History, Natural History & the Arts
The NFL training camps have begun for another season, with the preseason beginning in mid-August.
During the 1960s the New York Football Giants would play a series of preseason games during a five year period at Cornell’s Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, NY, which would come to be called the Finger Lakes Pro Bowl. [Read more…] about The Finger Lakes Pro Bowls & The NY Giants
Everyone laughed when I said I was writing a book called Smut. “You,” they would say, pointing fingers at me, “you writing about obscenity?” Nonetheless, I did write about an obscenity trial in Ithaca, NY in 1883 and laughed as I transcribed the trial testimony to the page.
I found writing Smut fun, and I hope that readers might also find it informative, and interesting, curious, and fun too. [Read more…] about Historian Carol Kammen: Smut & The Human Condition
In June, 1883, Jefferson and Helen Beardsley of Ithaca, New York, were indicted, tried, and sentenced for “selling and exhibiting obscene pictures.”
In Smut: An 1883 Obscenity Trial and Its Echoes Today (Paul Dry Books, 2026), historian Carol Kammen draws directly from the trial transcript and reveals the fascinating history surrounding the case and its surprising relevance today. [Read more…] about Smut: An 1883 Obscenity Trial and Its Echoes Today
Visit Cayuga Shores Wildlife Management Area (WMA) for a peaceful, crowd-free escape with direct, undeveloped access to Cayuga Lake, on of the Finger Lakes. This WMA consists of 287 acres along the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake in Lansing, in Tompkins County, New York. [Read more…] about Watchable Wildlife: Cayuga Shores Wildlife Management Area
New York State is home to several rare and fragile floating bogs and fens. These unique ecosystems feature mats of sphagnum moss and vegetation that actually float over water.
Bogs and fens are both peatlands (wetlands that build up deposits of dead plant matter called peat). The primary difference is their water source: bogs are largely by nutrient-poor rainwater, making them highly acidic. Fens are fed by mineral-rich groundwater, making them alkaline or neutral. [Read more…] about Rare and Fragile Floating Bogs and Fens
The Stonewall Inn, a state and national historic site, is the most well-known place in LGBTQ American history. In June 1969, following a routine police raid, patrons at the Mafia-run Stonewall Inn, as well as young queer and trans people who lived or regularly congregated in Greenwich Village, spontaneously erupted in multiple nights of protest.
The event was a turning point in the ongoing LGBTQ rights movement and sparked its growth in New York City, New York State, and across the nation. Organizations and groups formed around the country to promote LGBTQ rights, and thousands of people became active in the movement. [Read more…] about Lavender Hill Commune: LGBTQ Liberation in Central NY
If you see a bald eagle soaring above Lake George, it is safe to assume that it is descended from one of the scores released in New York State in the 1970s and 80s.
There was nothing inevitable about the return of the bald eagle to the Adirondacks. [Read more…] about Return of the Bald Eagle: A Conservation Success Story
In March of 1918 several U.S. military units were sent to the Western Front of World War One.
The quota of 120 men from Tompkins County, NY assembled at two o’clock to receive their credentials and instructions. From the courthouse in Ithaca they marched to the Lehigh Valley Railroad Station and left at 10:50 en route to Camp Upton in Yaphank on Long Island. Special cars were attached to the regular train that brought men from Buffalo and Waterloo. [Read more…] about ‘This Platoon Can Lick its Weight in Wild Cats’: Tompkins County Men in World War One
The first written record of oil in North America is believed to have been made at Seneca Oil Spring in Allegany County in 1627 when a French Jesuit missionary was led to spring by local Seneca people.
The Senecas prized the oil for medicinal proposes; the spring is located in what is now Cuba, NY. [Read more…] about New York State & The Origins of America’s Oil Industry
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State locating and extracting lost, injured or distressed people and policing state lands.
This report of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers was prepared by DEC: [Read more…] about Ranger Recover Two Bodies, Make Overnight Rescue of Teen, Find 86-Year-Old, More
Early in the twentieth century, two Cornell University alumni created a suburb adjacent to the campus of their alma mater in Ithaca, NY, “far above Cayuga’s waters” in the Finger Lakes. Named Cayuga Heights at the suggestion of one of their workmen, a handful of professors turned what would otherwise have been just another faculty enclave in an American college town into an incorporated municipality that has thrived ever since.
Local historian Beatrice Szekely tells this origin story in University Suburb, Founding the Village of Cayuga Heights in Ithaca, New York, which she published in 2024. [Read more…] about University Suburb, Founding the Village of Cayuga Heights in Ithaca
It was 46 years ago this week that one of the most notable Grateful Dead shows ever was performed at Barton Hall at Cornell University on May 8, 1977. One of the most revered and traded shows in the band’s history, the Barton Hall show is a thing of legend, a perfect way to introduce new fans to the band and a performance for the ages with stand out versions of numerous Dead songs.
The band played its first of three shows at Cornell (1977, 1980, and 1981) on May 8, 1977, and were booked by the Cornell Concert Commission after some troubles with booking live acts in the years prior. [Read more…] about Barton Hall, Cornell ’77: A Legendary Grateful Dead Show
Cornell University Press (CUP) was the first university press in the United States, founded in 1869 in the school’s College of the Mechanic Arts, as mechanical engineering was then called, because engineers knew the most about operating a steam-powered printing press.
(Cambridge University Press is both the oldest publishing house in the world and the oldest university press, having published its first book in 1584; Johns Hopkins University Press has been in continuous operation since 1878). [Read more…] about Cornell University Press: America’s First University Press
Between 1883 and 1888 H.H. Coleman wrote a series of columns about the activities of Black people in his community of Ithaca, NY. The earliest columns were called “Ithaca and Surroundings.” These notices appeared in African-American newspaper The New York Globe, and were signed Observer.
The essays moved to the New York Freeman in 1885, were renamed “Ithaca Notes,” and were unsigned. In 1886 the essays appeared under the name “Ithaca Inklings,” often signed H.H.C. [Read more…] about Inklings, Echoes & Siftings: 19th Century Black Community Newspaper Reports
The Finger Lakes region, renowned for its natural beauty and rich cultural heritage, serves as a unique gateway to the architectural genius of Frank Lloyd Wright.
While Wright’s influence can be seen in Rochester’s Edward E. Boynton House, it is his iconic Tree of Life stained-glass window that provides a deeper connection to his masterpiece, the Darwin D. Martin House in Buffalo, New York. [Read more…] about A Frank Lloyd Wright Masterpiece Connecting Buffalo & The Finger Lakes
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has announced recommendations by the New York State Board for Historic Preservation to add 14 properties to the State and National Registers of Historic Places and expand one existing listing. The nominations include a new historic district in Wellsville, a synagogue on Staten Island, an enslaved people’s burial ground in the Bronx, and an LGBTQ Commune in Newfield. [Read more…] about 14 Properties Nominated to State and National Registers
Go for a spin this fall and discover the scenic biking trails at New York State Parks. Bicycling is a great, low-impact exercise to enjoy with family and friends and a picturesque way to experience fall foliage in New York State. With so many trails to choose from, here are a few destinations from around the state worth exploring. [Read more…] about Bicycling Adventures in New York State Parks
“Who was the Vice President under John Quincy Adams? — Daniel D. Tompkins. And I’ll bet your Mr. Sawyer doesn’t know that!”
It’s a line from that classic Christmas movie, “Miracle On Thirty Fourth Street.” In that scene the protagonist, Kris Kringle, tries to demonstrate that not only isn’t he delusional, but is so in touch with reality he can recall trivial facts most people couldn’t possibly remember. [Read more…] about Daniel D. Tompkins: New York’s War of 1812 Governor
Enjoy both wildlife-watching and snapping some photos at Buttermilk Falls State Park. It’s located near the city of Ithaca in Tompkins County and takes its name from the foaming cascade formed by Buttermilk Creek as it flows through the steep valley toward Cayuga Lake. Its diverse habitats harbor an equally diverse array of wildlife.
As you ascend Buttermilk Creek’s steep gorge, the sound of deep, rhythmic knocking may lead you to spot the impressive pileated woodpecker. Listen and look for the many songbirds and owls as you hike past potholes and waterfalls to Buttermilk Falls. [Read more…] about Watchable Wildlife: Buttermilk Falls State Park
In 1904, the New York State legislature passed a bill to create the New York State College at Cornell. The bill created a land-grant college with an agriculture focus within Cornell and guaranteed fields of study related to agriculture would receive significant public funding. [Read more…] about Finger Lakes Technology: From Agriculture to Auto Racing
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