History, Natural History & the Arts
The latest expansion of Minnewaska State Park Preserve includes a 291-acre section of the northern Shawangunk Mountains, safeguarding important ecosystems and protecting viewsheds.
Bringing Minnewaska’s total size to 23,974 acres, this acquisition supports the State’s goal to conserve 30 percent of its lands and waters by 2030. [Read more…] about Minnewaska State Park Grows to Nearly 24,000 Acres
In this live episode of the Kaatscast podcast, recorded at the Emerson Resort & Spa on November 8, 2024 and hosted by Brett Barry engages in a detailed discussion with Elinor Levy, Folk Arts Program Manager at Arts Mid-Hudson, about the life and legacy of Clayton “Peg Leg” Bates (1907-1998). [Read more…] about Clayton ‘Peg Leg’ Bates: The One-Legged Dancing Legend
Recent dry and windy conditions have resulted in numerous wildfires across New York State. There are currently six active fires that have burned more than 6,000 acres. New York State has issued a Drought Warning and Very High fire danger in some regions.
Rangers remain on the scene of a 5,304-acre fire in the town of Warwick, Orange County. The Jennings Creek Fire, which straddles the New York and New Jersey border, is now 90 percent contained. [Read more…] about Wildfires, A Drought Warning, and High Fire Danger
In New York State, Ulster County in particular had high rates of enslavement of people of African descent owing to its vast, bountiful farmland and its early settlement by wealthy Dutch, English, and French families.
The stories of those enslaved in Ulster County have long been underserved by historians, and the lives and identities of many are now lost forever, but new research continues to uncover important genealogical and societal information on who the enslaved and their enslavers were, what their lives were like, and the fate of newly emancipated Blacks and their families. [Read more…] about Bearing Witness: Exploring the Legacy of Enslavement in Ulster County, New York
During the American Revolution in August 1778, given advanced warning of an impending raid by Loyalist and their Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) allies, scores of families around Pakatakan (Margaretville, in the town of Middletown, Delaware County, NY) began leaving their homes to seek shelter with families and friends near Kingston. [Read more…] about New York’s Oldest Standing Log Cabin?
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