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
Massachusetts
Ambuscade Slaughter: The 1758 Half-Way Brook Massacre
In the aftermath of his stunning defeat of Maj. Gen. James Abercrombie‘s much larger army at the Battle of Carillon, French General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm sent several scouting parties from Ticonderoga to attack and harass the soldiers and convoys along the road between the head of Lake George and Fort Edward.
On July 20th, 1758 one of these groups fell upon the Massachusetts provincial militia, led by Colonel Ebenezer Nichols (1703–1777) who were quartered at the Half-Way Brook block house, which had been constructed shortly after Sir William Johnson had the road built in 1755. [Read more…] about Ambuscade Slaughter: The 1758 Half-Way Brook Massacre
Cranberries: The Great American Native Fruit
Cranberries are a common part of holiday celebrations, whether they’re used as garland decorating a Christmas tree or in the holiday meal. One of the few native North American fruits, New York State was once the third largest producer in the nation. [Read more…] about Cranberries: The Great American Native Fruit
Dr Helen Hosmer’s Rural Healthcare in the US & Canada
In 1934, Doctor Helen Hosmer opened a physician’s office on West Street in the Village of Galway, in Saratoga County, NY. Originally from Billerica, Massachusetts, when Hosmer arrived in Galway, she was 50 years old, and though an experienced chemist and scientist, she was just beginning her career as a physician. [Read more…] about Dr Helen Hosmer’s Rural Healthcare in the US & Canada
Medical History: Vaccination Science & The Transatlantic Bridge
Second President of the United States John Adams held the post of envoy to the Netherlands from 1780 to 1782. He secured the States General’s recognition of American independence in April 1782, the second country in the world to do so, after France; obtained a five million guilders loan (carrying an interest rate of five percent) from a consortium of Amsterdam bankers; and signed a “Treaty of Amity and Commerce” between the two nations. While his wife Abigail remained in America, he had brought his sons John Quincy and Charles with him, living in the heart of Amsterdam at Keizersgracht 529. [Read more…] about Medical History: Vaccination Science & The Transatlantic Bridge
Small & Scarce: Early New York Paper Making History
About 1768, New York’s first paper mill was established, but throughout the 1700s New Yorkers suffered from a lack of paper, no more so than during the American Revolution. The industry grew from the need for paper and owes its early history to the rise of printing in America. [Read more…] about Small & Scarce: Early New York Paper Making History
An 1869 New York Central Express Train Heist
During the summer of 1869, four men would occasionally meet at Dutcher’s Boarding House in Troy, New York. All were experienced railroad men; Charles Conklin was a baggage man with the New York Central Railroad, while brothers George and William Harrison were railroad hands. The fourth man, William Allen, who had a room at the boarding house, had once been a railroad brakeman.
During one of these gatherings, the conversation turned to robbery, and more specifically, the idea of stealing the gold and silver often carried in the American Express car on Conklin’s express train. [Read more…] about An 1869 New York Central Express Train Heist
New York & America’s First Organized Soccer Team
With the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) World Cup underway this is a good time to consider that in June 1993 the United States Soccer Federation recognized Gerrit Smith Miller of Peterboro, Madison County, NY, as the founder of the first organized soccer team in this country. [Read more…] about New York & America’s First Organized Soccer Team
Bunker Hill Redoubt Where Joseph Warren Died Rediscovered
June 17, 2025, marked the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. New England militiamen inflicted 1,054 casualties on the British, 50 percent of the British force.
The Bostonians and their allies sustained 411 casualties that day, including the man who stood at the heart of the battle, Dr. Joseph Warren, the namesake of Warren County, NY, who was brutally killed and mutilated by the British at the end of the battle. [Read more…] about Bunker Hill Redoubt Where Joseph Warren Died Rediscovered
Massachusetts Moving to Restrict Genealogy Records
For the last two years, Reclaim the Records, a not-for-profit activist group of genealogists, historians, researchers, and open government advocates, has been fighting to free Massachusetts vital records information from the Department of Public Health (DPH) and its proxies. [Read more…] about Massachusetts Moving to Restrict Genealogy Records
The American Revolutionary Committee System: 1765-1775
During the controversies over the enforcement of the Navigation Acts, the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765, committees were created in New York to correspond with those of other colonies and to contrive means of opposing those measures. Similar committees were organized elsewhere.
The Townshend Acts of 1767 reawakened the disturbance occasioned by the Stamp Act and furnished a renewed occasion for protests through committees. [Read more…] about The American Revolutionary Committee System: 1765-1775
Ethnic Cleansing & Wartime Refugees in the Hudson Valley, 1754-1763
During the French and Indian War (1754-1763), many Mahican and Munsee-speaking people in the Hudson Valley felt themselves pressured to relocate to new areas both inside and outside of the Valley as the result of an ethnic cleansing project conducted by Sir William Johnson.
This created a refugee crisis that led to a varied of responses from both colonial officials and the Mohawks and other members of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Six Nations. [Read more…] about Ethnic Cleansing & Wartime Refugees in the Hudson Valley, 1754-1763
Revolutionary War Smallpox Hospital Reinterments on Schedule
Town of Lake George officials say construction continues on schedule for the “Repose of the Fallen” project involving the reinterment of the skeletal remains of 44 people who are believed to have been associated with a Continental Army smallpox hospital when they died during the American Revolution.
The remains will be interred in a new memorial located in Lake George Battlefield State Park that will be dedicated during a public ceremony on Friday, May 22. [Read more…] about Revolutionary War Smallpox Hospital Reinterments on Schedule
Beer, Hops, Reformation & Prohibition
Christianity banned beer from the sacred domain as the Roman clergy continued the Latin habit of drinking wine. The opposition: Christian wine versus pagan beer, was upheld even in the north of Europe. Believers accepted wine’s sacramental role, whatever their climates, social habits, or drinking customs.
The Catholic Church was, at the same time, actively involved in the lucrative business of beer making. The Reformation was not just a schism that breached the unity of the Church, it was also a revolt against clergy-imposed customs that brought about a drastic change – from herbs to hops – in beer production and consumption. [Read more…] about Beer, Hops, Reformation & Prohibition
Critical Mass and the Road to Revolution, 1763-1776
According to Webster’s American Dictionary, “critical mass” is the time when a turning point is reached in a series of events leading to a major action. Scientifically, the term is used when sufficient size of matter leads to a chain reaction, as in a nuclear reactor.
Thus, “critical mass” can help explain the American Revolution. [Read more…] about Critical Mass and the Road to Revolution, 1763-1776
The Life and Times of John Stark
Live Free or Die: The Life and Times Of John Stark (Page Publishing, 2025) by William Baker Jr. is the story of how one of the American Revolution’s best battlefield commanders triumphed over the self-interest of others to play a major role in securing victory for the new republic.
Most often referred to as the “Hero of the Battle of Bennington,” John Stark also played pivotal roles in the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Trenton. [Read more…] about The Life and Times of John Stark
Philistine Elbert Hubbard, Roycroft, and the Arts & Crafts Movement
The principles of beauty and artistic taste and its appreciation in nature and art are very personal, yet aesthetics can often be shared. During the nineteenth century the industrial revolution, first in Europe and later North America, left a dearth of creative aesthetics among inhabitants. Many felt the impersonal civilization, where industrialization forced movement from agrarian societies to urban social life, stripped creativity and aesthetic expression.
Like the industrial revolution itself, what would become an international trend originated in England and would be spread to British colonies and former colonies of the Empire, with origins in the 1850s. This was an arts and crafts movement, spurred on by those with both a grasp of mechanical design and a gift for expressing themselves in writing and lecture, such as John Ruskin, Thomas Carlyle and William Morris. Art of pre-industrial times, produced by the skills of craftsmen, were championed and embraced by the movement. [Read more…] about Philistine Elbert Hubbard, Roycroft, and the Arts & Crafts Movement
Alexander Hamilton, Industrial Spies & Rogue Nations
At present, politicians London and Washington are alert to Beijing’s attempts to exploit Anglo-American technology. They are weary of China stealing trade secrets, copying methodologies, or obtaining sensitive business data, whilst Western companies continue to seek admission to the Chinese market.
Over time, Britain and America themselves have been involved in acts of intellectual property theft. In fact, the United States accuses China of similar illicit practices that helped its nascent industry leapfrog that of European rivals and come out as an industrial giant. The means used today may be more sophisticated, but the purpose of gaining a competitive edge remains the same. [Read more…] about Alexander Hamilton, Industrial Spies & Rogue Nations
The Schaghticoke Tree of Peace and Welfare
During the Beaver Wars the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), supplied by Dutch weapons, decimated the Mohican along the Hudson River. A Mohican effort to regain control of land taken from them by the Mohawk left their strength so severely depleted that they refused to join their eastern Algonquin speaking allies in fighting King Philip’s War (1675-1676) — a war that marked the last major effort by the Native Americans of New England to drive out the English settlers.
Following that bloody conflict, defeated Indigenous refugees fled west from New England along the Hoosic River into the Province of New York. Edmund Andros, Governor of the Province, saw this exodus as an opportunity to thwart the territorial ambitions of Massachusetts. [Read more…] about The Schaghticoke Tree of Peace and Welfare
Dutch Arms Dealers & Military Engineers in the Revolutionary War
Modern international law prohibits a neutral nation from supplying arms, ammunition, or equipment to any warring party, either directly or indirectly.
Eighteenth-century Dutch legal minds argued the opposite case. They stuck to the principle of “free ships make free goods,” dictating that a vessel under a neutral flag cannot be captured or confiscated.
Neutrality was driven by self-interest, a desire to achieve economic advantage without being involved in hostilities. [Read more…] about Dutch Arms Dealers & Military Engineers in the Revolutionary War