Last week, Donald Trump claimed to have renamed Lake Ontario to Lake America. He didn’t. What he did do – in an effort to troll our biggest trading partner – was sign an executive order (14420) directing federal agencies and the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) to use the new name: [Read more…] about Trump Changes Lake Ontario’s Federal Name; New Yorkers Are Not Amused
National Park Service
Trump Admin Moves to Gut Historic Preservation Rules
The Trump-led Federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has proposed changes to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, which is triggered when state or federal funding, actions, or approval are connected to a project which includes historic resources.
Among the new regulations, are those which would eliminate public review and commentary on a broad range of projects and what input members of the public and nonprofits can have, as well as the public’s ability to even be informed about these projects. [Read more…] about Trump Admin Moves to Gut Historic Preservation Rules
A Complicated Birthday: 10 Years of Stonewall National Monument
New York City’s Stonewall National Monument, the only site in the federal park system focused on LGBTQ history, is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
In a nod to the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, 250 rainbow flags were installed on the fence that surrounds Christopher Park, a tiny parcel at the heart of the monument in Greenwich Village. [Read more…] about A Complicated Birthday: 10 Years of Stonewall National Monument
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
Suffolk County Honors former Slaveholder William Floyd
Suffolk County, New York, declared December 17th William Floyd Day. According to Suffolk County Executive Edward Romaine, William Floyd was the only Long Islander to sign the Declaration of Independence and his birthday should be commemorated every year.
He was also the largest slaveholder in Brookhaven. Floyd’s estate was at Old Mystic near present day Mystic Beach is operated by the National Park Service. There is also a contested seven-foot-tall statue of William Floyd at the intersection of William Floyd Parkway and Montauk Highway in nearby Shirley, NY. [Read more…] about Suffolk County Honors former Slaveholder William Floyd
Pride Flag Removed from Only National Park Dedicated to LGBTQ+ History
The Trump regime removed the Pride Flag flying at the first and only National Park dedicated to LGBTQ+ history.
The removal of the flag at Stonewall National Monument comes exactly one year after the National Park Service removed references to transgender and queer people from their webpages, including the page on Stonewall. The move is the latest in a string of removals and changes censuring information on signs and exhibits on public lands that has picked up pace in recent weeks. [Read more…] about Pride Flag Removed from Only National Park Dedicated to LGBTQ+ History
Castle Clinton’s History of War, Immigration, and Entertainment
Located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island, Castle Clinton stands where New York City began and represents not only the city’s growth, but the growth of a nation.
Initially intended to prevent a British invasion in 1812, the fortification has transformed over the years to welcome theatergoers, immigrants, sightseers, and now, millions of visitors to New York Harbor. [Read more…] about Castle Clinton’s History of War, Immigration, and Entertainment
National Park Service Cancels Free Admission on MLK Day, Juneteenth, Adds Trump’s Birthday
The National Park Service announced last week that our national parks will no longer provide free admission on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth.
The park service removed the two official federal holidays that honor Black American history from its 2026 list of free entrance days — and added Donald Trump’s birthday. [Read more…] about National Park Service Cancels Free Admission on MLK Day, Juneteenth, Adds Trump’s Birthday
Historic Preservationists Decry White House Demolition
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sent a letter to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), the National Park Service, and the Commission of Fine Arts seeking a pause in White House demolition for the Trump regime’s massive ballroom project, which would “overwhelm the White House itself,” until legal requirements are met. [Read more…] about Historic Preservationists Decry White House Demolition
Trump Regime Works to Hide American Slavery History
The Trump regime has ordered the removal of exhibits related to slavery at several National Park Service (NPS) sites, including Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, which memorializes the famous 1859 raid against Virginia slaveholders led by John Brown, whose home was at that time located in the Adirondacks.
The mandate stems from a March 2025 executive order targeting content that promotes a “corrosive ideology” or “inappropriately disparages Americans.” [Read more…] about Trump Regime Works to Hide American Slavery History
‘Save Our Signs’ Effort Rushing to Save Banned National Park Service Signs
“The National Park Service is the nation’s largest outdoor history classroom,” echoes a new effort by history advocates hoping to record educational signs being taken down by the Trump regime in the Nation’s national parks, historic sites and other public lands.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, whose first act was to instruct the Department to reduce regulations and expand natural resource extraction efforts, is now asking Americans to report signs in National Parks that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.” [Read more…] about ‘Save Our Signs’ Effort Rushing to Save Banned National Park Service Signs
Upstate New York Museum Community Grant Losses: A List
From Reddit user Stoic Eeyore comes the following list of known Trump regime impacts on Upstate New York State museum and nonprofits in the cultural sector:
Several institutions have lost Save America’s Treasures grants, designed to conserve important museum items. The Greater Hudson Heritage Network (GHHN) received $269,038.00 from Save America’s Treasures in August, to conserve objects from 10 small and mid- size museums in New York State. [Read more…] about Upstate New York Museum Community Grant Losses: A List
Harriett Tubman Removed from NPS Underground Railroad Page
The National Parks Service (NPS), under orders to remove diverse, equitable and inclusive language from its websites by the Trump regime, has taken a portrait of Harriet Tubman off their website about the Underground Railroad and changed the website’s language to remove the term ‘freedom seekers.’
Tubman, whose birth name was Araminta Ross (1822 – 1913), was an activist abolitionist who lived much of her life in New York State, where she is buried. Tubman made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including her family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known collectively as the Underground Railroad. [Read more…] about Harriett Tubman Removed from NPS Underground Railroad Page
A National Park for Women’s Rights: The Campaign That Made It Happen
A National Park for Women’s Rightschronicles a little-known story in American history: the establishment of the Women’s Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, New York; the first “idea park” in the National Park system.
As told by Judy Hart, its founder and first superintendent, the park’s story is one of struggle and perseverance, opposition and solidarity. [Read more…] about A National Park for Women’s Rights: The Campaign That Made It Happen
EPA Begins Biggest Deregulation in History, Calls Climate Change A Religion
On Thursday, March 14th, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency will undertake 31 actions in what an agency press release described as “the greatest and most consequential day of deregulation in U.S. history.” [Read more…] about EPA Begins Biggest Deregulation in History, Calls Climate Change A Religion
Dead Horse Bay: Polluted and Disgusting, but People Can’t Stay Away
A quick glance at Instagram shows some odd hauls from Dead Horse Bay. They’re not windowpane flounder or diamondback terrapins or cockle clams local to the waters. They’re rainbows of vintage marbles, shards of heirloom ceramics, and even rusted bicycles from the era of black and white television.
Scour Reddit from the past year alone and find posts about Dead Horse Bay mudlarking — that is, scavenging the shore for interesting, possibly valuable items. [Read more…] about Dead Horse Bay: Polluted and Disgusting, but People Can’t Stay Away
Some 30 Organizations Join Opposition to Erasure of LGBTQ+ History
The Preservation League of NYS has drafted a statement decrying recent actions by the federal government to rewrite and censor LGBTQ+ history, notably by removing all mention of Transgender and Queer people from the Stonewall National Monument website.
Now nearly 30 historic preservation organizations from around New York State have joined their opposition. [Read more…] about Some 30 Organizations Join Opposition to Erasure of LGBTQ+ History
Stonewall National Monument’s Digital Erasure
An Executive Order issued by President Trump has caused the National Park Service to remove mention of transgender and queer people from the Stonewall National Monument webpage and other Park Service webpages associated with LGBTQ+ history.
Transgender and queer people led the Stonewall Uprising, which began on June 28, 1969, in response to what was then routine police raids on gay bars. The Stonewall Uprising is a key turning point in the LGBTQ+ rights movement in this country and around the world. [Read more…] about Stonewall National Monument’s Digital Erasure
The Day FDR’s Hyde Park Mansion Caught Fire
After President Franklin Delano Roosevelt lost the use of his legs, his son Eliott wrote that his father had a fear of fire. He regularly practiced escaping from their family home, Springwood, in Hyde Park, Dutchess County, NY, in the event that there would be a fire.
During these drills, Roosevelt would crawl on the floor, pulling himself, pretending there was a fire to escape. [Read more…] about The Day FDR’s Hyde Park Mansion Caught Fire
North Country Trail Oral History
In 1980, Congress authorized the North Country Trail as a National Scenic Trail, officially adding it to the ranks of other great American footpaths including the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail. But the trail’s story started long before all of this. [Read more…] about North Country Trail Oral History