History, Natural History & the Arts
For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, New York State was a leader in fire engine and apparatus manufacturing. One of the main players in that industry was Lysander Button of Waterford, NY.
Starting around 1831, Button worked his way up the ladder from mechanic turned inventor to owner of the firm that would eventually take his name, the Button Fire Engine Company. [Read more…] about The Button Fire Engine Company of Waterford: Some History
The Friends of Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site have announced that the 30th Annual Not Just for Kids Storytelling series will occur at the Erie Canal historic site.
Award winning storytellers from the region will perform tales to intrigue, legends to compel, and stories that illustrate how we are all connected as human beings. The series is open to the public and is meant for all ages. It runs on Sunday evenings at 6 pm from July 31st to August 28th outside the Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center. [Read more…] about 30th Annual ‘Not Just for Kids’ Storytelling Series at Schoharie Crossing
The hamlet of Fort Hunter in Montgomery County, NY, while small, has been historically significant even since before the American Revolution. It was home to people of the Mohawk Nation and was known as the Lower Castle being downstream or below Canajoharie on the Mohawk River. Being at the confluence of the Schoharie Creek and river it was always an important trade post for goods, food, and cultures. [Read more…] about Historic Fort Hunter: From Queen Anne’s War to the Erie Canal
This week on The Historians Podcast, David Brooks, education director at Schoharie Crossing State Historic site in Fort Hunter, takes a look at life on the wild side of the Erie Canal with tales about the Kilboys, including balladeer Tom Kilboy. [Read more…] about Tom Kilboy: Balladeer of the Erie Canal
Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site will celebrate June as Great Outdoors Month by offering opportunities to enjoy the outdoor spaces at the Erie Canal site.
Great Outdoors Month is a month-long celebration of responsible, healthy outdoor recreation on local, state, and federal lands and waters. [Read more…] about Schoharie Crossing Great Outdoors Month Events
The Delaware & Hudson Canal Company was one of many 19th-century industrial enterprises that relied on the labor of marginalized peoples – immigrants, people of color, women, and children – to operate.
According to National Park Service, “Life on a canal boat was a ‘family business.’ Wives and children worked 15-to-20-hour days along-side boatmen, eking out a meager existence with ‘the company.’ The D&H Canal affected life throughout the region. New towns and industries (boat builders, glass works, foundries) sprang up along the canal. Previous industries — lumber mills, paper mills, tanneries, stone quarries — prospered with improved transportation. Others, like the Rosendale natural cement industry, took advantage of the proximity of the D & H Canal.” [Read more…] about Child Labor on the D&H Canal (Virtual Program)
Just North of Rome, NY, the modern cheese industry was born in 1851. Jesse Williams was a successful farmer and cheese maker but believed by working together as cooperative dairies, farmers could maximize their profits. This led him to start the first cheese factory in the United States, a move that revolutionized agriculture not only locally, but across the nation.
Jesse Williams died in 1864 at age 67. At that time Oneida County was making over eight million pounds of cheese per year. Williams never patented his cheese-making inventions but gave them to the agricultural world. [Read more…] about The Cheese Factory System (Virtual Program)
The Erie Canal historic site, Schoharie Crossing will host several online programs this winter on a variety of history related topics.
Presentations will be offered in two series: Lunchbox Lessons and the Third Thursday Lectures. Both series will be offered live online and most will be recorded for later viewing on YouTube. [Read more…] about Schoharie Crossing Winter Virtual Lectures Schedule
Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site will host Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy’s Conservation Director Sarah Walsh on Wednesday, November 10th for a presentation on wildlife crossings. [Read more…] about Wildlife Crossings (A Virtual Program)
This week on The Historians Podcast, David Brooks of Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site in Fort Hunter, NY, explains how Erie Canal boats were able to cross the fast-flowing Schoharie Creek. [Read more…] about Crossing Schoharie Creek: Erie Canal Stories from David Brooks (Podcast)