New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Oswego River

Northeastern Crayfish: Tiny Predators, Big Impact

by Leave a Comment

In the Northern Hemisphere, crayfish are in the family Cambaridae. Globally, there are around 500 species; North America is home to about 400 of them.Crayfish fill my childhood memories. I spent summers playing in streams, flipping over rocks, and, if I was lucky, catching glimpses of these mysterious little creatures. Most crayfish are nocturnal and dart backwards to escape danger.

An early summer morning last year at Crystal Lake State Park, near Barton, Vermont, brought me back to these moments when I saw a crayfish along the shore in the gently lapping waves. As I knelt for a closer look, I realized I knew so little about crayfish in my backyard. [Read more…] about Northeastern Crayfish: Tiny Predators, Big Impact

Citing Dangerous Conditions, Mayor Bans Oswego River Ice Fishing

by Leave a Comment

Fishing on the Oswego River in February 6, 2026 (Shane Muckey photo)Several weeks of nearly sustained below-freezing temperatures in New York State has brought hard-water anglers (tip to our old friend recently passed – Joe hackett) to dangerous river ice, where currents, ice thickness and stability can be questionable, and rescues dangerous. This last point brought home by the death of a veteran firefighter during an icy Delaware River rescue on February 5th. [Read more…] about Citing Dangerous Conditions, Mayor Bans Oswego River Ice Fishing

The Creation of Fort Ontario State Historic Site

by Leave a Comment

Aerial view of Fort Ontario, ca 2024 (NPS Fort Ontario Special Resource Study)In December 1945, after the Second World War, the last refugee departed the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter on February 5, 1946, and the Fort Ontario Military Reservation returned to the War Department at the end of the month.

The property then transferred to the State of New York on April 3, 1946. Approximately 60 wood-frame buildings constructed in 1941 were demolished. [Read more…] about The Creation of Fort Ontario State Historic Site

Fort Ontario During the American Revolutionary War

by 2 Comments

Map showing the territorial gains of Great Britain and Spain following the French and Indian War with lands held by the British prior to 1763 (in red), land gained by Britain in 1763 (in pink), and lands ceded to the Kingdom of Spain in secret during 1762 (in light yellow)The American War for Independence (1775–1783) centered the Great Lakes in the middle of international conflict. By the 1770s, as tension between Britain and its American colonies reached a breaking point, Fort Ontario which had been constructed during the French and Indian War (1754-1763), was essentially abandoned.

It was located on Native land as defined by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the boundary line established by the subsequent 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix. [Read more…] about Fort Ontario During the American Revolutionary War

Indigenous Transportation & Early Forts at Oswego

by 1 Comment

In attempts to maximize proximity to valuable trade with the Haudenosaunee and other Indigenous nations, Europeans established outposts and forts farther and farther into the interior of Haudenosaunee territory and the Great Lakes.

The French followed the St. Lawrence River into the Great Lakes and discovered that the Oswego River provided a water route inland to the Oswego-Oneida-Mohawk Carry, a trail using the largest portage connecting the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. [Read more…] about Indigenous Transportation & Early Forts at Oswego

Early Upstate New York Roads: Some History

by 2 Comments

Great Genesee Road mapWhat is now New York State saw multitudes of American settlers moving inland from the Atlantic seaboard, especially those “locusts of the east” from New England. Traveling long distances overland before the 20th century was however, difficult to say the least.

In the 1600s their movement was constrained by topography, and settlements were limited to areas in the Hudson and Mohawk valleys previously inhabited or improved by Indigenous People.  Some Indigenous portage trails were described by the earliest settlers as wide paths that a capable ox team and wagon could manage. [Read more…] about Early Upstate New York Roads: Some History

A Rev War Soldier’s Multiracial Combat Experience

by Leave a Comment

1781 watercolor drawing of American soldiers from the Yorktown campaign, showing a black infantryman from the 1st Rhode Island Regiment on the far left by Jean-Baptiste-Antoine DeVergerThe latest A New York Minute in History Podcast highlights the war experiences of the legendary 1st Rhode Island, a multiracial combat regiment that served through the entirety of the American Revolution, from the Siege of Boston to the disbanding of the Continental Army in 1783. [Read more…] about A Rev War Soldier’s Multiracial Combat Experience

The Lives of Lake Ontario: An Environmental History

by Leave a Comment

The Lives of Lake OntarioLake Ontario has profoundly influenced the historical evolution of North America. For centuries it has enabled and enriched the societies that crowded its edges, from fertile agricultural landscapes to energy production systems to sprawling cities.

In The Lives of Lake Ontario (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2024) Daniel Macfarlane details the lake’s relationship with the Indigenous nations, settler cultures, and modern countries that have occupied its shores. [Read more…] about The Lives of Lake Ontario: An Environmental History

Oneida Lake: A Fisheries Profile

by Leave a Comment

Oneida Lake seen from the Yacht Club in Cicero, NYOneida Lake, located northeast of Syracuse, NY, in Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, and Oswego counties, is the largest lake entirely within New York State and is believed to be third only to Lake Ontario and Lake Erie in the total number of anglers who fish its waters. [Read more…] about Oneida Lake: A Fisheries Profile

$350k in Grants Awarded to Finger Lakes Watershed Projects

by Leave a Comment

Cayuga Lake Inlet photo courtesy of Finger Lakes Land TrustNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced $350,000 in grant awards to help partners in the Finger Lakes watershed restore and protect water quality.

The eight projects funded though DEC’s Finger Lakes Watershed Grants Program complement federal, private, and DEC grant programs, as well as achieve the goals outlined in the Great Lakes Action Agenda and aid the implementation of clean water plans in the Finger Lakes. [Read more…] about $350k in Grants Awarded to Finger Lakes Watershed Projects

The French and Indian War: A New York Perspective

by Leave a Comment

Miniature of Fort Prince George under attack by French troops (diorama in the Fort Pitt Museum, Pittsburgh)In the early 1750s, the French were establishing trading posts and building forts along western the frontiers of the British colonies. In the fall of 1753, in part to protect his own claims on Indigenous lands, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie had sent 22-year-old George Washington (then a militia leader and surveyor) to deliver a letter to Fort Le Boeuf at what is today Waterford in northwest Pennsylvania, demanding they stop. [Read more…] about The French and Indian War: A New York Perspective

We Need Your Help Now More Than Ever

New York Almanack receives no public funds.

It’s supported only by readers like you.

Please give today (a monthly recurring gift is best)

PayPal

Venmo

Patreon

Buy Me A Cup of Coffee

CashApp

Use your bank’s “bill pay” option (or just send a check)

Thanks for your support! These are difficult times. Without your support we cannot publish the Almanack.

*Donations are not tax deductible.

(Click the X in the top right corner this box to not see this message again for 7 days).