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Granville

Granville’s WPA Mural of Working in a Slate Quarry

September 6, 2022 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Men Working in Slate Quarry Granville Mural“Men Working in Slate Quarry,” the 1939 Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded mural displayed at the Slate Valley Museum in Granville, Washington County, NY is as good an example as you will find of “Art for the People.”

The subject of the museum’s current exhibition “One Painting, Many Stories,” explores many of the artistic, cultural and political contexts within which the mural was created. [Read more…] about Granville’s WPA Mural of Working in a Slate Quarry

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Arts, Events, History Tagged With: Art History, Geology, Granville, Labor History, New Deal, painting, Slate Valley Museum, Washington County, WPA

Flowery & Imprecise: 19th Century Weather Reports

February 8, 2022 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

Central Park weather station courtesy National Weather ServiceThe Whitehall correspondent submitted a long-winded, pun intended, weather report for the Dec. 28, 1889 issue of The Granville Sentinel: “The atmosphere was in great commotion here Sunday night – evidently having urgent business elsewhere – and things movable presented a decidedly twisted appearance in town Monday morning.”

A contemporary editor likely would ask the reporter to consult the National Weather Service about the speed of the wind, and would have boiled down the verbiage to something like, “Severe winds in Whitehall uprooted trees and blew off roofs at Whitehall on Sunday. But dramatics frequently trumped details in 19th century newspapers. [Read more…] about Flowery & Imprecise: 19th Century Weather Reports

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Arts, History, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Glens Falls, Granville, Newspapers, Warren County, Washington County, weather

‘Trouble at the Quarries’: The 1890 Slate Workers Strike

November 14, 2021 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

slate workers and their bosses near Granville in the early 20th century (photo courtesy Slate Valley Museum)Huge demand for slate in 1890 boosted prices for quarry owners and manufacturers in the Granville area of Washington County, NY, and workers sought a share of the wealth.

“The slate business is booming,” The Granville Sentinel reported on June 13, 1890, followed a week later with the report, “There is trouble at the quarries.” [Read more…] about ‘Trouble at the Quarries’: The 1890 Slate Workers Strike

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga Tagged With: Geology, Granville, Industrial History, Labor History, Mining, Slate Quarries, Vermont, Washington County

The New Year in 1887, Granville, Washington County

January 26, 2021 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

The year 1886 in Washington County, New York, ended on an optimistic tone.

“But thou, the old year, has not been a very hard one, especially,” The Granville Sentinel reported on December 31st, 1886.

Extended periods of drought followed by weeks of unseasonal warm rain gave way in the final days of the year to seasonal weather. [Read more…] about The New Year in 1887, Granville, Washington County

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Granville, Washington County, winter

The Joys of a January Freeze, 1887

January 19, 2021 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

Lake Champlain froze completely on January 8th, 1887, missing by just two days the seventy-year record for earliest freeze.

“Saturday morning (January 8th) was the coldest of the season, the mercury registering 26 below zero – in the shade,” The Granville Sentinel reported on January 14th. [Read more…] about The Joys of a January Freeze, 1887

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Granville, Lake Champlain, Washington County, weather, winter

A Washington County Political Newspaper Brawl

December 27, 2020 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

 Granville SentinelIf there was one thing 19th century Granville Sentinel publisher Anna McArthur disliked more than Democrats, it was a competing newspaper attempting to siphon off Republican readership. [Read more…] about A Washington County Political Newspaper Brawl

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Granville, Newspapers, Political History, politics, Washington County

A Plague of Potato Bugs in 1877 Washington County

November 25, 2020 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

Colorado potato beetle courtesy Scott Bauer USDAThe weather at Granville, in Washington County, in June 1877, was ideal for agriculture.

“This is the weather that makes farmers happy,” The Granville Sentinel reported.

Corn and flax crops looked promising, but “vigilance and perseverance is to be the price of potatoes.” [Read more…] about A Plague of Potato Bugs in 1877 Washington County

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Food, History, Nature Tagged With: Agricultural History, Food, Granville, insects, local farms, local food, nature, Washington County, Wildlife

Local Newspaper Editor Ponders Election of 1876

November 2, 2020 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

October 1872 ElectionPresidential elections can strain neighborly relations, as reiterated in Washington County’s Granville Sentinel in 1876.

“The one pleasant thing about it, when the cruel suspense is over, they’ll be less lying in the newspapers and less personal defamation in the streets,” the Sentinel quipped on October 29th. [Read more…] about Local Newspaper Editor Ponders Election of 1876

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: 1876 Election, Elections, Granville, Local History, Media, Newspapers, Political History, politics, Washington County

First World War Program at Slate Valley Museum

April 27, 2017 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

ww1 in americaThe Slate Valley Museum has been awarded a Library of America Grant for programming connected to the Library’s World War I and America project commemorating the centennial of World War I and the entry of United States forces on April 6, 1917. With the funds the Museum is planning three events through 2017 that will highlight writings and discussions around issues important to those who fought and the family and friends left behind. The first talk will be Saturday, April 29 at 2 pm at the Slate Valley Museum in Granville, Washington County. [Read more…] about First World War Program at Slate Valley Museum

Filed Under: Events, History Tagged With: Granville, milhist, Slate Valley Museum, WW1

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