New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Utica

A Welsh Immigrant Writes Home from Upstate New York, 1856

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“Welsh Settlement in Upstate New York, 1795 to c. 1940s,”There is a fascinating letter from Evan Evans of Turin, Lewis County, NY to his relatives back in Wales. It is written in Welsh and dated August 1856.

The letter tells the story of a young man who had recently arrived in the United States who was struggling with homesickness and wrestling with doubts about whether he had made the right decision to move to America. He describes the sea-crossing, his arrival, and his new life in north-central New York State.

The letter now resides in the Meirionnydd Archives in northwest Wales. [Read more…] about A Welsh Immigrant Writes Home from Upstate New York, 1856

New York Lunatic Asylum at Utica: A History of Old Main

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Old Main Book CoverBook purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.

The book The New York Lunatic Asylum at Utica: A History of Old Main (North Country Books, 2015) by Dennis Webster looks at the New York State Lunatic Asylum at Utica, also known as “Old Main,” which opened in 1843 as the first institution of its kind to treat “madness” as a medical illness, not a curse.

Although closed in 1978, the building was placed in the National Register of Historic Places, and its iconic columns still fascinate the public today. [Read more…] about New York Lunatic Asylum at Utica: A History of Old Main

Utica Marsh Wildlife Area Comments Sought

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Map of Utica Marsh Wildlife Management Area courtesy DECThe New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released a draft Access and Public Use Plan (APUP) for the Utica Marsh Wildlife Management Area (WMA). The draft plan is available for public comment until December 22nd. [Read more…] about Utica Marsh Wildlife Area Comments Sought

The Last Days of John Brown: The Secret Six

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Franklin Benjamin SanbornJohn Brown has often come down to us as a lone nut, bent on an suicidal mission, but this is far from the truth.

Brown was part of a larger movement to free slaves that grew with passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 (which required the return of escaped slaves to their masters with all its potential for torture and death at their hands) and the large Underground Railroad movement.

It’s little understood that Brown was intimate with northern politicians, industrialists, ministers, and folks from all walks of life, including the leading intellectuals of the era – the Transcendentalists. [Read more…] about The Last Days of John Brown: The Secret Six

Shoemaking to Sewing Machines: One Central NY Cobbler’s Path to Prosperity

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Russel Crego & Son Business Card, c.1885Shoemaking was a common trade for centuries, but quickly became a casualty of the industrial revolution in the 19th century. The development of the sewing machine in the 1840s, by Elias Howe, Isaac Singer (from Pittstown, Rensselaer County, NY) and others revolutionized the textile industry.

Machines that could stitch leather for shoes soon also appeared and events like the Civil War spurred the technology on. The U.S. Army ordered thousands of machine-made boots for its soldiers. During this time, Russel Crego (1820-1892) was one New York shoemaker who made a very successful leap from making shoes by hand to selling sewing machines, not only to factories but to the home market. [Read more…] about Shoemaking to Sewing Machines: One Central NY Cobbler’s Path to Prosperity

New Novel Considers Role of Hesitant Utica Abolitionists

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The Third Mrs. GalwayBook purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.

The new novel The Third Mrs. Galway (Kaylie Jones Books, 2021) by Deirdre Sinnott looks back at Utica in 1835, when newlywed Helen Galway discovers two people who have escaped enslavement are hiding in the shack behind her husband’s house. She must then decide if she should she be a “good wife” and report the fugitives, or if she will defy convention and come to their aid. [Read more…] about New Novel Considers Role of Hesitant Utica Abolitionists

New York’s Oldest Hiking Club Celebrating 100 Years

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Tramp and Trail Club camping in the 1950s.The Tramp and Trail Club of Utica, Inc., is the oldest hiking club in New York State.  The first outing was held April 30th, 1921.

Led by Abigail Dimon, Seventeen Tramps and Trailers hiked from the Elm St. entrance of Roscoe Conkling Park (Utica) west to Third St. (now Valley View Rd.) and on to Cascade Glen. [Read more…] about New York’s Oldest Hiking Club Celebrating 100 Years

Utica Sculptor Henry DiSpirito

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The Historians LogoOn this episode of The Historians Podcast, Ashley Hopkins-Benton recounts the life of sculptor and stone worker Henry DiSpirito, who became artist in residence at Utica College. Hopkins-Benton is author of Breathing Life Into Stone: The Sculpture of Henry DiSpirito.  She is also a senior historian and curator of social history at the New York State Museum in Albany. [Read more…] about Utica Sculptor Henry DiSpirito

Canal Archaeology Virtual Lecture Set For Oct 27th

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Canal Archaeology FlierThe Oneida County History Center is set to host a virtual lecture with archaeologist David Staley, who will look at two sites along the former Erie and Chenango canals, on Wednesday, October 28th.

Staley will look at the limestone masonry, concrete, and iron remains found at these sites, and share how archaeological discoveries can contradict historic narratives and reveal shady political cronyism in Utica during the 1880s. [Read more…] about Canal Archaeology Virtual Lecture Set For Oct 27th