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Labor History

Dancing On Logs: Pulp Wood At Sackets Harbor

February 3, 2021 by Constance Barone Leave a Comment

pulp wood boat - Braun # 2Located at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, Sackets Harbor boasts a stellar history in the War of 1812, but this lake port holds a wealth of other fascinating stories.

After the War of 1812, Sackets Harbor nearly became a thriving lake port, but both the emerging railroads and canal systems quickly excluded the tiny village from ever becoming a Buffalo or Cleveland-size port. [Read more…] about Dancing On Logs: Pulp Wood At Sackets Harbor

Filed Under: History, Western NY Tagged With: Black River, Labor History, Lake Ontario, Logging, Maritime History, Sackets Harbor, Transportation, Transportation History

Urban Cries: Street Hawkers’ Shouts in New York & London

November 23, 2020 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

The Cryes of the City of LondonPictures of street hawkers with their trade shouts recorded in captions of poetry or prose are known as “Cries.” They first appeared in Paris around 1500. This early creation of an urban iconography included socially marginal people such as vagrants, beggars, prostitutes, and others.

Fifty years later, these images were established as a stylistic category across Europe. Eventually, they would make their way to New York. [Read more…] about Urban Cries: Street Hawkers’ Shouts in New York & London

Filed Under: Arts, Capital-Saratoga, History, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: art, Immigration, Instagram, Labor History, Literature, Poetry, poverty

The Hudson River’s Fortress of Shoddy in Troy

November 16, 2020 by Suzanne Spellen 4 Comments

1 Jackson Street by by Suzanne SpellenDriving north on I-787 approaching Troy you can see an iconic building – a tall red brick building with turrets that looks like a fortress.

It’s at 1 Jackson Street. What I like to call the Fortress of Shoddy. [Read more…] about The Hudson River’s Fortress of Shoddy in Troy

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Architecture, Hudson River, Industrial History, Labor History, Troy

Women’s Labor History: Detachable Fashions & Laundry Work

October 19, 2020 by Suzanne Spellen Leave a Comment

Bishop collarHannah Lord came from a family of doers. Her father, William A. Lord, was a Revolutionary War officer and author of Lord’s Military Tactics.

In 1817, Hannah married Orlando Montague, a blacksmith. Keeping in mind that most people back then didn’t have a lot of clothing, hand washing was tedious and time consuming, especially with everything else a young wife was supposed to take care of.

Throughout most of the 19th century, the attire of most men included a white shirt with starched collar and a knotted tie or cravat. Styles changed, but the need for a good white shirt did not.
[Read more…] about Women’s Labor History: Detachable Fashions & Laundry Work

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Labor History, Troy, womens history

Saratoga County Mills Using Manila Hemp Were Home To ‘The Paper Bag King’

September 27, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Union Mill (left), West Bag Factory and George West Office Building from Prospect Street in 2008 (courtesy Wikipedia User Daniel Case)One of the most prosperous residents in the history of Ballston Spa, NY, was a “Paper Bag King” who once laid claim to the largest manila paper bag operation in the world, also located in Saratoga County.

George West, was born in the English village of Kentisbeare in 1822. He was the sixth of nine children, and as soon as he was old enough West followed in his father’s footsteps and began working at a local paper mill. [Read more…] about Saratoga County Mills Using Manila Hemp Were Home To ‘The Paper Bag King’

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Ballston Spa, Brookside Museum, Industrial History, Labor History, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Roundtable

Frances Perkins, One of America’s Most Influential Women, Remains Unrecognized

September 23, 2020 by James S. Kaplan 2 Comments

Frances Perkins meets with American workersFrances Perkins, who served as President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor in all four terms of his administration, is often credited with designing many of the New Deal’s social welfare programs, including Social Security.  As such, she ranks among the most influential women of the 20th Century.

Few however, know that Perkins began her career in the Hell’s Kitchen area of the city of New York, work that as inspired inn part by a chance meeting an Irish Tammany Hall District Leader Tom McManus. [Read more…] about Frances Perkins, One of America’s Most Influential Women, Remains Unrecognized

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Albany, FDR, Labor History, New Deal, New York City, Political History, Prohibition

The Burden Iron Works of Troy: A Short History

September 10, 2020 by Suzanne Spellen Leave a Comment

Burden Iron Works FurnacesH. Burden & Sons, also known as the Burden Iron Works, was a marvel of nineteenth century industrial ingenuity. From its foundries and assembly lines in South Troy, the company produced horseshoes that shod the Union Army, railroad spikes for tracks that crossed the continental United States, and rivets, for, well, just about everything.

The inventor of the Ferris Wheel, George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., was an 1881 graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).  He was no doubt influenced by one of Troy’s most impressive industrial monuments – the Burden Water Wheel. [Read more…] about The Burden Iron Works of Troy: A Short History

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Industrial History, Labor History, Troy

Masters and Management: The Business of Slavery

September 2, 2020 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

ben_franklins_worldBook purchases made through this link support New York Almanack‘s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.

We live in an age where big businesses track our shopping habits and in some cases our work habits. But is the age of data new? When did the “age of the spreadsheet” and quantification of habits develop?

In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World: A Podcast About Early American History, Caitlin Rosenthal, an Assistant Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley and the author of Accounting for Slavery: Masters and Management (Harvard University Press, 2019), leads us on an investigation into the origins of how American businesses came to collect and use data to manage their workers and their pursuit of profits.

[Read more…] about Masters and Management: The Business of Slavery

Filed Under: Books, History Tagged With: Black History, Business History, Labor History, Podcasts, Slavery

The Ballston Terminal Railroad: A Short History

August 11, 2020 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

The A.N. Chandler car of the Ballston Terminal RailroadThe Ballston Terminal Railroad in Saratoga County, NY, opened on August 6, 1898.

At 4:05 pm, the George West made its inaugural run from the Village of Ballston Spa to the Pioneer Mill in West Milton. This was a six mile trip. On the return trip to Ballston Spa, the trolley stopped at the Power House in Factory Village to allow the company to review the machinery. Then everyone boarded again to arrive back at Middlebrook Avenue at 5:10 pm. The total round trip took one hour and five minutes. [Read more…] about The Ballston Terminal Railroad: A Short History

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Ballston Spa, Brookside Museum, Labor History, railroads, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Roundtable

Dirty Laundry: The Backyard Clothesline In The 1950s

June 24, 2020 by John Nehrich 20 Comments

closeup on laundry courtesty Library of CongressWhen I was growing up in the 1950s, my mother had one of those old Maytags. The washing machine agitated the clothes in the soapy water until she turned it off.

Then each garment would be passed through the wringers to squeeze out as much water as possible. Finally, the damp clothes would be put out on the clothes line, our “solar-powered dryer.” [Read more…] about Dirty Laundry: The Backyard Clothesline In The 1950s

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Labor History, Social History, Urban History

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