History, Natural History & the Arts
Before East Line Road marked the boundary between the town line between Ballston and Malta, it marked a community. Today, only a roadside sign hints at what once stood at the crossroads of Route 67 and East Line Road:
“East Line. An early community ca. 1780. ME Church built in 1809. Nearby was a hotel, a tavern, and by 1837 an RR stop.” [Read more…] about East Line Hamlet: A Forgotten Crossroads
In 1895, railroad travel through the Champlain Valley got a service upgrade. “Vestibule dining room cars will be run on three of the Delaware and Hudson trains beginning July 1,” The Morning Star of Glens Falls reported on June 29, 1895. “Train No. 102’s dining car will run from Plattsburg to Whitehall, No. 101 from Whitehall to Rouses Point, and Train No. 8 will serve supper from Rouses Point to Plattsburg.”
In other 19th century railroad news collected from Northern New York historic newspapers: [Read more…] about Northern New York Railroad News, 1880-1895
One of the fun things about living in a very old house is that every now and then, stashed away in a dark corner, you find a completely fascinating remnant of the past. Such was the case when Bill and Bev Betts found a firemen’s convention booklet from 1902 in their 128-year-old Saratoga County, NY, farmhouse. [Read more…] about A Nostalgic Glimpse of Mechanicville, 1902
It was high-speed rail – a little too high speed for some passengers’ comfort level. “The fastest time on the new railroad was made yesterday by the accommodation freight train, which ran from this place [Glens Falls] to Lake George in eleven minutes,” the Glen’s Falls Messenger reported on June 23, 1882. [Read more…] about 19th Century Railroad News from Northern New York
The ambitions of Albany and Troy for commercial supremacy in the nineteenth century illustrate clearly the varied pattern of the transportation history of the United States and furnish a striking example of intercity rivalry. Only a few struggles such as that between Tacoma and Seattle to become the eastern terminus of the transcontinentals can match the bitterness of the Troy – Albany feud. [Read more…] about Albany and Troy: 19th Century Commercial Rivals
In the 19th century, America had vast forests of virgin timber, unlike Europe, which during the Middle Ages had used up most of its largest trees. (The remaining were saved for ships’ masts.)
One of the first developments of the Industrial Revolution was water powered sawmills. Thus was born the covered bridge, made of heavy structural timbers for trusses, and sheathed with easily-replaceable wood sheathing to protect the structure members from rotting. (This was years before creosote was used to protect exposed wood.) [Read more…] about Downtown Troy’s First Bridge Over The Hudson: A Short History
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