History, Natural History & the Arts
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County 4-H and the City of Utica, will host a free Learn-to-Fish event on Saturday, August 15, at Utica Harbor Point.
Learning to fish encourages outdoor recreation, promotes stewardship of fisheries, and introduces participants to safe and responsible angling. [Read more…] about Free Inclusive Learn-to-Fish Event at Utica Saturday
On November 14, 1902, the Trustees of the Church of the Holy Cross in Utica, New York, purchased four lots on the northwest shore of Twitchell Lake in Big Moose in the Adirondacks. The grantor on the deed was William Thistlethwaite, an Old Forge real estate mogul.
This gave the church 24 acres of woodland which ran a full half mile back to the State’s Forest Preserve and 400 feet of pristine lakeshore lined with ancient red spruce and towering white pine. [Read more…] about A Utica Church’s 50 Years of Adirondack Pilgrimages
Major League Baseball’s annual all-star game (taking place Tuesday in Philly) invariably fosters debates. Who’s the more worthy first-baseman, Vladimer Guerrero Jr. or Ben Rice? Should Aaron Judge be on the roster if he hasn’t played in over a month? Why is Cody Bellinger starting in the outfield over Randy Arozarena?
Baseball fans love arguing these sort of questions every year as the midsummer classic approaches. They lead naturally to questions about who was the greatest of all time. Babe Ruth? Ted Williams? Barry Bonds?
I don’t have the answers, but I would like to recognize a class of players who are often overlooked in these debates: the nineteenth-century greats. [Read more…] about A New York State 19-Century Baseball All-Star Team
America’s first President George Washington owned 316 acres of land in today’s Town of Kirkland, Oneida County, NY, in partnership with New York State’s first Governor George Clinton.
The Oneida Indian Nation lived in what is now Oneida County, even after the area’s settlement by Europeans, which started in the 1600s. The French traveled through the area in the 1500s. [Read more…] about George Washington’s Lands in Oneida County
According to J. Leander Bishop’s A History of American Manufactures from 1608 to 1860 among the early settlers on Manhattan Island was a glass maker Jan Smeedes who is supposed to have been among the first to receive an allotment of land on the present [1880] South William Street between Wall and Pearl.
He probably carried on the business of glass making on the east side of the street just north of Hanover Square. This street formerly bore within the above limits the name of “the Glass maker’s street” and afterward Smee Street from its original occupant. [Read more…] about The Early History of Glass Making in New York State
The twelve-day New York City transit strike in January 1966 is considered the first major citywide shutdown of subways and buses. About 33,000 workers, led by the Transport Workers Union, paralyzed the city on Mayor John Lindsay‘s first day in office.
This strike led to the creation of the still controversial 1967 Taylor Law (Public Employees’ Fair Employment Act), legislation that bars most New York State public employees from striking, or even expressing support for a strike, including state workers, teachers, and municipal employees. [Read more…] about 7 Cents An Hour: The 1950 Utica Bus Strike
Oneida County, NY, was part of Marquis de Lafayette’s 1824-1825 visit to America. His interest in visiting the site of the Battle of Oriskany was partly responsible for bringing the aged general to the area.
Unlike George Washington’s comment about Oriskany – “In their hands rested the fate of a nation” – Lafayette’s sentiments are lost and can only be surmised from his well-known reverence for liberty. [Read more…] about Lafayette’s 1825 Visit to Oneida County
Today the state of Minnesota is engaged in the first General Strike in nearly 80 years. There have been thousands of strikes in American history, but only about a dozen General Strikes. One of the first strikes took place in the city of New York in 1677. Afterward a dozen cart-men (one-horse cart operators) were criminally prosecuted “for not obeying the Command and Doing their Dutyes as becomes them in their Places” and fined.
About 80 strikes in the U.S. have involved over 100,000 workers. Here are 13 strikes every New Yorker should know about: [Read more…] about Strike! 13 Strikes Every New Yorker Should Know About
A new documentary film unveils a rare and haunting glimpse into “Old Main,” one of America’s oldest asylums, located in Utica, NY. Established in 1843, this facility was the first in New York State devoted to the care of the mentally ill during a time when understanding mental health was still in its infancy.
The imposing structure still stands as a silent witness to the countless inhabitants who lived there until its doors closed for good in 1978. [Read more…] about New Documentary on Utica’s ‘Old Main’ Asylum
In New York private social clubs for men were modeled after the clubs in London, which date back to the late 1600s and early 1700s. Men could dine, read the papers, take part in entertainments such as card games or bowling, and build social networks.
There were strict membership rules and most private clubs were only open to elite white Christian men. Some allowed limited dining access to member-accompanied white Christian wives or widows. [Read more…] about Upstate New York Gentleman’s Clubs: Some History
All canals are a series of ponds, at different water stages, or elevations. These elevation changes are transitioned by locks, with the area between the locks being of any length, and referred to as a level. Simply put, canal transport is similar to a set of stairs, with the levels being the tread, and the locks the riser. The highest level of any canal is known as the summit level.
As water flows with any lock movement, it is necessary to constantly re-supply the canal, and by feeding the replacement water to the summit level, the entire canal may be supplied. The original Erie Canal, statewide from Albany to Buffalo, had three summit levels; Lake Erie, Jordan and Rome. [Read more…] about Feeding the Erie Canal: Rome Summit Level Reservoirs
The Preservation League of New York State‘s annual Excellence in Historic Preservation Awards program shines a light on the people who are using historic preservation to create positive change — through exemplary restoration projects, indispensable publications, individual action, and organizational distinction.
Recipients of the Excellence Award represent the very best of what the League stands for and supports in historic preservation. [Read more…] about Preservation League Announces Award Winners
The New York State history community is mourning the loss of Lou Parrotta. Parrotta was a fixture in Oneida County, serving as the Utica City Historian and as a high school history teacher. He volunteered his time and knowledge to cultural organizations across the Mohawk Valley and passed away on June 3rd after a short unexpected illness. [Read more…] about Utica City Historian Lou Parrotta Dies at 51
The success of the Erie Cavnal which opened 200 years ago in 1825 caused folks around New York to petition the State to build a canal to their town. At that time roads were typically very rough – early turnpikes were mainly oriented east-west across New York, few went north or south.
Eventually, 16 lateral canals were built off the Erie Canal by the state totaling more than 750 miles and extending to various parts of New York. [Read more…] about The Chenango Canal: An Unrealized Dream
The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has announced that 13 projects and individuals have been recognized with 2025 New York State Historic Preservation Awards. This year’s awards recognize several preservation advocates for their work in the field and highlight historic rehabilitation projects that have made impacts in New York’s communities, including initiatives that address food insecurity, generate incubator spaces for businesses, and create affordable housing units. [Read more…] about 2025 New York State Historic Preservation Awards Winners
Today’s State Route 5 crosses New York State from Buffalo to Albany and parallels state Route 20 and the New York State Thruway. The part of Route 5 between Utica and Canandaigua in Ontario County, some 105 miles, is still called the Seneca Turnpike.
Originally a Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) path, the route has been referred to in various accounts as the Great Genesee Road, the Great Genesee Trail, the Genesee Turnpike, the Great Seneca Turnpike or Seneca Road. Previously it had been known as the part of the Great Indian Trail or Iroquois Trail. [Read more…] about The Great Seneca Turnpike
In 1940, Ann Hind, a Utica, New York resident, owned the most valuable postage stamp in the world. Hind also had a camp at Lake George where she spent many summer days. In 1926, she had married Arthur Hind, a Utica textile industrialist and also a renowned stamp collector.
In 1922, Mr. Hind purchased the 1856 British Guiana One-Cent Magenta stamp at a Paris auction. Reportedly he paid $34,500. He died in 1933 and his widow then owned the precious collectible. [Read more…] about 1940: A Utica Resident Sells World’s Rarest Postage Stamp
The old Mohawk Turnpike between what are now Albany and Rome, NY, was originally an Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) trail used frequently by Mohawk and Oneida people in particular, but many others as well.
For the first two hundred years of European settlement it was the only major link between the Hudson River and the Great Lakes. It became an important national transportation connection. [Read more…] about The Old Mohawk Turnpike: New York’s Road West
Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal spans 363 miles across New York State to connect Albany and Buffalo, which made it an indispensable tract for commerce 200 years ago. While the canal’s use as a primary means of moving commercial goods across the state has been replaced by trucks and trains, its recreational usage has increased exponentially since then.
The path that parallels the waterway has become a mecca for hikers, bikers, and runners of all ages. In celebration of the Canals’ 200th anniversary, The Erie Canal Traveler’s Guide (North Country Books, 2025) features more than 200 restaurants, pubs, and attractions for the entire family and the curious traveler alike, all within ‘a stone’s throw’ – or, to be precise, 445 feet and ten inches – of the Canal Path. [Read more…] about The Erie Canal Traveler’s Guide: Restaurants, Pubs, and Attractions on the Canal
New Jersey’s “Merci Train” boxcar, missing for nearly 45 years and feared to have been destroyed, is being returned to New Jersey.
In 1949 France gifted the United States 49 boxcars, the French Gratitude Train (Train de la Reconnaissance française), as a symbolic gesture of gratitude for American aid during and after World War II. The 130-year-old railroad cars, known as “40 and 8” boxcars, had been used to transport troops during the First World War and used again in the Second World War and by occupation forces after the war. [Read more…] about 40 and 8: New Jersey’s ‘Merci Train’ Boxcar Returning Home
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