History, Natural History & the Arts
In 1914, after secretly running Knox Gelatine for six years, Rose Knox revealed that she’d assumed her deceased husband’s position as the company’s president.
As President of company from 1908 to 1947, she drew on traditional ideals of domesticity and womanhood to turn the company into an iconic American brand and herself into a business celebrity. [Read more…] about Rose Knox’s Gelatine, Leadership, Mixed Kitchen & Boardroom
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a singular leader, thinker, and organizer whose fight for women’s emancipation stretched from the 1840s to her death in 1902, a full fifth of America’s history. Yet her legacy is marked by controversy.
In a new biography, Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Revolutionary Life (Basic Books, 2026) historian Ellen Carol DuBois paints a fresh portrait of this complex woman whose work helped make contemporary feminism possible. [Read more…] about Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A Revolutionary Life
In January 1776, American Revolutionaries disarmed and arrested those accused of Loyalist sympathies in Johnstown, NY. Some would remain under watchful parole. Others were brought to Albany or sent out of the Province of New York for imprisonment, far from home and family. [Read more…] about Dealing With British Loyalists in Johnstown During the Revolution
Very little is known about Matthias Bernard Hildreth, who holds the distinction of being the first person to serve as Attorney General of New York in two separate terms.
Serving as the 9th Attorney General from 1808 to 1810, he worked during a period when New York was under Governor George Clinton’s leadership and the United States was edging toward the War of 1812. [Read more…] about Matthias Hildreth: First Attorney General to Serve Separate Terms
On December 5, 2024, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) received complaints regarding the potential poaching of a well-known whitetail buck nicknamed “King Louie” in Johnstown, NY, by a local hunter. Photos of the impressive deer, known for its unique antlers, circulated through social media and text chains, eliciting concerns in the community. [Read more…] about King Louie, Beloved Whitetail Buck Killed by Poacher, Was Record Size
On October 25, 1781, an American militia under the command of Col. Marinus Willett fought a British raiding party under the command of Maj. John Ross and Capt. Walter Butler in Johnstown (Tryon, later Fulton County). It’s known as the Battle of Johnstown.
The American Battlefield Trust has launched a campaign to save 58 acres of Battle of Johnstown battlefield land that connects with Johnson Hall State Historic Site. [Read more…] about Battlefield Trust Hopes to Acquire 1781 Battle of Johnstown Lands
In 1824 and 1825 Marquis de Lafayette, the French nobleman who volunteered and became an invaluable leader during the American Revolution and was then the war’s last surviving major general, toured the United States in a celebrated “Farewell Tour.”
He visited several sites in the Mohawk Valley, his third time there. [Read more…] about Lafayette’s Visits to the Mohawk Valley
At Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site you can see all three of the major phases of the Erie Canal – from the original “Clinton’s Ditch,” to the enlargements of the mid-19th century to the Barge Canal of today. You can also see Lock E-12 operated by the New York State Canal Corporation between Tribes Hill and Fort Hunter in Montgomery County, NY.
This lock has a movable dam and is one of only two which also serve as an automobile bridge. It’s known as the “James Shanahan Lock.” [Read more…] about James Shanahan: Stone Mason & Railroad and Canal Builder
The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has announced that the first of 20 planned interactive video displays highlighting New York’s history in the American Revolution is installed at Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site in the Hudson Valley. [Read more…] about New Interactive Video Displays Interpret NYS Revolutionary History
Samuel Adams, using the pseudonym “Valerius Poplicola,” wrote to the Boston Gazette on October 5, 1772: “Let Associations & Combinations be everywhere set up to consult and recover our just Rights.”
A few weeks later he presented his plan to oppose Britain’s “Plan of Slavery” at a meeting in Boston organized for that purpose. This was the birth of the “Committees of Correspondence” or “Committees of Safety” which spread throughout the colonies in early 1773. [Read more…] about Mohawk Valley Preparations for the American Revolution
I was intrigued when my 11-year-old granddaughter suggested we visit The Wildlife Sports and Educational Museum in Vail Mills in the Town of Mayfield in Fulton County. “I’ve never been there before,” Lilli added, “but everyone tells me it’s really cool.” [Read more…] about Heritage Profile: The Wildlife Sports Museum in Vail Mills, Fulton County
North County Public Radio (NCPR) has announced a new podcast, If All Else Fails, an investigation into far-right extremist groups and militia movements in Upstate New York and how they’ve gained ground with voters and even some local law enforcement officials. [Read more…] about ‘If All Else Fails’: Far-Right Extremism in Upstate New York
During the Civil War, Colonel Simeon Sammons received authority to recruit a regiment in the counties of Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, and Saratoga, with headquarters at Fonda. On August 26, 1862, it mustered into the service of the United States for three years as the 115th New York Infantry Regiment, known as the “Iron-Hearted Regiment.” [Read more…] about The 115th New York: The Iron Hearted Regiment During The Civil War
On this episode of A New York Minute in History, Devin Lander and Lauren Roberts visit New York’s oldest continuously operating courthouse, located in the City of Johnstown in Fulton County.
Built in 1772 by Sir William Johnson, the Fulton County Courthouse has seen the transition from British colonial rule to the establishment of the United States, and 250 years of legal history. Among the important judges to hold court at the courthouse include Daniel Cady, the father of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was heavily influenced by legal cases which demonstrated how few rights women had in the 19th Century. [Read more…] about Fulton County Courthouse: Some History
Every year in October the Lower Manhattan Historical Society holds its Saratoga/Yorktown celebration in Trinity Churchyard to celebrate the American victories at the Battles of Saratoga and Yorktown.
At that ceremony wreaths are lain on the graves of Revolutionary War figures associated with those battles — Horatio Gates, Alexander Hamilton and Marinus Willett. [Read more…] about Marinus Willet, Tammany Hall & The Treaty of New York
This week on The Historians Podcast, Leader Herald newspaper columnist Peter Betz has documented how Johnstown celebrated the Fourth of July 200 years ago with cannon shots, a parade and celebration at a local hotel. Some Revolutionary War veterans were still alive for these festivities. Betz also has details on Johnstown native Enos Throop who served as governor of New York from 1829 to 1832. [Read more…] about Celebrating July 4th in Johnstown 200 Years Ago; NY Gov Enos Throop
Acting Director of the David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History, Matthew R. Costello’s new book The Property of the Nation: George Washington’s Tomb, Mount Vernon, and the Memory of the First President (University Press of Kansas, 2019) looks at the life of George Washington, and how he has been viewed throughout history. [Read more…] about Book Talk: Memory of the First President
Johnson Hall was the 1763 Georgian estate of Sir William Johnson and Molly Brant and their family. Sir William Johnson (1715 – 1774) was the single largest landowner and among the most influential individuals in the colonial Mohawk Valley.
The main house and flanking stonehouses interpret the Johnson family and 18th century life through guided tours of the period room settings, educational programs and special events. In conjunction with the City of Johnstown’s Colonial Stroll holiday activities, Johnson Hall is set to hold its Holiday Open House on Friday, December 6 from 5 to 8:30 pm. [Read more…] about Johnson Hall Holiday Open House
The Battle of Johnstown and the death of Walter Butler are considered two of the more important events in the final phase of the Revolutionary War in the Mohawk Valley. More than any other events in his life, these events are seen as raising Col. Marinus Willett from to the status of “Hero of the Mohawk Valley.” [Read more…] about Marinus Willett, the Battle of Johnstown, and a Hated Loyalist
Johnson Hall State Historic Site, located at 139 Hall Ave in Johnstown, Fulton County, NY, is set to present two interpretive programs about 18th century life at the Hall on Saturday, July 13 and Sunday, July 14. [Read more…] about Programs Highlight 18th Century Life at Johnson Hall
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