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Waterford

Taddeus Kosciusko: A Hero of Two Worlds (& The Name On That Bridge)

January 4, 2023 by Guest Contributor 10 Comments

Twin Bridges I-87 NorthwaySince it opened to traffic on April 11, 1960, millions of vehicles traveling the I-87 Northway have passed over the Mohawk River on what they think are called on “The Twin Bridges.” That bridge however, is really named for a Polish-American hero of the American Revolution – Taddeus Kosciusko. [Read more…] about Taddeus Kosciusko: A Hero of Two Worlds (& The Name On That Bridge)

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley Tagged With: American Revolution, Army Corps of Engineers, Battle of Saratoga, Engineering History, Essex County, Fort Ticonderoga, Hudson River, I-87, Immigration, John Burgoyne, Lake Champlain, Lake George, Military History, Mohawk River, Mount Defiance, Polish History, Saratoga County, Schuylerville, Taddeus Kosciusko, Warren County, Washington County, Waterford, West Point

The Button Fire Engine Company of Waterford: Some History

October 13, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Side-Stroke Fire Engine, 1872, L Button & Sons, Waterford NY - Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield HistoryFor much of the 19th and 20th centuries, New York State was a leader in fire engine and apparatus manufacturing. One of the main players in that industry was Lysander Button of Waterford, NY.

Starting around 1831, Button worked his way up the ladder from mechanic turned inventor to owner of the firm that would eventually take his name, the Button Fire Engine Company. [Read more…] about The Button Fire Engine Company of Waterford: Some History

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Events, History Tagged With: Fires, Industrial History, Saratoga County, Schoharie Crossing SHS, Waterford, Waterford Historical Museum

Kayaker Alan Jay Paddles From Buffalo to Manhattan in 31 Days

August 5, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Alan JayIn June, the Hudson River Valley Greenway fielded a call from Alan Jay, who just completed paddling the Erie Canal from Buffalo to Waterford with his brother-in-law Michael.

The next day Jay would start his solo adventure paddling the Hudson River toward New York City – he needed a Hudson River Water Trail Guide. [Read more…] about Kayaker Alan Jay Paddles From Buffalo to Manhattan in 31 Days

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: Albany, Buffalo, Erie Canal, Hudson River, Hudson River Greenway, Liberty Island State Park, New York City, paddling, Statue of Liberty, Waterford

The Nolan Sisters: A Famous Waterford Poisoning Case

July 19, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Catherine and Elizabeth Nolan on trialThe Nolan Family immigrated from Ireland and settled in Stillwater, Ballston, and after the Civil War, in Waterford, all in Saratoga County. The Nolan’s were a large family, a good many had served in the war, and most enlisted for the rewards of the bounty paid to the volunteers.

Michael Nolan, the father of the Nolan girls, had enlisted in the storied 77th Infantry Regiment based out of Saratoga. The 77th fought in many of the war’s epic battles. Michael had enlisted for three years and served out his full term. Prior to the war he resided in Stillwater and was employed as a farm laborer. [Read more…] about The Nolan Sisters: A Famous Waterford Poisoning Case

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Ballston Spa, Crime and Justice, Lansingburgh, Legal History, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable, Saratoga Springs, Stillwater, Waterford

Cohoes Airman Eugene Chouiniere, Missing Since WWII, Being Memorialized

March 30, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

British Lancaster BomberEven before the United States entered the Second World War, Americans joined Great Britain’s war effort – among those who volunteered was Capital District native Eugene E. Chouiniere.

Chouiniere was 19-years-old when he died in a British Royal Air Force (RAF) mission to Germany. The crew included three Brits, two Canadians and three Americans. Letters to the families of the crew from the RAF stated that “it must be regretfully accepted and officially recorded that he [Eugene] does not have a known grave,” and thus their aircraft was “lost without a trace.”

Now independent historians think they know where the aircraft, a Avro Lancaster R5695EM-C Bomber, rests 80 years after it went down. [Read more…] about Cohoes Airman Eugene Chouiniere, Missing Since WWII, Being Memorialized

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Albany County, Aviation History, British Army, Canada, Canadian History, Cohoes, Military History, Saratoga County, Waterford, World War Two

The Eddy Family: Capital Region Industrialists

March 25, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Oliver Tarbell Eddy and Titus Egbert EddyWaterford, NY’s involvement in the Industrial Revolution was more significant than its geographical size would imply. Family-owned and operated business ventures were the norm and usually a first and second-generation operation.

Names that immediately come to the fore such families as brothers Hugh and Canvas White, the Knickerbocker, Kavanaugh, Button, Breslin, and King families all demonstrated the business model of the period; manufacturing firms that employed many hands from Saratoga County and surrounding communities. [Read more…] about The Eddy Family: Capital Region Industrialists

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Albany County, Cohoes, Industrial History, Iron Industry, Labor History, Publishing, Rensselaer County, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable, Troy, Waterford

John Porter: Garfield Assassin Prosecutor from Waterford

December 5, 2021 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

James A. Garfield; Charles J. Guiteau; and John K. PorterThe 20th President of the United States, James Garfield, was born in a log cabin in Ohio and was a mule driver on the Ohio & Erie Canal. A graduate of Williams College, he later became an attorney and a skilled orator, and was elected to Congress in 1862.

He then served as a Major General during the Civil War. In the 1880 election Garfield conducted a “Front Porch Campaign” and narrowly defeated another Civil War General, Gettysburg hero Winfield Scott Hancock. [Read more…] about John Porter: Garfield Assassin Prosecutor from Waterford

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Crime and Justice, James Garfield, Legal History, Political History, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable, Waterford

Erie Canal Balladeer Tom Kilboy: A Short Biography

November 21, 2021 by David Brooks 5 Comments

This might just be the image of a once well-known but now forgotten canal man who boasted fast cash and could bellow sweet, eloquent canal ballads near Waterford and Cohoes, active for decades between the 1870s to the early 20th century.

On December 22, 1938, Works Progress Administration (WPA) worker R. P. Gray came into the acquaintance of one Tom Kilboy. Gray was part of the Federal Writers’ Project, created in 1935 “to provide employment for historians, teachers, writers, librarians, and other white-collar workers” according to the Library of Congress.

It was in that work that Kilboy had been interviewed in his apartment at 2307 Broadway, West Troy – today’s Watervliet. [Read more…] about Erie Canal Balladeer Tom Kilboy: A Short Biography

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Mohawk Valley Tagged With: Albany County, Cohoes, Erie Canal, Music, Musical History, Rensselaer County, Transportation History, Waterford, Watervliet

Empire State Trail Improvements in Waterford & Cohoes

November 17, 2021 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

empire state trailThe Hudson River Valley Greenway (HRVG) and New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) have announced the completion of two projects to improve a total of 4.2 miles of the Empire State Trail (EST) in Waterford and Cohoes. [Read more…] about Empire State Trail Improvements in Waterford & Cohoes

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Recreation Tagged With: bicycling, Cohoes, empire state trail, hiking, Waterford

1890 Hikers: Albany to Lake George and Back

August 19, 2021 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The following letter was original published in the trade magazine American Stationer on May 1st, 1890.

To the Editor of The Stationer

As the heated term of the year draws near I presume that any number of stationer clerks [stationary store clerks] are asking themselves as to how, when and where they shall spend their vacations. I want to give them a bit of advice regarding a summer outing. [Read more…] about 1890 Hikers: Albany to Lake George and Back

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Recreation Tagged With: Albany, Champlain Canal, Glens Falls, hiking, Lake George, Mount McGregor, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable, Saratoga Lake, Saratoga Springs, Schuylerville, Stillwater, Transportation History, Waterford

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