New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Roswell P. Flower

The Panic of 1893: Among The Most Severe Financial Crises U.S. History

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Drawing in Frank Leslie's of panicked stockbrokers on May 9, 1893 during the Panic of 1893New York Gov. Roswell Flower used his keynote speech to a national audience on “New York Day” at the Chicago World’s Fair to downplay the threat of the Panic of 1893, which started the nation’s worst depression up to that time.

“This business men of this country deserve the greatest praise for the manner in which they have held their heads above water during these frightful days,” he said, speaking on September 5, 1893. [Read more…] about The Panic of 1893: Among The Most Severe Financial Crises U.S. History

Catskill Fish Hatchery: Home of Historic Trout Fishing

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Catskill Fish Hatchery in Livingston ManorIn the 1890s as the Catskills was becoming a very popular summer resort, in part due to the service provided by the New York, Ontario and Western Railway (O&W), the people of Sullivan County sought to have their own fish hatchery. [Read more…] about Catskill Fish Hatchery: Home of Historic Trout Fishing

Woodsman Willard Howland and his Amazing Critters

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“Williard Howland from the Sun newspaper August 30, 1896,Lotsa Screes in here tonight,” Willard spoke low. “Puts me in mind of a he-scree I see up in Hawk’s Nest one fall when I was trappin’.”

And so began a story that would enliven the trailside or campsite for those who had the privilege to spend time with Willard Howland. Little has been written about the life of this woodsman beyond bits and pieces of the stories he told. It could even be said that his tales, everything from experiences in the woods, to amazing fantasy creatures that inhabited his wilderness, tell more of who Willard was than anything a written history could reveal. [Read more…] about Woodsman Willard Howland and his Amazing Critters

James Hall: New York’s First State Geologist & Paleontologist

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James Hall at age 85James Hall was born on September 12, 1811, to James and Susanna Hall of Hingham, Massachusetts. His father was a weaver trained in England who was making a comfortable living. One day he opened his newspaper and noticed a “help wanted” ad posted by a textile mill in Massachusetts. The salary was far better than James Hall, Sr. could earn in England.

After some inquiry, Hall heard that land in America was more cheap and plentiful than land in England, which was, in most cases, held by the same families for generations. He also heard that food was plentiful and less expensive than England. Like so many other Europeans looking to improve their lives, Hall packed up his family and they departed for the United States.

In 1826, when son James Jr. was 15, he learned of a new school, the Rensselaer School (later Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or RPI) just started at Troy, New York by the Patroon of Manor of Rensselaerswyck, Stephen Van Rensselaer III, and under the academic direction of Amos Eaton. This new school was a departure from conventional classical schools that Eaton called “a kind of literary bondage.” Eaton’s new plan was for a scientific school centered on the “useful arts” and “adapted to the native curiosity and ardor of youth.” [Read more…] about James Hall: New York’s First State Geologist & Paleontologist