History, Natural History & the Arts
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
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced that cleanup of contamination a historic cooperage site on the old Champlain Canal is expected to resume this month.
In its early years, Friedrichsohn Cooperage (also spelled Fredrickson) made and refurbished wooden kegs and barrels. DEC says the cooperage dates to 1817, but some historians claim as early as 1791. Tradition has it that meat-packer Samuel Wilson of Troy (Uncle Sam) was among the company’s customers. [Read more…] about Clean-Up Planned For Historic Cooperage Site On Old Champlain Canal
The 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
The 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
The Waterford Historical Museum, located at 2 Museum Lane, has announced their summer schedule of events, including a Chocolate Tasting and Open House, the Annual Tugboat Roundup, the Annual Sal Open and Clam Bake, and more. [Read more…] about Waterford Historical Museum Upcoming Events
More 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
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
The 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
A 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
The 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