Public History

State Humanities Councils Win First Round In Court

August 28, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

On August 6, a federal judge in Oregon ruled that the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) acted unlawfully when it ended operating grants to state humanities councils.

The case, brought by Oregon Humanities and the Federation of State Humanities Councils affirmed that these grants — established by Congress more than 50 years ago — are essential to the public humanities and their lawsuit against the Trump regime can proceed. [Read more…] about State Humanities Councils Win First Round In Court

‘Save Our Signs’ Effort Rushing to Save Banned National Park Service Signs

August 13, 2025 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

“The National Park Service is the nation’s largest outdoor history classroom,” echoes a new effort by history advocates hoping to record educational signs being taken down by the Trump regime in the Nation’s national parks, historic sites and other public lands.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, whose first act was to instruct the Department to reduce regulations and expand natural resource extraction efforts, is now asking Americans to report signs in National Parks that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.” [Read more…] about ‘Save Our Signs’ Effort Rushing to Save Banned National Park Service Signs

Jennifer Saunders Appointed Director of New York State Museum

July 15, 2025 by Editorial Staff 3 Comments

The New York State Board of Regents and State Education Department Commissioner Dr. Betty A. Rosa have announced the appointment of Jennifer Saunders as Director of the New York State Museum in Albany, following a competitive national search. Saunders is the first woman to lead the Museum in its nearly 200-year existence.

“A nationally respected museum leader, she brings more than two decades of experience guiding cultural institutions through transformational change to best serve a modern audience, with a distinguished record of institutional transformation, enhancing public engagement, promoting inclusive historical narratives, and advancing institutional sustainability,” the announcement said. [Read more…] about Jennifer Saunders Appointed Director of New York State Museum

Fourth of July in 2026: America’s 250th Anniversary

July 3, 2025 by Dr. Liz Covart Leave a Comment

In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, historians Lindsay M. Chervinsky, Ronald Angelo Johnson, and Kariann Akemi Yokota join host Liz Covart to answer questions about how historians are discussing the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding in 2026. [Read more…] about Fourth of July in 2026: America’s 250th Anniversary

American Revolution: The Memory of 1776

April 16, 2025 by Dr. Liz Covart Leave a Comment

The American Revolution was more than just a series of events that unfolded between 1763 and 1783, the American Revolution is our national origin story– one we’ve passed down, shaped, and reshaped for the last 250 years. But what do we really mean when we talk about “the Revolution?” Whose Revolution are we remembering? And how has the meaning of 1776 shifted from generation to generation? [Read more…] about American Revolution: The Memory of 1776

Saving Arto Monaco’s Theme Park Legacy Wasn’t Magic

April 13, 2025 by Peter Slocum 1 Comment

The magical imaginative world of Arto Monaco – America’s post WWII theme park creative genius – is preserved and protected, rescued from a devastating Adirondack near-hurricane, thanks to grants from the US Government’s Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

That program is now being swept away like the children’s sized castles and riverboat and stagecoaches in Monaco’s Upper Jay Land of MakeBelieve that were ravaged by Tropical Storm Irene. [Read more…] about Saving Arto Monaco’s Theme Park Legacy Wasn’t Magic

New Book Documenting COVID Demonstrates Need to Record Historical Events

April 13, 2025 by Dr. Bruce W. Dearstyne Leave a Comment

Robert Snyder’s new book When the City Stopped: Stories From New York’s Essential Workers (Three Hills, 2025) is an oral history of New York City during the COVID pandemic. Snyder, who is Manhattan Borough Historian, includes interviews assembled by a number of programs during the crisis and his own interviews a couple of years ago, after it ended.

The book brings out the experiences of 45 New Yorkers who lived through the crisis, including sometimes-neglected groups such as transit workers, supermarket check-out clerks, and food delivery people. [Read more…] about New Book Documenting COVID Demonstrates Need to Record Historical Events

Harriett Tubman Removed from NPS Underground Railroad Page

April 8, 2025 by Editorial Staff 10 Comments

The National Parks Service (NPS), under orders to remove diverse, equitable and inclusive language from its websites by the Trump regime, has taken a portrait of Harriet Tubman off their website about the Underground Railroad and changed the website’s language to remove the term ‘freedom seekers.’

Tubman, whose birth name was Araminta Ross (1822 – 1913), was an activist abolitionist who lived much of her life in New York State, where she is buried. Tubman made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including her family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known collectively as the Underground Railroad. [Read more…] about Harriett Tubman Removed from NPS Underground Railroad Page

Trump Attacks on National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) hit New York

April 6, 2025 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

The Trump regime has canceled most of National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant programs and started putting staff on administrative leave. Starting late Wednesday night, state humanities councils and other grant recipients began receiving emails telling them their funding had ended immediately.

Grant recipients have been told that funds from the NEH would be redirected to furthering “the president’s agenda.” As of April 1, 2025, the agency was reportedly asked by the quasi-governmental Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE, named for an internet meme cum crypto currency) to reduce their staffing by up to 80%. [Read more…] about Trump Attacks on National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) hit New York

Veteran AP Reporter Chris Carola Talks About History

April 1, 2025 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Former Associated Press reporter and Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance member Chris Carola is the guest on the Lake George Battlefield Moments podcast. [Read more…] about Veteran AP Reporter Chris Carola Talks About History

A National Park for Women’s Rights: The Campaign That Made It Happen

March 25, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

A National Park for Women’s Rights: The Campaign That Made It Happen (Cornell Univ. Press, 2023) chronicles a little-known story in American history: the establishment of the Women’s Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, New York; the first “idea park” in the National Park system.

As told by Judy Hart, its founder and first superintendent, the park’s story is one of struggle and perseverance, opposition and solidarity. [Read more…] about A National Park for Women’s Rights: The Campaign That Made It Happen

The Borscht Belt in Retrospect

February 26, 2025 by John Conway Leave a Comment

In February of 2020, just before the COVID pandemic became national news, this columnist, your Sullivan County Historian, released a new book, In Further Retrospect. The book was a collection of my “Retrospect” newspaper columns dealing with a wide range of topics from shad fishing on the Delaware River to major hotel fires to Nazis in Narrowsburg.

It was the third time the “Retrospect” columns, first published in 1987, had been collected in book form, following the book, Retrospect in 1996 and Remembering the Sullivan County Catskills in 2008. [Read more…] about The Borscht Belt in Retrospect

In Saratoga County, History Matters

February 12, 2025 by Sean Kelleher Leave a Comment

On a cold February 7th in 1791, Saratoga County officially separated from Albany County, marking its beginning as an independent community. Known as “Saratoga” by Indigenous peoples and later formalized by colonial settlers, the county has long been defined by its strategic location and historical significance. [Read more…] about In Saratoga County, History Matters

Envisioning Seneca Village: A 3D Model of History

February 9, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Seneca Village was a community established by African American landowners in 1825 and destroyed by the City of New York in 1857 for the construction of Central Park.

Research beginning in the 1990s has shed light on the once-forgotten village: a stable, successful, rural home to dozens of families. Much is still unknown, however, and no images or above-ground traces remain, making imagining the village challenging. [Read more…] about Envisioning Seneca Village: A 3D Model of History

Devil’s Kitchen: Warren County’s Nightmare for Drivers

January 19, 2025 by Lawrence P. Gooley Leave a Comment

The colorful name Devil’s Kitchen has been used in numerous book titles, restaurant names, and for hiking destinations in at least seven states.

In Upstate New York we have a version in the Catskills, described here as “quite possibly the most hellacious [bicycle] climb in New York State.” That area, with cliffs, numerous waterfalls, and slippery slopes, has seen many hiker deaths as well. [Read more…] about Devil’s Kitchen: Warren County’s Nightmare for Drivers

Promoting and Preserving Local History

September 24, 2024 by Chris Kretz Leave a Comment

This year, the Association of Public Historians of New York State held their annual conference at Danfords Hotel on Long Island in Port Jefferson, New York. Historians from all corners of the state gathered to network, discuss projects, and learn about new resources. [Read more…] about Promoting and Preserving Local History

Fort Ticonderoga Envisions National Military Museum

August 3, 2024 by Anthony F. Hall Leave a Comment

“Fort Ticonderoga has always been a place of convergence as well as conflict,” says Fort Ticonderoga Curator Dr. Matthew Keagle. With its collections of 18th century objects and documents, the finest of their kind in the world, Fort Ticonderoga is positioned to become a destination for scholars and civilian and military leaders from around the world. [Read more…] about Fort Ticonderoga Envisions National Military Museum

Albany County Swears in Revolutionary War Commission

August 1, 2024 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Preparations are under way in Albany for the 250th anniversary of the United States. Members of USA-250, Albany County’s commission to prepare for the 2026 celebration, were sworn in at the Ten Broeck Mansion in Albany Wednesday. [Read more…] about Albany County Swears in Revolutionary War Commission

Marjorie Lansing Porter’s Contributions to Preserving Adirondack history

July 27, 2024 by Anthony F. Hall 1 Comment

The artist and illustrator Rockwell Kent once suggested that Pete Seeger compose an opera based on Adirondack folk tunes, and that my father write the book. Despite the fact that my father was a friend of Seeger’s, it’s hard to imagine him, a lifelong newspaperman, collaborating on an opera. Nevertheless, the idea is not as far-fetched as it sounds.

In fact, in 1960, Seeger did release “Champlain Valley Songs,” an album based on lyrics and tunes recorded by Marjorie Lansing Porter as she traveled throughout the North Country. [Read more…] about Marjorie Lansing Porter’s Contributions to Preserving Adirondack history

NY State Office of Cultural Education Issues Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Toolkit

July 4, 2024 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The New York State Office of Cultural Education has created a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Toolkit, a resource designed to support New York’s museums, libraries, archives, historical and genealogical societies, and cultural heritage sites. [Read more…] about NY State Office of Cultural Education Issues Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Toolkit

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