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Schenectady County

A Bridge at Vischer Ferry: Some Clifton Park History

April 27, 2023 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

Vischer Ferry Bridge ca 1900Before the Northway was built, travelers would gain access to Clifton Park from the south by crossing the Mohawk River at either the Route 9 bridge to Crescent, or the Route 146 bridge to Rexford.  These bridges existed since the early nineteenth century.  Between these two bridges there were three ferries: Dunsbach Ferry, Forts Ferry and Vischer Ferry.  The most logical place for another bridge was at Vischer Ferry.  This would provide direct access into the heart of Clifton Park. [Read more…] about A Bridge at Vischer Ferry: Some Clifton Park History

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley Tagged With: Clifton Park, I-87, Mohawk River, Saratoga County, Schenectady County, Transportation History, Vischer Ferry

Exemplary History Museums: Informative & Entertaining

April 4, 2023 by Bruce Dearstyne Leave a Comment

Saratoga Auto Museum Spring Auto ShowDuring the past couple of weeks, I visited the Saratoga Automobile Museum in Saratoga Springs and the Empire State Aerosciences Museum in Glenville. They are both outstanding for several reasons including the fact that you can see (and sometimes touch) historical relics and artifacts of sorts; they show how many automobiles and aircraft companies started in New York State; and their personnel include docents who are very knowledgeable and eager to answer questions. [Read more…] about Exemplary History Museums: Informative & Entertaining

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, New Exhibits Tagged With: Empire State Aerosciences Museum, Glenville, Museums, Saratoga Auto Museum, Saratoga County, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady County

Recent Archaeology at the Joseph Yates House in Schenectady County

April 3, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Joseph Yates farm house in Glenville NYDaniel Mazeau and Aaron Gore, archaeologists with Beverwyck Archaeology, recently completed field investigations and research for the Yates house and property in Glenville, Schenectady County, NY, once home to the family of Joseph Yates (1707-1748). Yates was the grandfather of Joseph Christopher Yates (1768-1837), a lawyer, politician, statesman, founding trustee of Union College and longtime Schenectady Mayor who also served as the 7th Governor of New York in 1823-1824. [Read more…] about Recent Archaeology at the Joseph Yates House in Schenectady County

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Events, History, Mohawk Valley Tagged With: Andrew Jackson, Archaeology, DeWitt Clinton, Glenville, Joseph Yates, Legal History, Martin Van Buren, Political History, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society, Yates, Yates County

When Mommy Was a Commie

February 10, 2023 by Bob Cudmore 1 Comment

This week on The Historians Podcast, When Mommy Was a Commie (Troy Book Makers, 2022) is a comic historical novel set in Schenectady in the early 1950s, inspired by real-life episodes from America’s spy war with Russia. Author Jon Sorensen was a newspaper reporter for The Schenectady Gazette, Buffalo News and New York Daily News. [Read more…] about When Mommy Was a Commie

Filed Under: Arts, Books, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Cold War, General Electric, Labor History, Podcasts, Political History, Schenectady, Schenectady County

Mohawk River Basin Grants Available

February 4, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Mohawk River Basin courtesy DECThe Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is offering $600k in Mohawk River Basin Grants to help municipalities, soil and water conservation districts, school districts, colleges and universities, and not-for-profit organizations to implement the goals and objectives of the Mohawk River Basin Action Agenda 2021-2026, a five-year plan advancing efforts to conserve, preserve, and restore the Mohawk River and its watershed. [Read more…] about Mohawk River Basin Grants Available

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley, Nature, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: Albany County, DEC, Fulton County, Grants, Hamilton County, Herkimer COunty, Lewis County, Madison County, Mohawk River, Oneida County, Otsego County, Saratoga County, Schenectady County

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in Schenectady

January 5, 2023 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

Buffalo BillOn the evening of January 11, 1917, the Schenectady Daily Union announced the passing of William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody, who died the day before in Denver, Colorado, at age 71.

The Union Star described Cody as a “remarkable man,” a “hero of thousands of exploits,” and published a photograph of Cody with an extensive survey of his life and career as a guide, trapper, Pony Express rider, stagecoach driver, Civil War veteran, Medal of Honor recipient for gallantry, buffalo hunter (thus the nickname “Buffalo Bill”) and master showman. [Read more…] about Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in Schenectady

Filed Under: Arts, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Circus, Cultural History, Horses, Ned Buntline, Performing Arts, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society, Theatre

The Albany Origins of the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop

December 30, 2022 by Peter Hess 2 Comments

Dudley Observatory first building in Albany ca 1880The Capital District’s Dudley Observatory is considered “the oldest non-academic institution of astronomical research in America.” Originally, it was located north-east of downtown Albany, NY.

Construction there began in 1852 and the facility was dedicated in 1857.  Albany’s Congressman Erastus Corning, the founder and first president of the New York Central Railroad, was instrumental in donating a high quality telescope and time-keeping system at the new Dudley Observatory in Albany. [Read more…] about The Albany Origins of the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, New York City Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Dudley Observatory, Erastus Corning, New York Central RR, New York City, railroads, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Science History, Siena College, Transportation History

John Isaac DeGraff: Schenectady’s First Elected Mayor

December 11, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

John Isaac DeGraffJohn Isaac De Graff (October 2, 1783 – July 26, 1848) was a U.S. Representative from New York. Born in Schenectady, De Graff attended the common schools and Union College and engaged in mercantile pursuits and the practice of law in that city.

He served in the War of 1812 and was elected as a Jacksonian Democrat to the Twentieth Congress (March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1829). [Read more…] about John Isaac DeGraff: Schenectady’s First Elected Mayor

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Albany County, Erie Canal, Mohawk & Hudson Railroad, Political History, politics, Saratoga & Schenectady Railroad, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society, Transportation History, War of 1812

Patent Medicine History: Schenectady’s Pink Pills for Pale People

December 5, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Pink Pills for Pale People advertisementPatent medicines, packaged drugs with incompletely disclosed contents, were plentiful and profitable in the United States from the period directly following the Civil War through the early twentieth century.

Before the first Pure Food and Drug Laws were passed, the manufacturers and promoters of patent medicines made millions of dollars from a credulous public eager for cures for a variety of ailments, and from many who were unable to afford the regular care of a doctor. [Read more…] about Patent Medicine History: Schenectady’s Pink Pills for Pale People

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Advertising, Influenza, Medical History, Patent Medicine, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society, Science History

The Schenectady Fire of 1861

November 28, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Painting of Dutch Reformed Church on fire in 1861The City of Schenectady is no stranger to fires. Every school child learns of the destruction of the fledgling village in February 1690 at the hands of the French and their Native American allies.  Many know the story of the Great Fire of 1819, which started in a currying shop (where the stretching and finishing of tanned leather was carried out) on Water Street, was spread by strong winds in a northeastern direction, and ultimately destroyed most of the buildings in city west of Church Street from Water Street to the Mohawk River.

The Schenectady Fire of 1861 started innocently enough: boaters on the Mohawk River noticed wisps of smoke emanating from a pile of brush near the southwest corner of a large frame warehouse along the north side of West Front Street (Cucumber Alley) around 4 pm on August 6, 1861. [Read more…] about The Schenectady Fire of 1861

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Fires, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society

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