History, Natural History & the Arts
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the upcoming rehabilitation of the dam that impounds Chittning Pond, located north of State Route 20 on Albert J. Woodford Memorial State Forest in the town of Sangerfield, Oneida County.
Chittning Pond is a 70-acre pond that is home to a warm water fishery and provides habitat for a multitude of bird, amphibian, reptile, and mammal species. [Read more…] about Chittning Pond Dam (Oneida Co) Improvements Planned
This week on The Historians Podcast: excerpts from 2021 podcasts including David Pietrusza – growing up in Amsterdam NY, public radio pioneer Will Lewis, Justice Robert Best – the historic Fulton County Courthouse, Darren Tracy – historic preservation, Jim Kaplan – New York City’s Wasserstein family, Jerry Snyder – Historic Amsterdam League and Oneida County historian Joseph Bottini – Oriskany’s Trinkaus Manor restaurant. [Read more…] about Historians Podcast Highlights of 2021
Oneida County History Center (OCHC) Trustee and Volunteer Barbara Granato recently acquired 19 boxes of records from county archives that the clerk’s office was removing from storage to be returned to their rightful homes in the town or village where they originated.
The records date from the 1840s, 1850s, and early 1900s and include birth, marriage, deaths, orders of filiation, indentures, and commitments to orphanages. Granato spent 10 months organizing, photographing, and transcribing each record. [Read more…] about 19th Century Oneida County Records Return Home
The Oneida County History Center (OCHC) has named Rebecca M. McLain as the new Executive Director.
McLain is the first woman to hold the position of Executive Director of the Center, which was founded in 1876. [Read more…] about Oneida History Center Names New Director, 1st Woman To Hold Position
The Bates Tavern, named for innkeeper Salmon Bates (1774-1858), was in Northern Oneida County, just south of Ava Corners, then part of the Town of Boonville.
Bates was born in Connecticut and had made his way there with his wife Annie Campbell and their young children, by way of New Lebanon, Columbia County, NY, around 1805. They soon opened a tavern in their house; a place to rest the horses and quench the thirst. [Read more…] about Bates Tavern: A Lost Oneida County Landmark
The Oneida County History Center has announced a free virtual lunchtime lecture by Dr. Peter Van Cleave, looking at Adrian van der Kemp and his work translating the records of the New Netherland colony. [Read more…] about The Politics of Translating New Netherland Dutch Records
The Oneida County History Center has announced a virtual lunchtime lecture with Alexis Albright, curator of the Oriskany Museum, who will look at the Battle of Oriskany, General Nicholas Herkimer and the Tryon County Militia.
The Battle of Oriskany was one of the bloodiest battles of the American Revolution. Loyalists and several hundred Native American allies ambushed an Patriot military party attempting to relieve the siege of Fort Stanwix. [Read more…] about The Battle of Oriskany and Herkimer’s Militia Virtual Lecture
The Oneida County History Center has reopened to the public, following Phase Four reopening guidelines from the CDC and local government officials. Masks or face coverings and social distancing are required. [Read more…] about Oneida County History Center Reopens
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the acquisition of several parcels totaling 662 acres in St. Lawrence, Oneida, and Lewis counties.
The parcels are expected to enhance public access to a variety of recreational opportunities, including hiking, fishing, snowmobiling, and hunting, as well as protect wetlands and forests in the region. [Read more…] about State Acquires Northern NY Lands
During the Great Depression of the 1930s the federal government started numerous programs to provide jobs. One, based on an earlier New York State program established by then Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).
The CCC employed about 3.5 million young men nationwide, with about 210,00 of them at 116 camps across New York State. The camps, for men only, were supervised by the U.S. Army and the Soil Conservation Commission. [Read more…] about A Visit To The Deansboro, Oneida Co, CCC Camp