History, Natural History & the Arts
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the grand opening of the Hudson Valley segment of the New York State Birding Trail to highlight the State’s world-class and wide-ranging birding opportunities.
The Hudson Valley segment includes 39 locations on public lands throughout six counties, providing a variety of quality birding experiences for New Yorkers and visitors to enjoy. [Read more…] about Hudson Valley Segment of Statewide Birding Trail Opens
Hudson Highlands residents Barry and Mary Jean (MJ) Ross have donated their collection of Hudson River postcards to the Putnam History Museum.
The collection is comprised of 240 distinct early 20th century postcards with scenes of the Hudson River Valley – and related views, activities, landmarks, and landscapes – from New York Harbor to the Adirondacks. [Read more…] about Putnam History Museum Acquires Hudson River Postcard Collection
The modernized Taconic Outdoor Education Center at Fahnestock State Park has opened in November after a two-year renovation project. [Read more…] about Education Center Updated at Fahnestock State Park
The Arkell Museum and the Canajoharie Library were created by Bartlett Arkell, the founder and president of the Beech-Nut Packing Company as a gift to that community in 1927.
Arkell collected art work for the facility, much of it having a Mohawk Valley theme, with a zeal which can only be admired. His generous gift remains a very accessible collection to be appreciated by a grateful posterity. [Read more…] about Harriet Whitney Frishmuth’s ‘Humoresque’ Cavorting at Canajoharie
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has confirmed that several white-tailed deer in the towns of Nelsonville and Cold Spring in Putnam County, and near Goshen in Orange County, died after contracting Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD).
EHD is a viral disease of white-tailed deer that cannot be contracted by humans. [Read more…] about Viral Deer Disease Confirmed in Putnam, Orange Counties
I recently attended the Putnam County Historians’ Roundtable. The meeting was called by the Putnam County Historian’s Office and was held in early December at the Putnam County Historical Society in Cold Spring.
To read about that meeting and to see if it is applicable to your county, click here.
When you enter the hamlet of Wallkill, you are greeted by the happy face of the Borden Company’s mascot, Elsie the Cow. The company’s website states that this mascot dates to the 1930s.
Underneath Elsie is a sign stating that the Hamlet of Wallkill was the location the “Home Farm” of John G. Borden. Thus, many commonly believe that Borden Condensed Milk was in fact invented in the Hamlet of Wallkill; however, its origins can be traced to Burrville, Connecticut and Gail Borden, Jr. Actually, the business was not originally called Borden at all – that title would come later. [Read more…] about Everyone Knows Elsie: A Short Borden Company History
Putnam County Historian Dr. Sarah Johnson will lead a lecture entitled “Votes for Women! Putnam County in the Struggle for Women’s Suffrage,” sponsored by the Putnam Valley Historical Society, on Sunday, November 12 at 1 pm.
In Putnam County, the push for Women’s Suffrage began to heat up by the early 1890s and continued through the 1910s, with setbacks including the defeat in the election of 1915 in New York State. Numerous local women’s suffrage supporters gained traction for the movement by hosting and giving talks, organizing booths at local civic events, and marching in Albany and Washington, D.C. [Read more…] about Women’s Suffrage in Putnam County Talk Sunday
Although his father was said to have been born as a slave, and was later a junk dealer in the Augusta, Georgia area, Sumner H. Lark came to be a trend-breaking black leader in New York State who worked to establish an African-American community in Putnam County.
Sumner Lark was born in in 1874 to a father later described as “a pioneer race business man in his home town and accumulated a considerable fortune at one time.” He grew up in the Augusta area, and attended the Haines Institute before attending Howard University, graduating in 1897. He then returned to Georgia, taught Chemistry and Physics at Haines and ran a local newspaper for about a year, having edited a student-run newspaper in college. After marrying he relocated to Brooklyn, New York just after the start of the 20th century. There, he ran his own printing business, and started The Eye, a newspaper which reported information of interest to African Americans. [Read more…] about Sumner Lark’s Putnam County African-American Projects
The Association of Public Historians of New York State (APHNYS), Region 3, will hold its 2014 meeting on Saturday, September 20, 2014 from 9:45 am to 2:00 pm at the Westchester County historical Society, 2199 Saw Mill River Road, Elmsford, NY. Region 3 includes Dutchess, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, and Orange counties.
Registration for the 2014 APHNYS Region 3 Meeting should be mailed to: Suzanne Isaksen, APHNYS Region 3 Coordinator, 10 Windrift Lane, Walden, NY 12586-1524. Include the names and titles (e.g. “Town of Montgomery Historian”) of attendees, along with telephone and e-mail contact information. A fee of $10.00 per person is being charged to help defray costs of lunch and refreshments. Make checks payable to APHNYS. [Read more…] about Lower Hudson Valley Public Historians Meeting