New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Waterford

Empire Trail Historic Assessment Being Conducted, Utica to Whitehall

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empire state trailThe Preservation League of NYS has received a $33,000 grant from the 1772 Foundation. This grant is expected to allow the League, in partnership with Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, to identify and study vacant and underutilized historic buildings along a portion of the NYS Canal System and Empire State Trail that could be sensitively repurposed to provide services for recreational travelers along that corridor.

The survey area will focus on a 90-mile radius around the League’s Albany headquarters, from Utica to Whitehall, all within the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. [Read more…] about Empire Trail Historic Assessment Being Conducted, Utica to Whitehall

20th Annual Tugboat Roundup Kicking Off

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annual tugboat roundupThe 20th Annual Tugboat Roundup begins on Friday, September 6th, with a Tugboat Parade mustering at the USS Slater around 3 pm, and cruising north by Corning Preserve, Watervliet, Troy, Lansingburgh and into Waterford to begin the weekend festivities.

Music will be playing next to the Hurst Harbor Center all weekend long. Kids activities include an fire safety obstacle course, pony rides, a bouncy slide, face painting and more. [Read more…] about 20th Annual Tugboat Roundup Kicking Off

Waterford Flight Paddle Kicks-off Canalway Challenge

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canalway challenge logoMore than 125 paddlers are set to fill the Waterford Flight of locks with colorful kayaks, canoes, and SUPs on Sunday, June 2 from 9 am to noon, to kick off the Canalway Challenge in the Capital Region.

The half-day trip takes participants on an easy 2.7 mile flat water stretch through the towering Erie Canal Locks 2-6, a set of five locks with a lift of 169 feet in just over 1.5 miles. [Read more…] about Waterford Flight Paddle Kicks-off Canalway Challenge

Half Moon As A Revolutionary War Camp

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Map of present site of waterford During the American Revolution Half Moon was a small hamlet situated near a Mohawk River ford on the Great Road from Albany to Fort George. It was strategically located near the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers about nine miles north of Albany.

It was originally one of many small hunting camps established by Mohican people, who eventually sold or traded their land to settlers, though it remained a popular stopping place and river port during the time of the American Revolution. It was said that there was a fort there but it was more likely a small colonial blockhouse. [Read more…] about Half Moon As A Revolutionary War Camp

Annual Tugboat Roundup In Waterford This Weekend

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Harvey with Dazzle paint jobThe annual Waterford Tugboat Roundup is set for this weekend, September 7-9, with an estimated 30 boats expected to attend. The boats range from historic to modern tugs, workboats, fireboats, crew boats, tenders and more.

A main attraction of the Roundup will be the new paint job of the Harvey. This historic fireboat became itself a palette for Tauba Auerbach, an artist commissioned by the Public Art Fund and 14-18 Now Exhibition. The rendering of the Harvey shows contradictory directions of whites and reds, emulating the ‘dazzle designs’ applied to ships during World War I to confuse U- boats in firing torpedoes. [Read more…] about Annual Tugboat Roundup In Waterford This Weekend

The Frances of Troy Named Tugboat of the Year

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Tug Frances cred Tim DufelA Troy towing company has had one of its flagship tugs named Tugboat of the Year by the Waterford Tugboat Roundup.

The honor is awarded by the Roundup’s planning committee each year, celebrating a boat’s contribution to history and, often, to the ongoing success of inland waterway transportation. [Read more…] about The Frances of Troy Named Tugboat of the Year

Champlain Schooner Lois McClure In Shipyard

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LCMM tugboat C L Churchill tows ahead of Lois McClure in windy conditions on Lake ChamplainThe Lake Champlain Maritime Museum’s schooner Lois McClure, in anticipation of her twelfth year of operation, has been taken to the New York State Canal Corporation shipyard at Waterford, NY for a haul-out and hull maintenance. There, a team of shipwrights working with David Short of North Atlantic Shipbuilding and Repair, of West Montville, ME are expected to replace worn, damaged or rotted planking and timbers and recaulk seams. [Read more…] about Champlain Schooner Lois McClure In Shipyard

Waterford Tugboat Roundup Schedule Set

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??????????Music, boat rides, walk-through’s of working tugboats, food vendors, arts, crafts, kid’s activities, and fireworks are just some of what visitors can expect at the 16th annual Tugboat Roundup in Waterford the weekend after Labor Day, September 11, 12 and 13th. [Read more…] about Waterford Tugboat Roundup Schedule Set

A Short Biography of Engineer Benjamin Prescott

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Pipes of the Albany Water Works excavated by Wolfert Roost CC circa late 1980s002The Wolfert’s Roost Country Club in Albany maintains a small dam, pond, and pump house to provide water for their golf course. In the 1980s workers excavating the pond, which is fed by the Maezlandtkill, discovered several sections of ancient wooden and very early cast iron pipe along with iron bands. The pipe and other artifacts were placed in the woods near the club’s tennis courts and forgotten.

Benjamin Prescott, engineer of Albany’s first municipal water system and the man responsible for those pipes, is all but equally forgotten, despite an illustrious career in engineering.  Prescott served as an Engineer in the American Revolution, Superintendent of the Springfield Armory, and was the designer of several notable projects, including one of this nation’s first inclined planes (on the Connecticut River). He also conducted a 1790s survey of Niagara Falls, consulted on the Erie Canal, designed the Troy Sloop Lock (the Federal Dam) and more. [Read more…] about A Short Biography of Engineer Benjamin Prescott