New York Almanack

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Rome

Jock Wright & Dut Barber: Honondaga Lake History

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Map of Jock’s Lake is taken from the 1876 E. R. Wallace Map of the Adirondack WildernessOne of the earliest written accounts of Jock’s Lake in the Adirondacks (about twenty-five miles east of Boonville) was given by Jeptha Simms in his 1850 book Trappers of New York: A Biography of Nicholas Stoner & Nathaniel Foster:

“Jock’s Lake, so-called after Jock (Jonathan) Wright, an early trapper upon its shores, is a very pretty lake, five or six miles long, though not very wide; and is situated in the north-eastern or wilderness portion of Herkimer County, some ten miles from a place called Noblesborough. Its outlet is one of the sources of the west branch of West Canada Creek.” [Read more…] about Jock Wright & Dut Barber: Honondaga Lake History

Simeon DeWitt: America’s Surveyor General

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The Roemer map of Albany 1698 showing fort orange and BeverwyckTjerck Claeszen DeWitt immigrated to New Amsterdam (now New York City) from Grootholt in Zunterlant in 1656. Grootholt means Great Wood and Zunterland was probably located on the southern border of East Friesland, a German territory on the North Sea only ten miles from the most northerly province of the Netherlands.

By 1657, Tjerck DeWitt married Barber (Barbara) Andrieszen (also Andriessen) in the New Amsterdam Dutch Church and moved to Beverwyck (now Albany). While in Beverwyck, he purchased a house. At this time Albany contained 342 houses and about 1,000 residents, about 600 of whom were members of the Dutch Church. [Read more…] about Simeon DeWitt: America’s Surveyor General

B-52s Were Ready to Fly in Central New York

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The Historians LogoThis week on The Historians Podcast Jim Coulthart, an amateur aviation historian, tells airplane tales based on a collection of aircraft incidents, and accidents dating back to the Second World War with ties to Central New York.

Coulthart spent a year and a half curating family accounts, newspaper clippings, online resources, and official reports to develop a program on local aviation history. Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, NY, was in use from 1942 until 1995 when the federal government closed the base. At one point B 52 bombers were assigned to Griffiss which is now the Griffiss Business and Technology Park. [Read more…] about B-52s Were Ready to Fly in Central New York

Griffiss Air Force Base Subject of Video Series

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Griffiss AFB courtesy Rome Historical SocietyOn January 18th, 2022 Rome Historical Society (RHS) announced a new video series called The Griffiss Experience. Throughout 2022 RHS will release four videos on YouTube, featuring members of the community and their memories of Griffiss Air Force Base. [Read more…] about Griffiss Air Force Base Subject of Video Series

Video Tour Tracks British Troops at Fort Stanwix in 1777

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Fort Stanwix Map 1777The Rome Historical Society (RHS) has released The British Lines, a digital tour reviewing the movement of British troops during the Siege of Fort Stanwix in 1777. [Read more…] about Video Tour Tracks British Troops at Fort Stanwix in 1777

General Peter Gansevoort’s Map

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Gen. Gansevoort statueA sculpture of Brigadier General Peter Gansevoort stands in a city park named in his honor at Rome, Oneida County, NY.  This bronze, dedicated November 8, 1906, was created by Emilio F. Piatti. It presents the General in dress uniform grasping his sword and holding what is perhaps one of the most impactful tools (or weapons) ever devised – an accurate map. [Read more…] about General Peter Gansevoort’s Map

Fish Hatcheries Battle Herons

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Blue Heron at fish hatchery courtesy DECDEC’s nine cold water fish hatcheries collectively produce over 6.4 million fish annually. Unfortunately, a significant number of these trout and salmon are lost to a variety of predators in search of a “free meal.”

One predator that causes most fish losses is the great blue heron. At the Caledonia Hatchery it’s not uncommon to have upwards of 40 great blue herons surrounding the ponds during the spring. [Read more…] about Fish Hatcheries Battle Herons

African American Voting Rights History Panel Set

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rome historical society logoThe Rome Historical Society (RHS) is set to host to a panel discussion presented by Rome’s Afro-American Heritage Association (AAHA) on Wednesday, February 26th.

The topic of this discussion will be African Americans and the Vote which is the Association for the Study of African American Life and History’s (ASALH) 2020 African American History Month theme. [Read more…] about African American Voting Rights History Panel Set

Rome Memories Photo Collection Highlights

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rome memories bookThe new book Rome Memories, A Photographic History of the Early Years (Rome Daily Sentinel, 2019) offers a glimpse into life in Rome, NY from the mid 1800s through the 1930s.

Rome Memories is a compilation of scanned images obtained from the public, and the collections of the Rome Historical Society and Oneida County History Center. [Read more…] about Rome Memories Photo Collection Highlights