New Hampshire

Revolutionary War Smallpox Hospital Reinterments on Schedule

April 22, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

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

The Life and Times of John Stark

April 1, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

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

William Gilliland, Philip Skene & the NH Grants at the Eve of Revolution

January 16, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

In the latest episode of the Crossroads of a Continent podcast Tim Dusablon discusses the events in the Champlain Valley leading up to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War including the New Hampshire Grants and loyalists Philip Skene and William Gilliland‘s grand plans for a 14th British colony.

Before the War families from southern New England and eastern New York had settled in “the Grants,” as the New Hampshire-titled lands disputed by the Province of New York but now located in Vermont were known.

They believed that the royal governments of New Hampshire and New York, representing the king, wouldn’t deny the rights of citizens who settled the land, organized governments, paid taxes, and obeyed the laws. [Read more…] about William Gilliland, Philip Skene & the NH Grants at the Eve of Revolution

Burgeoning Black Bear Populations

November 14, 2025 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

A few nights ago, I heard a crash on the front porch and flicked on the light to reveal a black bear’s reflective eyes. It lorded over the contents spilling out of our overturned floor freezer. I opened the door, prompting it to tear back through the screen and off into the night.

With the Northeast black bear population at a record high, this kind of encounter is no surprise. [Read more…] about Burgeoning Black Bear Populations

45 New York City Mayors Were Slavers Records Show

October 31, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Original research backed by compelling historical documents reveals that a staggering number of New York City mayors were enslavers or investors in slave ships. Forty-nine men — including acting mayors — served as mayor until New York legally ended slavery in the state in 1827.

Of those, forty-three (88%) are documented as enslavers or investors in the slave trade. After emancipation there were two mayors involved with slavery, which brings the total number of mayors directly connected to slavery up to forty-five. [Read more…] about 45 New York City Mayors Were Slavers Records Show

The Returned Captive: Jonathan Dore

August 21, 2025 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

The story of sieges and massacres of soldiers at Fort William Henry in August 1757 and two years later to residents of the Indigenous village of St. Francis (Saint-François-du-Lac, a community in Quebec, Canada, also known as Odanak by the Abenaki), are well-known by those with even a casual interest in the French and Indian War (1754-1763).

The story of Jonathan Dore is a small, but interesting tale of capture and self-redemption. His actions during both of those events shed a little more light on their impact on the individuals caught in this harrowing conflict. [Read more…] about The Returned Captive: Jonathan Dore

August 16, 1777: The Battle of Bennington in Context

July 27, 2025 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The summer of 1777 found the British Army well into the campaign season of the third year of the American Revolution. General John Burgoyne, at the head of over 8,000 troops, with accompanying artillery, baggage train, and a supply of boats, had been driving southward for three months, capturing major and minor forts and sweeping aside the Rebel navy and armies which constantly harassed his advance.

His campaign was part of a broad British strategy designed to divide the Colonies in half with one massive, three-pronged attack. [Read more…] about August 16, 1777: The Battle of Bennington in Context

Ira Allen: A New Biography

February 6, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Born on April 21, 1751 in present-day Litchfield County, Connecticut, Ira Allen was a land speculator, revolutionary, pamphleteer, politician, colonizer, and a key figure in the history of Northern New England. He was one of the founders of the state of Vermont and a leader of the Green Mountain Boys. He was the younger brother of Ethan Allen.

In 1771, Allen went to Vermont (then part of the British colonial Province of New York) with his brother Ethan as a surveyor for the Onion River Land Company, which the four Allen brothers established in 1772 (it was dissolved 1785). Their goal was to purchase lands under the New Hampshire Grants and they served a central role in the dispute with the New York over conflicting land claims in the region. [Read more…] about Ira Allen: A New Biography

Northern Forest Canoe Trail Celebrating 25 Years

January 23, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2025, an occasion that is expected to be marked with dozens of community events throughout the Northeast.

The NFCT is an inland water trail tracing 740 miles of Indigenous and historic travel routes across New York, Vermont, Québec, New Hampshire and Maine. The canoe trail starts in Old Forge, NY, and ends in Fort Kent, Maine, traversing 23 rivers and streams, 59 lakes and ponds, 45 communities and towns, and more than 65 portages. [Read more…] about Northern Forest Canoe Trail Celebrating 25 Years

Arctic Charr: A Long Lost Ancient Fish

August 2, 2024 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

If you wanted to see the Sunapee trout, you might be inclined to search in its namesake, New Hampshire’s Lake Sunapee. But this elusive fish has long been extirpated from the Granite State, and from neighboring Vermont, where it once lived in the Northeast Kingdom’s Averill Lakes. A variation may have once lived in a few New York State waters such as Lake George or Lake Champlain. Sunapee trout remains in 14 bodies of water in Maine, which harbors the last endemic populations in the lower 48 states. [Read more…] about Arctic Charr: A Long Lost Ancient Fish

Black Librarians & America’s Battles Over Books

July 11, 2024 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

In 1727, Benjamin Franklin and friends formed the Junto Club (from the Spanish junta or assembly) in Philadelphia, a debating society that probed questions of morality, politics and philosophy. The group was composed of twelve members drawn from diverse backgrounds, but they all shared a spirit of inquiry and a desire to improve society.

Access to books was limited at the time. Most of them were imported and expensive. There were no public libraries. [Read more…] about Black Librarians & America’s Battles Over Books

Road Salt Impacts Aquatic Life Year Round

July 5, 2024 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Road crews across the United States use more than 24 million tons of road salt (sodium chloride) to melt ice and snow each year – triple the volume used in 1975. Road salt is cost-effective and prevents traffic accidents.

But there is an ecological downside to this practice: rain and meltwater dissolve and wash road salt into streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds, where it severely impacts aquatic life and degrades freshwater environments. [Read more…] about Road Salt Impacts Aquatic Life Year Round

Jesup’s Milk-Vetch

May 21, 2024 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

A few ledges along the Connecticut River are home to a rare plant commonly known as Jesup’s milk-vetch (Astragalus robbinsii var. jesupii). In fact, this species, which has been listed as federally endangered since 1987, only grows at six sites along a 16-mile stretch of the river in New Hampshire and Vermont. But conservationists are working to boost the plant’s presence. [Read more…] about Jesup’s Milk-Vetch

“Locusts of the East”: The Yankee Invasion of New York

March 9, 2024 by Guest Contributor 3 Comments

New York by 1820 was becoming a “colony from New England” to use the phrase of President Timothy Dwight of Yale. The “Puritan Pope,” as he was some times called, estimated that 60 to 67 percent of the people of New York had originated in the “land of steady habits.”

The few thousand Puritans who had established a new Zion around Boston in the 1630s were a remarkably energetic, prolific, and self-assertive people. The thin soils on the hilly lands, the harsh winters, and the stern theology of John Calvin created a distinct community spirit and shaped a unique character. [Read more…] about “Locusts of the East”: The Yankee Invasion of New York

School Teacher to Bandit: The Notorious Dell Fellows

February 28, 2024 by Dave Waite Leave a Comment

How does someone growing up in a family of school teachers along the Connecticut River in northeastern Vermont become a notorious criminal by the time he’s in his twenties?

“Dell” Fellows never revealed why, but his notorious reputation was more than justified. [Read more…] about School Teacher to Bandit: The Notorious Dell Fellows

Covered Bridges: Common Questions Answered

December 3, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Many reasons are offered for covering bridges such as providing shelter during inclement weather or so horses wouldn’t be afraid to cross the water. However, the true reason is much more practical – to protect the structure supporting the bridge. Without protection from the weather, the wooden timbers supporting the bridge would decay more rapidly and eventually collapse. [Read more…] about Covered Bridges: Common Questions Answered

To Distress the French and Their Allies: Rogers’ Rangers, 1755-1763

November 3, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

To Distress the French and Their Allies: Rogers’ Rangers, 1755-1763 (Black Dome Press, 2023) is the first volume in a new “Rangers of the French and Indian, Cherokee, and Pontiac’s War” series by Black Dome Press, that is expected to document for the first time the histories of all ranger units, from each of the colonies, that served in the French & Indian War and after.

Volume I begins with the most famous ranger unit of all ― Robert Rogers’ Rangers, which served in the major campaigns in New York and Canada, and then in the Caribbean, and continued to fight in the Cherokee and Pontiac’s Wars. [Read more…] about To Distress the French and Their Allies: Rogers’ Rangers, 1755-1763

Noah Webster’s Dictionary for Independence

September 27, 2023 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

On July 23, 1788, a colorful “Federal Procession” of nearly 5,000 citizens marched through Lower Manhattan in celebration of the ratification of the Constitution. The Order of the Procession was divided in ten divisions representing various trades and professions. One of those involved in the manifestation was a young Federalist and lexicographer by the name of Noah Webster. [Read more…] about Noah Webster’s Dictionary for Independence

O.C. Gilbert: Speaker, Musician, Black Community Organizer in Saratoga

August 28, 2023 by Loraine Wies 4 Comments

In a recent article in the Washington Post, author Sydney Trent narrates the story of Stephanie Gilbert, a descendant of Oliver C. Gilbert, and her quest to learn of her ancestor and visit his place of birth and enslavement. The article briefly discusses O.C. Gilbert’s life in Saratoga Springs, NY, from about 1860 to 1876, when he moved to Pennsylvania.

Saratoga Springs offered many opportunities for employment, and it was said that while many of the Southern gentleman brought their slaves with them as they took in the season at The Spa, many of the Black men and women serving them were probably former enslaved people who had run for their freedom. Moreover, while Gilbert’s primary legacy is as a lecturer and musician, his political activism both before and while living in Saratoga Springs places him in the company of many prominent abolitionists, businessmen and politicians who continued the fight for racial equality as Jim Crow laws were becoming commonplace in America. [Read more…] about O.C. Gilbert: Speaker, Musician, Black Community Organizer in Saratoga

Crown Point Road: Opening Northern New England & Lake Champlain

July 17, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

After the fall of the forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point during the French and Indian War in the fall of 1759, General Jeffrey Amherst ordered the building of the Crown Point Road.

The road was to run across what is now Vermont between Crown Point and The Fort at No. 4 on the Connecticut River in what is now Charlestown, New Hampshire. [Read more…] about Crown Point Road: Opening Northern New England & Lake Champlain

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