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
On the April episode of Crossroads of Rockland History we explored the life and artistic legacy of Sidney A. Simon (1917–1997). On the occasion of an exhibition of his works at the Blue Hill Art and Cultural Center (Pearl River, NY), two of Simon’s children, Teru Simon and Mark Simon, joined Clare Sheridan to share memories of their father and their own recollections of growing up on South Mountain Road in Rockland County. [Read more…] about Life and Artistic Legacy of Sidney Simon
Hand-built in the mid-1800s, the 4,000-foot-long Piermont Pier on the Hudson River in Rockland County was once a terminus of the longest railroad in the world – the Erie Railroad.
Hampered by rules about railroads crossing state lines, the Erie built a pier nearly a mile long across the marshy bay at Piermont and out to the deeper parts of the Hudson River, where steamboats could pick up passengers and take them on to New York City. [Read more…] about Hudson River Railroad & Steamboat History: Piermont Pier
To celebrate Women’s History Month (March 2022), Crossroads of Rockland History focused our attention on the women of South Mountain Road (Rockland County) who, like their male counterparts, were gifted artists and intellectuals.
Historical Society of Rockland County’s Executive Director Susan Deeks joined Clare Sheridan to discuss some of these notable women and why they deserve a prominent place in the history of American arts and letters. Lita Hornick, Martha Ryther, Lotte Lenya, Eva Zeisel, Bessie Breuer and Mary Mowbray-Clarke were discussed. [Read more…] about Artists & Intellectuals: The Women of South Mountain Road, Rockland County
In his 1653 poem on “The Character of Holland,” a piece of stereotypical English propaganda that was written in an era of fierce Anglo-Dutch economic rivalry, poet and politician Andrew Marvell ridiculed the Low Countries as being composed of “undigested vomit from the sea.”
The satirist did not mention the fact that out of this appalling spew the Dutch created bricks that were used by architects to build their characteristic cities which, in turn, inspired the flourishing genre of the cityscape in seventeenth century painting. Both bricks and building skills were at the time exported to England and across the Atlantic. [Read more…] about The Beauty of Bricks: Amsterdam, Delft & Manhattan
On the February 2022 episode of “Crossroads of Rockland History,” Clare Sheridan revisited the interview with historical archeologist Joan Geismar, and the fascinating area known as Skunk Hollow. Dr. Geismar has been a practicing urban archaeologist since 1981 and wrote her dissertation on free black community that lasted from 1806 until 1905.
The first known deed dated 1806 belonged to Jack Earnest from Palisades. In 1841, William Thompson, an African Methodist Episcopal itinerant preacher bought Jack’s house, built a church on his land, and became resident preacher. Over one hundred families lived in Skunk Hollow including the Browns, Olivers, Siscos, Thompsons, Williams and others. [Read more…] about Skunk Hollow: A Free Black Community (1806-1905)
On the December 2021 episode of “Crossroads of Rockland History,” host Clare Sheridan interviewed Rachel Whitlow, the acting Executive Director of the Haverstraw Brick Museum and Center for Historic Preservation.
They discussed the Museum’s new innovation series of exhibitions; interesting collaborations with organizations, including the Pratt School of Architecture; and the museum’s goal to engage the community through history, STEAM education, and hands-on living history experiences. [Read more…] about The Haverstraw Brick Museum (Podcast)
On the November 2021 episode of Crossroads of Rockland History, host Clare Sheridan interviewed A.J. Schenkman, a frequent New York Almanack contributor and author of a new book entitled Patriots and Spies in Revolutionary New York (Globe Pequot, 2021).
Ann Bates, Enoch Crosby and other notorious figures in the American Revolution were discussed. [Read more…] about AJ Schenkman On Crossroads of Rockland History Podcast
The September 2021 episode of “Crossroads of Rockland History,” was a two-part episode. First, host Clare Sheridan read “The True Story of Major André’s Toe,” as written by Palisades Historian Alice Gerard. (The story appeared in the HSRC’s South of the Mountains history quarterly).
This story is relevant right now, because one hundred years ago, Major John André’s remains were exhumed by order of the Duke of York and moved from Tappan, NY (the site of André’s hanging) to Westminster Abbey. Part 2 revisited our interview with author Mary Beth Keane about her book Fever, the historical fiction exploration of Mary Mallon, a.k.a. Typhoid Mary — a story of that is more relevant today than ever. [Read more…] about Major André’s Toe & Typhoid Mary on Rockland Co Podcast
The July episode of “Crossroads of Rockland History,” turned its attention to the life and career of Steve Possell, who is retiring after a fifty-year career in local Rockland County radio.
First at WRKL and now at WRCR, Possell has had an impact on local radio and our community that can only be called significant. We learn about how he got started in radio, his favorite moments over the past decades on the air and his plans for retirement. [Read more…] about Steve Possell’s 50 Years on Rockland County Radio