On May 30, New York State Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) Boyes and Lovgren responded to the town of Montgomery in Orange County for reports of a deceased Great Blue Heron. The complainant reported hearing a gunshot before observing the bird on the ground near a pond. [Read more…] about Ticket Issued For Great Blue Heron Killing
Montgomery
Slavery in New York: Platt Defends His Freedom
One of the major frustrations for historians who want to know and share the diverse stories of their communities is the lack of archived material on persons of color. We have bits and pieces documenting the early African Americans of New York State, but very rarely can read and “hear” their own voice in the records.
Recently in Warwick, Orange County, NY, newly digitized newspapers revealed a long hidden treasure: A formerly enslaved man publishing his case that he was, indeed, a free man. [Read more…] about Slavery in New York: Platt Defends His Freedom
A Terrible Explosion: The Orange County Explosives Industry
The following text about the explosion of two powder mills near Newburgh, Orange County, NY, was originally written by a Special Correspondent of the New York Tribune and published in Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser of Queensland, Australia on September 22, 1868. It was transcribed by Hudson River Maritime Museum volunteer researcher George A. Thompson and additionally edited and annotated by John Warren.
Dwellers along the Hudson River for a distance of 30 miles north and south of this city [Newburgh] were startled at six o’clock this morning by the shaking of their houses, the rattling of windows, and two distinct, heavy, rumbling reports. Many supposed that two shocks of an earthquake had taken place, and rushed from their houses in excitement. [Read more…] about A Terrible Explosion: The Orange County Explosives Industry