• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

Schenectady

The War of 1812 in the Capital District

August 8, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

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

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Albany County, Battle of Queenstown Heights, East Greenbush, James Madison, John E. Wool, Maritime History, Military History, Naval History, Rensselaer County, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society, Utica, War of 1812, Whitehall

Schenectady and the Adirondacks: A Legacy of Conservation

July 29, 2022 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

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

Filed Under: History, Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: 46ers, Adirondack Mountain Club, Adirondacks, Boquet River, camping, Environmental History, Forest Preserve, General Electric, High Peaks, hiking, John Apperson, Kelly Adirondack Center, Lake George, Niskayuna, Paul Schaefer, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society, Union College, wilderness

General Electric & Lake George: Lasting Links

July 27, 2022 by Anthony F. Hall 1 Comment

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

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Nature Tagged With: Adirondacks, Bolton, Environmental History, General Electric, Lake George, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Science History, Warren County

The WGY Players: A Pioneering Radio Acting Troupe

July 18, 2022 by Guest Contributor 3 Comments

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

Filed Under: History, Arts, Capital-Saratoga Tagged With: General Electric, Musical History, Performing Arts, Radio History, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society, Theatre, WGY Radio

Forgotten Farms of Schenectady County

July 12, 2022 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

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

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Food, History, Mohawk Valley Tagged With: Agricultural History, Diary Industry, local farms, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society

Schenectady’s Relationship to Native America

July 7, 2022 by Guest Contributor 2 Comments

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

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Algonquin, American Revolution, Arent Van Curler, French And Indian War, French History, fur trade, Haudenosaunee, Hudson River, Indigenous History, Iroquois, King William’s War, Military History, Mohawk, Mohawk River, New France, Oneida Indian Nation, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society, Seneca Nation, Sullivan_Clinton Expedition

Off the Northway: A New Book by Journalist Stephen Williams

June 21, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

off the northwayThe Saratoga County History Center has announce the publication of Off the Northway (Saratoga County History Center, 2022),  a compilation of 83 articles written by longtime local journalist Stephen Williams, who retired after a 42-year career at the Daily Gazette in Schenectady, NY. [Read more…] about Off the Northway: A New Book by Journalist Stephen Williams

Filed Under: Books, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Ballston Spa, I-87, Journalism, Malta, Newspapers, Political History, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Schenectady County

A Brief History of the Mohawk River

June 20, 2022 by Guest Contributor 2 Comments

painting of Mohawk RiverImagine the Mohawk River flowing with more force than Niagara Falls. Around 22,000 years ago, that’s exactly how it was. During the last ice age, the Laurentide Glacier began to melt, forming a large lake atop the glacier. As the glacier receded north, it opened access to the Mohawk River, which for thousands of years had been buried beneath the two-mile thick block of ice. Suddenly, all that lake water had somewhere to go.

The deluge of water that was released was so great that it carved an entirely new riverbed. It was so great in fact, that geologists gave the river a new name; the Iromohawk. Water rushed down the valley, carving away the cliffs of Clifton Park, the gorge at Cohoes, and the channel at Rexford. The river also curved back onto itself, creating the bend around Schenectady that the Mohawk follows today. [Read more…] about A Brief History of the Mohawk River

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley, Nature, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: Arent Van Curler, Barge Canal, Clifton Park, Cohoes, Engineering History, Environmental History, Erie Canal, Geology, Mohawk River, nature, Rexford, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society, Transportation History

Schenectady Black History & Barber John Wendell

June 14, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

black barber shaves the face of a lounging white man in a barber shopIn the early 19th century, Schenectady played host to a distinctly American process through which hundreds of Black people gained their freedom. Although Schenectady County had a small enclave of free African Americans into the late colonial period, the overwhelming majority of Black Schenectadians were enslaved.

As New York State legislation gradually abolished the institution of slavery by 1827, many Black Schenectadians had to confront a new reality in which they were legally independent, but by no means legally equal.

One of these people was John Wendell [Jr.] whose birth remains shrouded in mystery. [Read more…] about Schenectady Black History & Barber John Wendell

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Abolition, Albany, Albany County, Black History, Civil Rights, Labor History, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society, Social History, Voting Rights

Fallen Game Wardens of New York State

June 5, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Fallen Game Wardens of New YorkThirty-two-year-old John Woodruff of Scotia, New York was a rugged outdoorsman and a crack shot with a firearm, so it was no surprise to those who knew him when he left his job at the real estate office of J.A. Lindsley on State Street in Schenectady to join New York’s Game Protector force. The prospect of an exciting career as a Game Protector was something that appealed to many men who sought to make a living in the outdoors.

John Woodruff’s goal was achieved when he was appointed by New York State Conservation Commissioner George D. Pratt on November 1st, 1919, having finished first on the competitive civil service exam. Had John Woodruff known how short-lived his career would be, and the fate that was about to befall him, he may have had misgivings about the road he had chosen to travel. In April 1921, after missing for a year and a half, the mysterious fate of Game Protector John Woodruff would culminate with the discovery of his remains buried in the bed of Rotterdam Creek in Schenectady County. [Read more…] about Fallen Game Wardens of New York State

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Nature Tagged With: Crime and Justice, Forest Rangers, nature, Rotterdam, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Schenectady County Historical Society, Scotia, Wildlife

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 12
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Support Our 2022 Fundraising

Subscribe to New York Almanack

Subscribe! Follow the New York Almanack each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Recent Comments

  • Bob Meyer on Poetry: Cabin Pantry Discovery
  • Raphael Riljk on The Sinking of the S.S. Normandie at NYC’s Pier 88
  • Christian on Orange County Man Ticketed After Killing Rattlesnake
  • ABSS314 on Orange County Man Ticketed After Killing Rattlesnake
  • Evan Barnett on Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End
  • Evan Barnett on Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End
  • Eva Barnett on Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End
  • ARNOLD on Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End
  • Kim Campbell on Civil War Albany Rises To Action
  • Dave Waite on Alfred Billings Street: Albany’s 19th Century State Poet

Recent New York Books

The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton
vintage babes of broadway book
Mission Begin With Blood
Special Delivery book
killing time in the catskills
the soft city book
occupied america
stewards of the water
Horse Racing the Chicago Way

Secondary Sidebar

preservation league
Protect the Adirondacks Hiking Guide