This week on The Historians Podcast, Jack Kelly discusses his new book Valcour: The 1776 Campaign That Saved the Cause of Liberty (St. Martins Press, 2021). Rebel forces were led by Benedict Arnold in this key naval battle with Great Britain around Valcour Island on Lake Champlain in Northern New York. [Read more…] about Jack Kelly Talks About His New Book On Battle of Valcour Island
Plattsburgh
Saranac River Restoration Efforts Underway at Former Gas Plant
A former manufactured gas plant (MGP) was located on an approximately 11-acre area in Plattsburgh near the Saranac River from 1896 to 1960. The coal tar by-product of the manufacturing process was pumped into an on-site unlined lagoon for storage.
It was later discovered that the coal tar by-product seeped out of the unlined lagoon into bedrock and the nearby Saranac River. [Read more…] about Saranac River Restoration Efforts Underway at Former Gas Plant
DEC Plans To Shore-Up Saranac River’s Imperial Mills Dam
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the release of final plans for the Imperial Mills Dam on the Saranac River in Plattsburgh.
The plan shores-up the dam to bring it into compliance with dam safety regulations and adds a carry for paddlers and a fish ladder to provide for passage of landlocked Atlantic salmon. There have been calls to remove the dam entirely, including by Lake Champlain Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the City of Plattsburgh and return the river to a more natural state and reduce the threat of flooding in the city. DEC’s announcement said they met with Clinton County officials before finalizing the plan. [Read more…] about DEC Plans To Shore-Up Saranac River’s Imperial Mills Dam
Champy: A Legendary Lake Monster As History
A New York Minute In History is offering the first episode of a special series on folklore.
In this initial journey of the “Legends and Lore of The Empire State” series, co-hosts Devin Lander and Lauren Roberts explore the legend behind a storied lake monster in Northern New York. [Read more…] about Champy: A Legendary Lake Monster As History
Politics and War Preparations: Charles Evans Hughes in Plattsburgh
No one, other than railroad workers, was around on Sept. 5, 1916 when the campaign train of Republican presidential candidate Charles Evans Hughes stopped at the Louisville, Kentucky station, en route to Lexington and eventually upstate New York. [Read more…] about Politics and War Preparations: Charles Evans Hughes in Plattsburgh
John H. Moffitt’s North Country Political Biography
Constituents in New York’s 21st Congressional District, unlike U.S. Rep. Constantine B. Kilgore, D-Texas, didn’t get caught taking summer naps, joked The Plattsburgh Sentinel on April 5, 1889.
Kilgore, better known by the nickname “Buck,” had persistently blocked Republican John H. Moffitt, who represented New York’s North Country, from securing a $10,000 appropriation to construct a road through the military reservation in Plattsburgh. [Read more…] about John H. Moffitt’s North Country Political Biography
How William Beaumont Changed Medical History
In 1822, a fur trapper named Alexis St. Martin was accidentally gut-shot by a shotgun in Mackinac Island, Michigan. Near death, he was treated by William Beaumont, an Army physician who for much of his career had practiced medicine in Clinton County, New York. What followed was a remarkable chapter in medical history, one that resonates today. [Read more…] about How William Beaumont Changed Medical History
Suffragist Inez Milholland Talk Planned
Clinton County Historical Association Director Helen Allen Nerska is set to give a presentation on suffragist Inez Milholland, Tuesday, February 18th.
Inez Milholland, buried in Lewis, New York, was a nationally respected suffragist who eventually gave her life in the movement. In 1912, Milholland spoke in Plattsburgh. Her father and sister also worked to help persuade Clinton County voters to approve a 1917 change to the New York State Constitution that allowed women to vote. [Read more…] about Suffragist Inez Milholland Talk Planned
Golfer Babe Ruth Played at Plattsburgh’s Hotel Champlain
Babe Didrikson’s visit to the North Country in 1934 was historic, especially for Plattsburgh, where it was acknowledged as one of the greatest moments in the city’s history. She was an American hero (thanks to a startling performance in the 1932 Olympics), undeniably one of the world’s top athletes, and a phenomenon because of her high levels of talent in various sports. Plattsburgh’s remote location in New York’s northeast corner makes it difficult to get noticed, so Didrikson’s visit was regarded as a major coup.
Coincidentally, she wasn’t the only Babe from the stratosphere of sports fame to visit Plattsburgh in the 1930s. Even more unlikely is that both Babes were among the most famous athletes in America, and both were able competitors in sports other than the one that brought them the greatest fame. Didrikson, a track-and-field gold medalist, brought her basketball team to Plattsburgh, while Babe Ruth, a baseball giant, came north to play in an international golf tournament. [Read more…] about Golfer Babe Ruth Played at Plattsburgh’s Hotel Champlain
Jackie Archer: A North Country Civil Rights Inspiration
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired a national movement and remains a catalyst for peaceful change after he was martyred for the cause. He was hardly beloved by all: many felt threatened by him, and when he protested against the war in Vietnam, many criticized him for losing focus and supposedly deserting the primary goal of addressing racial inequality.
Millions supported his efforts, but it was a chaotic time, filled with uncertainty about the future. With the bitterness, hatred, and violence that was revealed, even on the nightly TV news, it sometimes seemed doubtful that true change could ever be achieved.
But Dr. King wasn’t alone as a leader. Others took up the mantle at all levels of society, including in Clinton County. [Read more…] about Jackie Archer: A North Country Civil Rights Inspiration