History, Natural History & the Arts
The Office of Cultural Education will host another New York State 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution Commemoration Summit on February 11, 2026 at the New York State Museum’s Huxley Theater in Albany from 9:30 am to 11:30 am.
The event will include updates and presentations from a wide variety of state officials, cultural, history, and tourism entities and executives. [Read more…] about New York State 250th Commemoration Summit Set for Feb 11th
We are beginning the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It may be interesting to recall how New York celebrated in the past, including the Bicentennial (reviewed in a previous post) and the Sesquicentennial a century ago. [Read more…] about New York and the United States 1926 Sesquicentennial
In 1926, New York State Historian Alexander C. Flick recommended to the State’s Advisory Board on Battlefields and Historic Sites, created earlier in the 1920s to oversee the marking and potential acquisition of historic sites, particularly those related to the American Revolution, that the historic route of Henry Knox‘s “Noble Train of Artillery” be marked for the public.
A series of stone monuments with bronze plaques were planned by a committee from New York and Massachusetts to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Knox’s expedition. The project – dubbed the Henry Knox Trail – was one of the earliest heritage trails in the United States. [Read more…] about From Crown Point to Boston: The 1920s Henry Knox Trail
New York’s America 250 Commission is finalizing its plans for the state’s commemoration next year. In the meantime, it might be useful to look back at what the New York State American Revolution Bicentennial Commission did a half century ago.
The commission carried out a number of activities. As it happens, I joined the Office of State History in 1973 and then moved to the State Archives from 1976 onward, so I recall much of this. The activities I recall best from my experience are summarized below. [Read more…] about From the Bicentennial to America 250: The New York Experience
The New York State Museum has launched a national search for its next Museum Director with Dr. Brent D. Glass, Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, leading the effort. [Read more…] about New York State Museum Launches Search for New Director
New York is slowly preparing for the 250th anniversary of both the birth of the United States (July 2, 1776) and the birth of New York State (April 20, 1777, the day the first state constitution was approved). [Read more…] about America & New York’s 250th Birthdays
New York State Museum leadership is under fire again. This time from Albany Times Union columnist Chris Churchill. He points out that it’s been eight years since a $14 million overhaul of the museums exhibits was announced. [Read more…] about The Decline of the New York State Museum
This week on The Historians Podcast, New York State Historian Devin Lander joins host Bob Cudmore. Lander previews the 250th anniversary of American independence which will be observed from 2025 through 2033.
The state has authorized a commission to oversee events, however some of the 13 appointees to a state commission have not yet been named, and the vast majority of counties in the state have taken no action to remember this important anniversary. [Read more…] about NY State, Counties Still Not Fully Engaged With American 250th Anniversary
The Warren County Historical Society is welcoming back to the county a giant mammoth tooth found in Queensbury before the Civil War.
The prehistoric elephant roamed Warren County some 13,000 years ago when the county was more tundra-like with sedges and lichens in a very cold environment left by the retreating ice sheet on its way back North. [Read more…] about Some History Of The Warren County Mammoth Tooth Going On View November 5th
This week on The Historians Podcast, New York State Historian Devin Lander discusses plans to observe the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution.
Prior to being named State Historian, Lander was executive director of the Museum Association of New York. [Read more…] about The State Historian on the 250th Anniversary of the Revolution
As per §57.09 of the NYS Arts and Cultural Affairs Law, all appointed local government historians “shall make an annual report, in the month of January, to the local appointing officer or officers and to the state historian of the work which has been accomplished during the preceding year.”
In an attempt to make this process easier, the New York State Historian has created an online form. The data produces a useful statistical abstract which are now shared annually. [Read more…] about 2019 Municipal Historian Reports Are Due
One hundred years ago, on April 11, 1919, New York Governor Al Smith signed the “Historians Law.” The first law of its kind in the United States, the Historians Law allowed for every village, town, and city in the state to have an official historian to gather and preserve historical records.
On the this episode of A New York Minute In History, host and New York State Historian Devin Lander is joined by Clifton Park Historian John Scherer, Saratoga County Historian Lauren Roberts, and former Broome County Historian and past president of the Association of Public Historians of New York State Gerald Smith to discuss the role of local historians and the integral part they play in their communities. [Read more…] about NYS Historians Law Celebrates 100th Birthday
The Office of State History, in partnership with the National Park Service, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies at Iona College are set to facilitate three planning meetings to begin discussing plans for New York’s commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution. [Read more…] about 250th Anniv of American Revolution Plans Underway
On the most recent episode of the podcast A New York Minute In History, co-hosts Devin Lander and Don Wildman examine how two New Yorkers – Al Smith and Franklin Delano Roosevelt – influenced the Progressive Era of the early 20th Century. The episode also explores how the administrations of Smith and Roosevelt shaped modern day politics and the role of government. [Read more…] about Al Smith, FDR, and the Progressive Movement
The journal New York History turns a century old in 2019 and this summer readers will find volume 100, issue number 1, in their mailboxes and see notices of the digital delivery of the journal in their email inboxes.
The most anticipated change at the journal, which is under new stewardship of Cornell University Press collaborating with the New York State Museum, is a welcome return to the past. The journal, after being a digital-only publication since 2012, will return to glorious print. Readers will be able to peruse bound paper issues and consult PDF and reflowable e-journals as their interests and reading needs determine. We know that paper and screens have their respective and complementary places in our reading lives, and the editors of the journal have ensured that all readers will have a choice of formats. [Read more…] about New Directions for ‘New York History’ Journal
§57.09 of the NYS Arts and Cultural Affairs Law requires all appointed Local Government Historians to “make an annual report, in the month of January, to the local appointing officer or officers and to the state historian of the work which has been accomplished during the preceding year.”
New York State Historian Devin Lander and the Office of State History have made online submission of the required report available to allow historians to more easily make their required report via the web.
[Read more…] about New Online Reporting System For Local Historians
Is New York’s “historical enterprise” really entering a new phase, as Bruce Dearstyne contends in his recent post? There certainly seems to have been some change going on in the New York State Office of Cultural Education. Perhaps most notably, New York is now employing a full-time State Historian for the first time since 1976 (not 1994, as Bruce suggests).
While this is certainly a step in the right direction, it would be naïve to allege that today’s State Historian position holds the same power and responsibility that it once did. [Read more…] about History In New York: Where Are We Headed?
There is encouraging evidence that we may be moving toward a turning point for New York’s historical enterprise.
During the last several months:
The Education Department made the State Historian an independent, full-time position. This is unlike the previous situation, where the State Historian, Bob Weible, also served as Chief History Curator of the State Museum. In effect, that was two jobs rolled into one. The curatorial work left little time for the state history work. Creating a new, dedicated position required approval of the Director of the State Museum, the Commissioner of Education and the Division of the Budget. Those are positive signs of interest and support. [Read more…] about A New Phase For New York’s Historical Enterprise?
I wanted to give an update on some things I am working on currently.
I am happy to see the excitement generated regarding the history community coming together for a meeting [ed. – more on this as it develops]. I think it certainly shows both the passion members of the community have for the important work they are doing and the need for a concise and attainable priority agenda. [Read more…] about New State Historian Plans History Advisory Group, New Website
Paul Grondahl at the Albany Times Union has picked-up the story of the recent downgrading of the State Historian’s position, which we’ve been covering on The New York History Blog.
You can find the Times Union story here. We’ll have another essay by Devin Lander on his plans as State Historian later this week.
You can read all our reporting and commentaries about the State Historian’s position here.
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