New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Schenectady County

The 1832 Cholera Epidemic in the Capital District

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le petit journal Cholera can kill more people more quickly than any other disease. Thousands can die overnight. More people died from cholera in the 100-year period from 1817-1917 than from three centuries of Bubonic Plague (Black Death) during the Middle Ages.

The disease is contracted by the ingestion of water and food with fecal contamination by Vibrio cholerae bacteria, resulting in acute diarrhea, dehydration, and death. Poor sanitation contributes to its spread. [Read more…] about The 1832 Cholera Epidemic in the Capital District

The Schenectady Newsboys’ Association: Some History

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Schenectady Newsboys’ Association Fife and Drum CorpsAround the turn of the twentieth century, many boys sold newspapers on city streets. In Schenectady, as in cities around the country, these boys and young men, known as “newsboys” or “newsies,” were among the main distributors of newspapers to the public.

Newsboys did not work for one particular newspaper; they were independent agents who purchased newspapers from the publishers and sold them around the city. Since they were not allowed to return unsold papers, newsboys worked hard to sell all of their newspapers in order to make a profit. In Schenectady newsies protected their territories and competed vigorously, especially for the potential customers who headed to work at General Electric and the American Locomotive Company each day. [Read more…] about The Schenectady Newsboys’ Association: Some History

Ralph Waldo Emerson in the Capital District in 1852

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Ralph Waldo Emerson courtesy the Library of Congress Throughout the 1840s, members of the commercial and professional classes of New York’s Capital Region cities established “Young Men’s Associations,” loosely based upon the Young Men’s Christian Association recently founded in England. In Schenectady, ten prominent men formed their own Young Men’s Association in an attempt to bring culture to their growing city of 10,000.

Although the Association required an annual fee of $2, members and ladies were allowed to attend the lectures for free. The entrance fee for men who were not members was 25 cents. “The association is the only place in our city, aside from the pulpits, where you are able to find any discoursing,” announced its founders in the Schenectady Reflector. “It is the only place where an amusement of a miscellaneous nature is to be found…It is the only place where the clerk, the mechanic, or lawyer, can spend an hour (profitably) out of his store, workshop, or office.” [Read more…] about Ralph Waldo Emerson in the Capital District in 1852

The War of 1812 in the Capital District

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USS Constitution vs Guerriere in the War of 1812 by Michel Felice Corne (1752-1845)The War of 1812 began on June 18, 1812, when President James Madison signed a declaration of war which began: “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That war be and is hereby declared to exist between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the dependencies thereof, and the United States of America and their territories.”

The causes of the war are quite clear. [Read more…] about The War of 1812 in the Capital District

Vischer Ferry As A Summer Resort

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At the turn of the nineteenth to twentieth century, Vischer Ferry, a hamlet of Clifton Park in Saratoga County on the Mohawk River, was the destination of many picnickers and tourists.

People came from Schenectady, Albany, Troy, Cohoes and even New York City to spend a day, a week, a month or the complete summer in the healthful climate and beautiful surroundings of Vischer Ferry. As quiet 120 years ago as it is today, the village was an ideal spot to escape from the noise and turmoil of the city. [Read more…] about Vischer Ferry As A Summer Resort

Schenectady and the Adirondacks: A Legacy of Conservation

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Upper Falls at the Plotter Kill Reserve courtesy Michael DianaSchenectady has a long history of its residents being active in conservation and outdoor recreation – in Schenectady County and in the wilderness of the North Country, alike.

Schenectadians’ interest in protecting and exploring wilderness has its roots in the mid 1800s with industrialization and westward expansion. The wilderness was at risk of disappearing, and influential nature lovers used their writings to convince Americans that preserving land and wildlife was vital. Many Americans, including people in Schenectady, could easily see the case for this. [Read more…] about Schenectady and the Adirondacks: A Legacy of Conservation

General Electric & Lake George: Lasting Links

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Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt on Lake GeorgeA lot has changed in Sweet Briar Bay on Lake George since 1936, the first year Dr. Doug Langdon looked out upon the lake from the property he now owns.  Horace Barber’s Boat Livery is gone, and so is the Algonquin Hotel above the lake road.

The hotel’s lakefront has been replaced by the Algonquin restaurant and Chic’s Marina, and the level of boat traffic in the bay probably could not have been imagined in 1936. [Read more…] about General Electric & Lake George: Lasting Links

The WGY Players: A Pioneering Radio Acting Troupe

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Early performers on WGYA century after the first commercial radio station began broadcasting, 83% of Americans ages 12 or older listen to the radio in a given week. It’s a technology that we may take for granted now, but the rapid development of radio technology and programming in the early 1920s led to significant changes in American culture and communication. [Read more…] about The WGY Players: A Pioneering Radio Acting Troupe

Forgotten Farms of Schenectady County

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pine grove farmSchenectady County is in a state of revival. New events, businesses, initiatives and people have been coming to the city and surrounding communities to make their mark on one of the oldest settlements in New York State.

As a native to the area, I see two sides to this; it is great to see a new swing of development, making Schenectady attractive to those who don’t already call it home. However, as developers seem to be changing the cityscape ever faster, it is interesting to note where nature has taken its course. [Read more…] about Forgotten Farms of Schenectady County

Schenectady’s Relationship to Native America

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Mohawk “squaw,” watercolorFor many people, “American” history begins with European exploration of the continent. From there, the narrative invariably centers on the colonial perspective and, after 1776, the perspective of the United States.

Consequently, the general public is generally uninformed about the history of Indigenous People that both predates New Netherland and the Pilgrims and persists to the present. And this article is by no means capable of addressing this broad historical issue. So let’s turn from this historical macrocosm to the microcosm of one city, Schenectady. [Read more…] about Schenectady’s Relationship to Native America