the Hudson Valley in the 1700s, primarily in Dutchess, Ulster, and Orange counties. They have been unavailable to the public since 1911; no timetable for online public access has been announced. [Read more…] about Hudson Valley Docs From 1911 Fire Being Digitized

Filed Under: History Tagged With: American Revolution, Connecticut, Crime and Justice, Dutchess County, Fires, French And Indian War, Historic Preservation, Hudson River, Indigenous History, Kingston, Native American History, New York State Archives, Online Resources, Orange County, Poughkeepsie, Transportation, Ulster County

Manufacturing Subject of ‘Made in Newburgh’ Lecture

November 3, 2014 by Editorial Staff 3 Comments

ColdwellFactoryOn November 9, 2014, the Friends of the State Historic Sites of the Hudson Highlands will host a talk on Newburgh’s manufacturing history at Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site.

Industrial Historian Russell Lange, former President of the Newburgh Historical Society, will deliver his popular talk titled, “Made in Newburgh”. For 150 years manufacturing drove the economy of Newburgh providing jobs for over 8,000 men and women. Open to members and the general public, this free talk will take place during their annual meeting starting at 3 pm. [Read more…] about Manufacturing Subject of ‘Made in Newburgh’ Lecture

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: Colonel Jonathan Hasbrouck, Fires, Friends of the State Historic Sites of the Hudson Highlands, Industrial History, Labor History, Newburgh, Newburgh Historical Society, Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site

The Sinking of the S.S. Normandie at NYC’s Pier 88

September 23, 2014 by James Hinton 51 Comments

Normandie_posterOn February 9, 1942 crowds gathered at New York City’s pier 88 to witness a spectacle. The largest ocean liner in the world was on fire. Fire fighting efforts successfully contained the fire after five and a half hours of effort, but the effort was in vain. Five hours after the flames were out the stricken vessel rolled onto its side and settled on the bottom of the Hudson.

The S.S. Normandie was a star crossed ship. Intended to be the pride of the French people, she was designed to be the height of shipbuilding technology and modern culture. Her first class passenger spaces were decorated in the trendiest Art Deco style and filled with luxuries. The radical new hull design, with a subsurface bulb beneath a clipper bow, and long, sweeping lines lent her previously untouched speeds while requiring far less fuel. She even had one of the earliest radar sets ever used by a commercial vessel, in order to improve the safety for her passengers. [Read more…] about The Sinking of the S.S. Normandie at NYC’s Pier 88

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Fires, Maritime History, Military History, Navy, New York City, New York Harbor, Shipwrecks, World War Two

Frances Perkins: Secretary of Labor Under FDR

March 27, 2014 by Bruce Dudley 1 Comment

Frances Perkins meets with Carnegie Steel Workers in 1933Any recognition of influential and famous American women should include Frances Perkins and rank her close to the top of such a list. Perkins was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s secretary of labor during his entire time in office, from 1933 to 1945, and the first woman cabinet member in our history.

Although she is largely unknown to most Americans, many historians credit Perkins as being the architect and driving force responsible for the key achievements of FDR’s New Deal program during the Great Depression of the 1930s. [Read more…] about Frances Perkins: Secretary of Labor Under FDR

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: FDR, Fiber Arts - Textiles, Fires, Frances Perkins, Gender History, Labor History, Manhattan, New York City, Political History, Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, Women's History Month, womens history

Adirondack Fire Tower Management Public Hearing Set

February 28, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Hurricane-mtn-Fire-Tower-Phil-Brown-PhotoThe Proposed Final Drafts of the Hurricane Mountain and St. Regis Mountain Fire Tower Historic Area Unit Management Plans (UMPs) were presented by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) staff to the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) Board at their monthly meeting on February 14, 2014. Pursuant to the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (SLMP) requirements for Historic Areas, the Agency will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, March 12, 2014 to solicit public comments related to the proposed UMPs’ conformity with the provisions of the SLMP.

The Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower Historic Area is located on the Summit of Hurricane Mountain in the Town of Keene, Essex County. The St. Regis Mountain Fire Tower Historic Area is located on the summit of St. Regis Mountain in the Town of Santa Clara, Franklin County. [Read more…] about Adirondack Fire Tower Management Public Hearing Set

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Adirondacks, Fires, Historic Preservation

Fire At Kanisteo Historical Society, Steuben County

January 16, 2014 by John Warren 2 Comments

Canisteo Historical Society fire, 1-7-14 010On Tuesday night, January 7, 2014 about 10:30 pm a fire broke out in the Kanisteo Historical Society in Canisteo, Steuben County, on main street.

The building is only feet from the Canisteo Volunteer Fire Department, who were able to stop the fire and save most of the artifacts and holdings.   [Read more…] about Fire At Kanisteo Historical Society, Steuben County

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Disaster Management, Finger Lakes, Fires, Public History, Steuben County

Comments Sought On Historic Adirondack Fire Towers

October 21, 2013 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released the draft unit management plans (UMPs) for the Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower Historic Area and the Saint Regis Mountain Fire Tower Historic Area. The UMPs contain management proposals for the fire observation towers located on the summit of Hurricane Mountain in the Town of Keene, Essex County, and the summit of Saint Regis Mountain in the Town of Santa Clara, Franklin County. [Read more…] about Comments Sought On Historic Adirondack Fire Towers

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature Tagged With: Adirondacks, DEC, Essex County, Fires, Franklin County, Historic Preservation

Rehabilitated Mount Beacon Fire Tower Re-Opens

August 14, 2013 by Guest Contributor 4 Comments

Beacon Fire Tower Before RenovationWhat follows is a guest essay by William Keating about the opening of the rehabilitated Mount Beacon Fire Tower in June.

The colonials used the 1,400 foot north peak of Mount Beacon along the Hudson River during the Revolutionary War to set warning fires to alert General Washington at his headquarters on the western side of the river of any British presence in the valley below.  From this activity, the City of Beacon got its name.  [Read more…] about Rehabilitated Mount Beacon Fire Tower Re-Opens

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: American Revolution, Dutchess County, Fires, Historic Preservation, Hudson River

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