News and Views from the Empire State
The next grant round of the William G. Pomeroy Foundation’s Historic Transportation Canal Marker Grant Program is now open.
This roadside marker program commemorates the historical significance of transportation canals in the United States. Grants cover the entire cost of a cast aluminum marker, pole and shipping. [Read more…] about Grants for Historic Markers Celebrating Canals Available
It’s becoming popular to refer to our area as Tech Valley because of the nanotech facilities in Albany and Global Foundries in Malta (Saratoga County).
This is not the first time the region was at the forefront of a technological revolution. In the early nineteenth century some of the nation’s first railroads were built right here. [Read more…] about Early Railroads From The Capital District To Saratoga
Northwest Airlines Flight 6231 crashed in Harriman State Park, located in Rockland and Orange counties, on December 1, 1974, just minutes after taking off from Kennedy Airport, on its way to Buffalo.
The Historical Society of Rockland County has invited the public to a Hike through History event, focusing on the crash site and memorial in Harriman State Park, set for Saturday, August 15th. [Read more…] about 1974 Plane Crash Hike In Harriman State Park
Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site will continue to offer online programs throughout the summer even as the Visitor Center is now open by appointment.
The Erie Canal historic site will provide programs through Webex as well as other online platforms and social media. [Read more…] about Schoharie Crossing Offers Online Programs
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum has launched a new exhibit: Women at the Helm, celebrating women leaders of the Champlain Valley from the 18th century to today. [Read more…] about Women at the Helm: The Maritime Museum’s New Digital Exhibit
Online auction sites regularly offer a number of collectibles — postcards, brochures, tickets, even china — bearing the name and logo of the Monticello Steamship Company of San Francisco.
Most of these items offer little information about the company, and the average collector would have little reason to believe that one of the most well-known enterprises on the West Coast around the turn of the 20th Century had any connection at all to Sullivan County, NY.
But it did. [Read more…] about Monticello Steamship Company
The Beacon Oil Company was formed in 1919 in Boston, and named for the city’s Beacon Hill.
In 1922, a standard service station design, called the “Watertown” used elements of the 1700s Massachusetts State House, designed by noted architect Charles Bullfinch. [Read more…] about Beacon Oil: New York’s Lighthouse Gas Stations
Here is a photo of an Armour & Company meat refrigeration car (a reefer) with a hobo “riding the rods.” The car lacks the grab irons on the right side, so we know it’s before the 1911 Amendment to the Railroad Safety Appliance Act. [Read more…] about Riding The Rods And Railroad Reefer Cars
The tracks seen in these photos were part of the original North Creek branch railroad that through the streets of Saratoga Springs. Originally, the line to North Creek (the Adirondack Branch) came off the Delaware & Hudson Railroad’s main line in the freight yard just south of the main Saratoga depot, and ran right down the middle of some streets. Started in 1864 and completed to North Creek in 1871, the street tracks were removed when the entire line was rerouted outside downtown Saratoga Springs. [Read more…] about When Trains Ran Through Saratoga’s Streets
The Adirondack Park Agency has announced a public comment period for Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan conformance on proposals from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to amend the 1996 Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor Unit Management Plan.
The State is planning to tear up part of the historic Adirondack Railroad line between Tupper Lake and Lake Placid for a multi-use trail.
[Read more…] about Comments Sought On Plan To Tear-Up Historic Rail Line