New York Almanack

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Astronomical Observatories & Early US Boundary & Coastal Surveys

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A map of the contested New Hampshire Grants from Wikimedia Creative Commons user KmusserBoundary disputes such as the those around the New Hampshire Grants came up everywhere in the colonies. Many colonial grants had been based on parallels of latitude or meridians of longitude. It was no easy matter to mark out these lines.

One famous boundary historically is the Mason and Dixon line between Maryland and Pennsylvania. Mason was an astronomer as well as a surveyor and more astronomical observations were probably made in connection with this line than any other. [Read more…] about Astronomical Observatories & Early US Boundary & Coastal Surveys

Small & Scarce: Early New York Paper Making History

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Illustration of a one tub paper making factory of the late 1700s and early 1800sAbout 1768, New York’s first paper mill was established, but throughout the 1700s New Yorkers suffered from a lack of paper, no more so than during the American Revolution. The industry grew from the need for paper and owes its early history to the rise of printing in America. [Read more…] about Small & Scarce: Early New York Paper Making History

Peggy Shippen Arnold: Wife of the Famous Traitor

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Peggy Shippen Arnold, ca. 1783-89, cropped from portrait by Daniel GardnerThe latest episode of the Crossroads of Rockland History turns attention to the complex story of Margaret “Peggy” Shippen Arnold (1760–1804), the second wife of America’s most notorious traitor, Benedict Arnold. [Read more…] about Peggy Shippen Arnold: Wife of the Famous Traitor

The American Revolutionary Committee System: 1765-1775

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Later illutstration of The Sons of Liberty burning a copy of the Stamp Act in 1765During the controversies over the enforcement of the Navigation Acts, the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765, committees were created in New York to correspond with those of other colonies and to contrive means of opposing those measures. Similar committees were organized elsewhere.

The Townshend Acts of 1767 reawakened the disturbance occasioned by the Stamp Act and furnished a renewed occasion for protests through committees. [Read more…] about The American Revolutionary Committee System: 1765-1775

Germany and the 1876 United States Centennial

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Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876 map chromatic viewThe Allied invasion of Normandy (D-Day) on June 6, 1944, was the moment that cemented the “special relationship” between the United States and Great Britain. The operation required full integration of military planning and intelligence sharing, forging a transatlantic bond that shaped the post-war era.

Winston Churchill coined the phrase in 1946 at the beginning of the Cold War. Today, it is a myth that perpetuates the illusion of British influence, concealing an unbalanced alliance. Ever since the 1956 Suez Crisis there has been an asymmetrical dynamic in which Britain plays a minor role. [Read more…] about Germany and the 1876 United States Centennial

Seth Concklin: A Daring, Dedicated New York Abolitionist

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Freedom Seekers leave Maryland for Pennsylvania, ca. 1830, from William Still's The Underground Railroad (1872) (colorized)Many New Yorkers before the Civil War contributed to the abolition of slavery, and the dangerous work of helping enslaved African-Americans flee their captors. Take Calvin Fairbank, a New York Methodist pastor born 1816, who spent 17 years in prison for his missions to help enslaved people escape.

Seth Concklin, a New Yorker whose name and sacrifice were more familiar in the 19th century, died tragically in 1851 while trying to help a mother and her three children escape from slavery. [Read more…] about Seth Concklin: A Daring, Dedicated New York Abolitionist

Critical Mass and the Road to Revolution, 1763-1776

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Sons of Liberty meet across the American Colonies to discuss resistance to parliamentary overreach shown in "Agitation against tea ships, New York City, 1773" (NYPL)According to Webster’s American Dictionary, “critical mass” is the time when a turning point is reached in a series of events leading to a major action. Scientifically, the term is used when sufficient size of matter leads to a chain reaction, as in a nuclear reactor.

Thus, “critical mass” can help explain the American Revolution. [Read more…] about Critical Mass and the Road to Revolution, 1763-1776

Almanacs: Remarkable Historical Resources

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The New York Almanac for 1891An almanac (often spelled in the old days “almanack”), in its simplest form, is a book containing a calendar that includes notations for holidays and holy days, as well as astronomical information such as the rising and setting of the sun and moon, the phases of the moon, high and low tides. They also often include weather forecasts and agricultural tips.

The history of almanacs spans from ancient Babylonian cuneiform tablets to modern publications (including digital apps). The Oxford Dictionary of English says that the word comes “via Old French and medieval Latin from Spanish Arabic al-manāk (the calendar),” but there remains much discussion of its origins. The word itself, which has roots in the Middle East, seems to have been used in the West with something like its present meaning in the 1200s. [Read more…] about Almanacs: Remarkable Historical Resources

The Establishment of Postal Service in New York

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Cornelis Norbertus Gysbrechts' 'Quodlibet,' 1675What follows is excerpted from “The New York Post Office in Olden Times, by W.B.,Taylor, a paper read before the New York Historical Society on October 7, 1851.

The first regulation providing for the trans­mission of letters by post in the Province of New York, bears [the] date 10 December, 1672, when Governor [Francis] Lovelace [ca. 1621-1675] established “a post to go monthly” from New York to Boston and back again. [Read more…] about The Establishment of Postal Service in New York

New York Watercraft: Pile Drivers & Dredges

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Brooklyn Navy Yard Drydock No 1 construction, 1847The first steam-powered pile driver in the United States is believed to have been a direct­-acting type patented in 1841 and used in construction of Drydock No. 1 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Virtually unchanged since the latter half of the nineteenth century, steam pile drivers play a crucial role in the construction of piers, bulkheads, bridges, and numerous other in-water construction projects such as lighthouses. [Read more…] about New York Watercraft: Pile Drivers & Dredges

The Franklin Stove & The Little Ice Age

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The first (of five) Franklin stove designs, 1744 (Mercer Museum Library of the Bucks County Historical Society). The Little Ice Age was a period of regional cooling, particularly in Europe and North America, roughly from 1300 to 1850.  The winter of 1740-1741 was exceptionally cold in North America. And as Benjamin Franklin looked around his house and neighborhood in Philadelphia, he saw a problem in need of fixing: energy going to waste as people consumed wood to keep their homes warm. [Read more…] about The Franklin Stove & The Little Ice Age

Ruth McGinnis, the ‘Queen of Billiards’

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Renowned billiards player Ruth McGinnis (circa 1924)In November 1939, Ruth McGinnis (1910-1974), the Women’s Pocket Billiard Champion of the World (1932-40) played at Frank’s Pool Parlor in Carmel, Putnam County, NY. McGinnis was left-handed and like many touring billiards professionals of the time, known as a trick shot artist. She typically shot Straight Pool.

McGinnis, nicknamed “Lefty,” started playing billiards at the age of seven at her father’s billiard parlor in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, where she was discovered by Ralph Greenleaf, professional pool and carom billiards player. [Read more…] about Ruth McGinnis, the ‘Queen of Billiards’

Peter Feinman: Save the SS United States

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SS United States arrives in New York Harbor, New York City, 1952Once upon a time, the United States was a can-do country. In 2025, we are celebrating the bicentennial of the completion of the Erie Canal begun in 1817 in Rome, New York. The Marquis de Lafayette in his return trip to the United States in 1824-1825 actually traveled portions of the Erie Canal in June 1825. The American Friends of Lafayette will be celebrating that journey from Niagara Falls to Albany next month.

The completion of the Erie Canal launched an extended period of achievements eventually culminating in the landing on the moon. The opening of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, at the eastern end of the Erie Canal was one spinoff of the construction. The top engineers were drawn to the building of the Canal.

For more than a century to come, the United States was the place to be at the forefront of technological development. [Read more…] about Peter Feinman: Save the SS United States

Philadelphia: An Early History

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Two hundred fifty years ago, in May 1775, delegates from thirteen British North American colonies gathered in Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress.

Why was Philadelphia chosen as the seat of Congress? What made the city a critical hub for revolutionary ideas, commerce, and culture? And how has Philadelphia’s early history shaped the broader narrative of American Independence? Join the Ben Franklin’s World podcast for an exploration of Philadelphia’s early history. [Read more…] about Philadelphia: An Early History

Up the Hudson River: New York to Stillwater in 1783

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Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza (28 March 1750 – 14 July 1816), commonly known as Francisco de MirandaWhat follows is an excerpt from the diary of Francisco de Miranda (1750-1816), who traveled through the United States between 1783 and 1784. A Venezuelan who fought in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolution and the Spanish American wars of independence, his diary was later published as The New Democracy in America: Travels of Francisco de Miranda in the United States, 1783-84 (University of Oklahoma Press, 1963). It has been transcribed by Hudson River Maritime Museum Contributing Scholar George A. Thompson and annotated by John Warren.

Tired from the toil of the trip [from Philadelphia, through New Jersey] and having formed some acquaintances in New York, I thought I would visit Boston and then return to New York, whence I would embark for England. The harshness of the winter held me suspended for some time and finally made me change the plan. The sound and the rivers remained frozen for a long time, obstructing all navigation, and the roads, although covered with snow, became impassable with the frequent thaws — neither sledge nor wheels could attempt them. [Read more…] about Up the Hudson River: New York to Stillwater in 1783

1927: Rural High School Seniors Visit the Big Cities

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BHBL Senior Class in Washington DC, 1940It must have been quite an experience. The anticipation during their senior year must have been quite exhilarating as a group of rural American kids planned for a trip to big cities for what may well have been for some of them the experience of a lifetime.

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Central School District’s Senior class was going on a big-city trip some 400 miles south. [Read more…] about 1927: Rural High School Seniors Visit the Big Cities

Ticking Through Time: Clocks, Watches, and Life in Early America

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Edward Duffield Philadelphia clock-makerDo you know what time it is? In early America, this question wasn’t as simple to answer as it is today.

Urban dwellers in cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston often wondered about the time — but few owned their own watches or clocks. So, how did they keep track of the hours? [Read more…] about Ticking Through Time: Clocks, Watches, and Life in Early America

How Historians Define Ben Franklin’s World

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Portrait of Benjamin FranklinHow do historians define Ben Franklin’s “world?” What historical event, person, or place in the era of Ben Franklin do they wish you knew about?

In celebration of the 400th episode of the Ben Franklin’s World podcast, we posed these questions to more than 20 scholars. [Read more…] about How Historians Define Ben Franklin’s World

Coalition Hopes To Bring Historic Ship to NYC

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SS United States at the Pier in Philadelphia, 2024 (CBS)The battle to save the SS United States, one of America’s most historic ships, which spent most of its career traveling between New York City and Southampton, England, continues. The SS United States Conservancy transferred ownership of the SS United States to Okaloosa County, Florida in order to convert the ship into the world’s largest artificial reef.

The Conservancy had failed in its effort to raise $500,000 to help cover the costs of preservation and reloceation from its pier in Philadelphia where it has sat virtually abandoned for decades. [Read more…] about Coalition Hopes To Bring Historic Ship to NYC

Some History of the US Postal Service

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First US postage stamps, authorized by Congress March 3, 1847You might say that the history of our postal system began when Benjamin Franklin, age 31, was appointed Postmaster of Philadelphia by the colonial British authorities in 1737.

Not that there hadn’t been earlier embryonic attempts at mail service in the colonies, but Franklin was already the very successful proprietor of a print business and publisher of a newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette. His experience had taught him to be a meticulous record-keeper and a master of organization. So it’s hardly surprising that he shaped the Philadelphia mails into a swift and responsive enterprise. [Read more…] about Some History of the US Postal Service

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