Author Archives: Editorial Staff

Carol Ash Elected to Palisades Park Conservancy Board


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Carol_Ash_2013_0Former Palisades Interstate Park Commission Executive Director and New York State Parks Commissioner Carol Ash has been elected to serve a three-year term on the Palisades Parks Conservancy Board of Directors.

During her career in the fields of natural and cultural resources preservation, Carol Ash has served as the first director of the Office of Environmental Policy and Management for the Port Authority of NY and NJ, the NYC Regional Director of the NYS DEC, the PIPC Executive Director, and the NY State Parks Commissioner. Continue reading →

Albany County 330th Anniversary Celebration Planned


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Tivoli StreetIn recognition of Archives Month and in celebration of Albany County’s 330th Anniversary there will be an Open House at the Albany County Hall of Records to see an exhibit of Albany’s earliest records on Thursday, October 31, 2013, from 10AM to 12 noon.

The highlight of the exhibits on display will be the Dongan Charter, the original charter that made Albany a city in 1686.  Although the charter is faded, the signature of Governor Thomas Dongan is still visible at the bottom of the last page, as is Dongan’s seal which is attached to the page with red wax and a tan and blue cord.

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Dramatic Tours Recapture Harrowing Night at Cherry Hill


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murder graphicOn Thursday, Friday and Saturday – October 31 through November 2 -  Historic Cherry Hill will present a dramatic tour reliving the infamous 1827 murder that occurred at the Cherry Hill mansion, one-time home of the Van Rensselaer family.

The public is invited to step into the experiences of the Cherry Hill household on the evening of May 7, 1827, when a hired hand murdered a household member.  The dramatic tour will investigate the scene of the crime and the differing perspectives of those who were there on that fateful evening.  Continue reading →

Program to Feature Artists of Taconic State Park


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Kensett Bash Bish ViewHistorian and art enthusiast Jim Mackin will present “Artists of Taconic State Park” at a lecture and slide show on Saturday, October 26th at 1pm at the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society, Corner of Route 344 and Miles Road in Copake Falls. Admission is free.

Mackin will share with the audience his quest to find artists who have painted in Taconic State Park since the early 1800s. His presentation will include related local and park history as well as stories about some of the renowned artists whose works found their way into prominent museums. The presentation will feature many images that illustrate how inspiring Taconic State Park has been to artists for nearly two centuries. John Frederick Kensett, Asher B. Durand and David Milne are among the artists expected to be featured. Continue reading →

Albany Ale Project ‘Cask Tap’ Event for 1901 Beer


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Albany Ale Keg tapThe Albany Ale Project is bringing back some of the beers of Albany’s past! In partnership with C.H. Evans Brewing Company, an adaptation of a 1901 recipe for “Amsdell’s Albany XX Ale” is about to be available for the first time in over 100 years.

A ceremonial “cask tap” event is planned for Saturday, November 2, 2013, from 5 to 7pm, at the Albany Institute of History & Art, to celebrate its return. Speakers include: the founding members of the Albany Ale Project, C.H. Evans’ brewer Ryan Demler, and the Institute’s Curator of History and Material Culture, Dr. W. Douglas McCombs. Food will be available and, of course, C.H. Evan’s version of one of Albany’s historic brews. Continue reading →

New Book: New Netherland in a Nutshell


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books-fabendAlthough the role of the Dutch in Early American history has been largely ignored, the facts are that New Netherland antedates New England, and religious toleration and ethnic diversity in the United States began with the Dutch.

Why isn’t this better known and taught in our schools? Because, until now an easy to read, short introduction to the history of New Netherland has been lacking. Firth Haring Fabend of Montclair, NJ, a recognized historian of the field, was commissioned by the New Netherland Institute to write New Netherland in a Nutshell (New Netherland Institute, 2012) to fill the gap.  Continue reading →

Remarkable Women in New York State History


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image001(5)The significant events in New York State history are well known to educators, students and New Yorkers alike. But often, the role that women played in these events has been overlooked.

In Remarkable Women in New York State History (History Press, 2013), Edited by Helen Engel and Marilynn Smiley, members of the American Association of University Women in New York State have meticulously researched the lives and actions of more than 300 of New York’s finest women. Continue reading →

This Week’s New York History Web Highlights


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Amtrak Re-Launches Great American Stations Website


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Fort Edward Train Station (Amtrak Photo)The Amtrak GreatAmericanStations.com website has been upgraded with new tools, resources and information to help local communities discover and develop the economic power of America’s train stations.

Since 2006, the site has provided resources to communities contemplating preservation and renovation of their publicly- or privately-owned stations, as well as the construction of new passenger rail or multi-modal facilities and the associated economic and social benefits they offer. The site includes step-by-step tools and resources, project ideas, suggested tactics and lessons learned from the station redevelopment experiences of others. Continue reading →

Warrensburg Graveyard Walks Planned


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Cemetary GuideTwo Graveyard Walks are planned for Warrensburg Cemetery. Characters expected to put in appearances this year represent people from Warrensburg’s earliest history, including the woman who hosted the first Town Board meeting and others.

The Graveyard Walks and Dinner have been sponsored by the Warrensburgh Historical Society since 2001, with sold-out audiences every year. The public is encouraged to make their reservations early, as space is limited. Continue reading →

19th Century Antislavery Dinner to be Presented


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1835 Anti-Slavery SocietyA 19th Century Antislavery Dinner will be held at site of Inaugural meeting of the 1835 NYS Antislavery Society Meeting Saturday, October 19, 2013, at 5 pm. The 19th Century Buffet Dinner begins with Mock Turtle Soup, followed by four entrees of Breaded Pork Cutlets with Fried Apples, Boiled Corned Beef and Cabbage, Ragout of Mutton and Vegetables, and Roasted Capon with Dried Fruit Stuffing served with sides of Baked Macaroni au gratin, Greens and Mashed Turnips, Succotash, and Crackling Bread. The Maple Apple Pan Dowdy dessert demonstrates the abolitionists’ desire to avoid using slave sugar. Continue reading →

A Short History of the Highrise: Innovative Short Films


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Highrise FilmThe New York Times’s Op-Docs and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) have debuted an immersive, interactive multimedia series on urban highrise living. The series, “A Short History of the Highrise,” had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival and launches today on NYTimes.com.

The series unfolds in four short, interactive films that viewers can navigate using touch commands like swipe, pinch, pull and tap. On desktop and laptop computers, users can mouse over features and click to navigate. Smartphone users can view the four films via the New York Times Mobile Web site. Continue reading →

New Fellows at the New-York Historical Society


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NYC_Historical_SocietyThe New-York Historical Society has announced eight fellowship recipients for the 2013-14 academic year. Leveraging its collections of documents, artifacts, and works of art documenting American history from the perspective of New York, New-York Historical fellowships provide scholars with material resources and an intellectual community to develop new research and publications that illuminate complex issues of the past. Continue reading →

National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum Inductions


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Abolition Hall of Fame 2The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum (NAHOF) in Peterboro NY is finalizing its 2013 programs for the induction of four 19th Century abolitionists.

A program on each nominee will be presented for the Colgate University Upstate Institute Abolition Symposia on Saturday afternoon, October 19th at the Peterboro United Methodist Church, across the road from NAHOF at 5255 Pleasant Valley Road: Continue reading →

Tourism Focus of ‘Lakes to Locks’ Annual Meeting Thursday


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L2L_Logo_Final2-[Converted]The Board of Lakes to Locks Passage is inviting the public to attend their Annual Meeting on Thursday, October 10 from 10AM to 12 noon, at the Crandall Public Library, 251 Glen Street, Glens Falls, NY.  The Lakes to Locks Passage Annual Meeting provides an overview of current activities and recent achievements for communities in the region.

This year’s guest speaker will be Gavin Landry, Executive Director of Empire State Development’s Tourism Division, addressing the future of tourism in New York State and how Lakes to Locks Passage can help play an active role in the brand of I Love NY. Continue reading →

SUNY Plattsburgh Puts Yearbooks Online


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cardinal coversIf terms like Roaring Twenties, Winter Weekend and Homecoming Weekend sound familiar, you may be a graduate or staff member of SUNY Plattsburgh.

For a look into these events, as well as many others, go no further than the closest Internet connection. A total of 87 SUNY Plattsburgh Cardinal Yearbooks, consisting of 16,046 images, are now part of the New York Heritage site (www.nyheritage.org). This project was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the college and the Northern New York Library Network based in Potsdam. Continue reading →

Jeanie Johnston: The Legendary Irish Famine Ship


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Iimage002(3)n All Standing: The Remarkable Story of the Jeanie Johnston, The Legendary Irish Famine Ship (Free Press, 2013), Kathryn Miles recounts the dramatic tale of a legendary ship, the Jeanie Johnston, that ran between Ireland and North America during the height of the Irish famine. During this time, the people of Ireland emigrated to North America in search of job opportunities and a better life, crowding onto aptly named “coffin ships,” whose gruesome conditions rivaled those of slave transports.

But unlike every other coffin ship, the Jeanie Johnston never lost a passenger. While over 100,000 people died aboard other coffin ships, the combined efforts of the Jeanine Johnston’s crew allowed thousands of individuals to find safety and fortune throughout the United States and Canada. Continue reading →

New Book Explores Life On A Putnam County Farm


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Life on a rocky farmLife on a Rocky Farm (SUNY Press, 2013) is a folksy look at farm life in rugged Putnam Valley (Putnam County) just as it was being transformed by industrialization and mechanization. The book couples Lucas C. Barger’s (1866–1939) eye for detail with a folksy, anecdotal style to provide an interesting depiction of both the traditional ways of farm life, and the challenges farmers faced as times changed.

Previously unpublished, Barger’s first-hand account of farm life near New York City begins in the late nineteenth century. Little had changed for well over a century in the hilly and rugged terrain of Putnam Valley, where Lucas grew up as a member of the sixth generation of Barger farmers. But as the nineteenth century gave way to the twentieth, industrialization and mechanization decreased the demand for farm labor and farmers had to come up with alternate ways to make money. Continue reading →