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Washington County

The Great Blizzard of March 1888 in Washington County

March 22, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

10_PM_March_12_surface_analysis_of_Great_Blizzard_of_1888If, when browsing the antiques shops of Washington County, you should spot an old hat with “March 12-13, 1888” marked inside, there is a story behind it.  A story almost not fully told.

“It is unnecessary to speak in detail of the storm,” The Granville Sentinel reported on March 16, 1888. “It has been everywhere and all know its effect.” Then, as if the editor had second thoughts, the report continued for the full column and about half of a another, a rare luxury of space afforded only the most important of news stories in 19th century newspapers.

It was definitively the biggest storm of the season, and possibly of the century. [Read more…] about The Great Blizzard of March 1888 in Washington County

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature Tagged With: Newspapers, snow, Washington County, winter

The New Year in 1887, Granville, Washington County

January 26, 2021 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

The year 1886 in Washington County, New York, ended on an optimistic tone.

“But thou, the old year, has not been a very hard one, especially,” The Granville Sentinel reported on December 31st, 1886.

Extended periods of drought followed by weeks of unseasonal warm rain gave way in the final days of the year to seasonal weather. [Read more…] about The New Year in 1887, Granville, Washington County

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Granville, Washington County, winter

The Joys of a January Freeze, 1887

January 19, 2021 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

Lake Champlain froze completely on January 8th, 1887, missing by just two days the seventy-year record for earliest freeze.

“Saturday morning (January 8th) was the coldest of the season, the mercury registering 26 below zero – in the shade,” The Granville Sentinel reported on January 14th. [Read more…] about The Joys of a January Freeze, 1887

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Granville, Lake Champlain, Washington County, weather, winter

An Anthology of Pig Tales from Northern New York

January 13, 2021 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

wallow in mud at the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary courtesy Wikimedia user Mark PetersThis little piggy from Eagle Lake apparently did not want to go to market.

“Hebert Moore’s pig is still at large. Motorists are requested to drive with care in the vicinity,” the Ticonderoga Sentinel reported on July 15th, 1920. “A reward of $1 is offered by L. Lodge to anyone who will catch said pig single handed. Mr. Lodge must witness the catch. $3 if done after dark.” [Read more…] about An Anthology of Pig Tales from Northern New York

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Food, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Western NY Tagged With: Agricultural History, Eagle Lake, local farms, North Creek, Stony Creek, Warren County, Washington County

A Washington County Political Newspaper Brawl

December 27, 2020 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

 Granville SentinelIf there was one thing 19th century Granville Sentinel publisher Anna McArthur disliked more than Democrats, it was a competing newspaper attempting to siphon off Republican readership. [Read more…] about A Washington County Political Newspaper Brawl

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Granville, Newspapers, Political History, politics, Washington County

A Plague of Potato Bugs in 1877 Washington County

November 25, 2020 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

Colorado potato beetle courtesy Scott Bauer USDAThe weather at Granville, in Washington County, in June 1877, was ideal for agriculture.

“This is the weather that makes farmers happy,” The Granville Sentinel reported.

Corn and flax crops looked promising, but “vigilance and perseverance is to be the price of potatoes.” [Read more…] about A Plague of Potato Bugs in 1877 Washington County

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Food, History, Nature Tagged With: Agricultural History, Food, Granville, insects, local farms, local food, nature, Washington County, Wildlife

Local Newspaper Editor Ponders Election of 1876

November 2, 2020 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

October 1872 ElectionPresidential elections can strain neighborly relations, as reiterated in Washington County’s Granville Sentinel in 1876.

“The one pleasant thing about it, when the cruel suspense is over, they’ll be less lying in the newspapers and less personal defamation in the streets,” the Sentinel quipped on October 29th. [Read more…] about Local Newspaper Editor Ponders Election of 1876

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Elections, Granville, Local History, Media, Newspapers, Political History, politics, Washington County

Big Hogs In The Paper: A Collection Of Pig Tales From Historic Newspapers

September 16, 2020 by Maury Thompson 1 Comment

Domestic pigs in a wallow courtesy Mark Peters Poplar Spring Animal SanctuaryA hog weighing in at 1,200 pounds raised in Greenwich, in Washington County, was spared the slaughter, at least temporarily, in order to be put on display as an oddity.

“G.V.P. Lansing, a resident of the town of Greenwich, has the unique distinction of having raised and marketed the largest hog ever grown in the world,” The Post-Star reported on March 12, 1919. “The hog was sold last week to Bennett Brothers of Albany, and shipped to that place.” [Read more…] about Big Hogs In The Paper: A Collection Of Pig Tales From Historic Newspapers

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Food, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, Western NY Tagged With: Agricultural History, Food, local farms, nature, Washington County

Portion of Lake George Tributary Protected

July 15, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Fairy Brook Corridor provided by LGLCThe Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) has protected 25 acres on County Route 6 in the Town of Dresden on the east side of Lake George in Washington County, NY.

The property includes 1,300 feet of Fairy Brook, a small tributary of Lake George which drains north into Lake Champlain at Ticonderoga and ultimately into the Richelieu and then St. Lawrence Rivers into the North Atlantic. [Read more…] about Portion of Lake George Tributary Protected

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature Tagged With: conservation, Dresden, Fairy Brook, Lake George, Lake George Land Conservancy, nature, Washington County

Wally Foote: ‘The Most Handsome Man in Congress’

May 10, 2020 by Maury Thompson Leave a Comment

Wallace Turner Foote JrThe Plattsburgh Daily Press in late 1894 fact-checked the boasts of M.W. Howard, age 32, of Alabama, and George M. Southwick, age 31, of Albany, who each claimed to be the youngest member of the incoming U.S. House of Representatives.

Actually, it was local Representative-elect Wallace T. Foote Jr., who would still be 30 when he took office, that would have the distinction. Foote represented New York’s 23rd District, which included Essex, Clinton, Franklin, Warren and Washington counties. [Read more…] about Wally Foote: ‘The Most Handsome Man in Congress’

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Clinton County, Essex County, Franklin County, Lake Champlain, Political History, Port Henry, Union College, Warren County, Washington County

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