Initially, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Iroquois) claimed neutrality during the conflict between Britain and the colonists, seeing the disagreement as a civil war and valuing loyalty to their families and to their lands above all else. When the political discontent erupted into the American Revolutionary War, the member nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy split their support between the British and newly formed American forces. [Read more…] about The American Revolution in the Finger Lakes
Seneca Lake
Early Inhabitants of the Finger Lakes Region
According to archeological records, groups of nomadic Paleo-Indians traveled through the Finger Lakes region approximately 8,000 to 9,000 years ago. Small bands of these hunters and gatherers followed large game during the last stages of the Ice Age when the glaciers that formed the area’s notable lakes were receding.
Somewhat more recent early archaic archeological sites scattered across Western New York reflect a culture that was highly mobile and left little in terms of an archeological record. [Read more…] about Early Inhabitants of the Finger Lakes Region
Geologic Formation of the Finger Lakes
Approximately 600 million years ago, during the Neoproterozoic Era, the Earth’s supercontinent began to break apart, and an ocean formed between land masses that roughly correlate to Europe and North America today. For the next 100 million years, this ocean continued to widen until the continents changed course and began to move back towards each other.
The eventual collision of these land masses formed a tall mountain range now known as North America’s Appalachians. [Read more…] about Geologic Formation of the Finger Lakes
National Park Service Declares Finger Lakes Eligble For National Heritage Designation
On Tuesday, July 18th, the National Park Service delivered the Finger Lakes National Heritage Area Feasibility Study to Congress. The feasibility study determined that the study area in the Finger Lakes region of New York state meets the criteria to be eligible for inclusion as part of the National Heritage Area System. [Read more…] about National Park Service Declares Finger Lakes Eligble For National Heritage Designation
Historic Preservation: Landmark Society Names Five to Revive
The Landmark Society of Western New York has announced its 2022-23 Five to Revive – a list that identifies opportunities for targeted, strategic revitalization. The announcement was made at a news conference last week at the Landmark Society headquarters in the Warner Castle in Rochester. [Read more…] about Historic Preservation: Landmark Society Names Five to Revive
Catharine Creek Wildlife Area Meeting Planned
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will host an open house to share details about a recently completed habitat management plan for Catharine Creek Wildlife Management Area, on Tuesday, November 1st.
The primary purposes of Catharine Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) are wildlife management, wildlife habitat management, and wildlife-dependent recreation. At the southern end of Seneca Lake, between Watkins Glen and Montour Falls, an unusual natural area has evolved. [Read more…] about Catharine Creek Wildlife Area Meeting Planned
Under Threat: Willard State Hospital at Seneca Lake
Willard State Hospital in Romulus, Seneca County, NY has defined the physical landscape and cultural environment of its rural corner of the Finger Lakes region for nearly 175 years. The hospital complex was the largest of its kind in the 1870s, with dozens of buildings, open space, and working farms.
Once comprising over 1,000 acres, its current size is about 400 acres including a mile of Seneca Lake shoreline and an institutional cemetery containing approximately 6,000 burials. Despite the loss of several architecturally important buildings, about 70 buildings still stand today. [Read more…] about Under Threat: Willard State Hospital at Seneca Lake
Underwater Imaging of Seneca Lake Canal Shipwrecks Underway
The Seneca Lake Archaeological and Bathymetric Survey Project is an underwater exploration occurring on Seneca Lake that aims to preserve the history of New York’s canals by using state-of-the-art equipment to capture never-before-seen images of intact canal shipwrecks from the early nineteenth century in the deepest waters of the lake. [Read more…] about Underwater Imaging of Seneca Lake Canal Shipwrecks Underway
Seneca Lake Shipwrecks Program Planned
Arthur B. Cohn is set to present “What Lies Beneath: Stories from Seneca Lake” at Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site on Tuesday, September 24th at 6:30 pm.
The talk will focus on the first two seasons of the Seneca Lake survey and the significant shipwreck discoveries that will add to the understanding of the canal era when horses and mules walked the towpath. Cohn will also outline the history of the Seneca Lake region and, based on his four decades of Lake Champlain experience, the logical expectation that shipwrecks would be present. [Read more…] about Seneca Lake Shipwrecks Program Planned