One hundred and sixty-six summers ago-- one year after fugitive slave Frederick Douglass lectured in Keeseville--Albany Underground Railroad agent Abel Brown “took” the Burlington steamboat on Lake Champlain and reported, “Many a slave has enjoyed the indescribable pleasure of leaping from the liberty-loving Burlington."
Hundreds of fugitives from slavery escaped every year to New York City. They were forwarded to Albany and onto Champlain Canal packet boats. At Whitehall they boarded the Burlington. From Port Kent, they could make their way to Keeseville and Stephen Keese Smith's farm in Peru. Smith hid fugitives from slavery in his barns and drove them in his uncle's wagon to Champlain. Then Noadiah Moore took them across the border to Lacolle, Canada, and helped them find work. They were free, at last.
People opposed the abolitionists. Friends and neighbors turned against them. Brethren left their churches.
On August 14th, North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association's President, Don Papson, will lead a guided tour, “Villages and Churches Divided.” The tour will begin with a 10 am orientation in Keeseville's Ausable Valley Grange at 1749 Main Street. Stops will be made at abolition and UGRR sites where participants will read passages from historic documents. The trial of Rev. Andrew Witherspoon and the stirring words of Frederick Douglass will be relived. The last stop at 3 pm will be at a hidden room. Participants must apply early as the tour is limited to 20 people. The cost is $30 for members of NCUGRHA; $40 for non members. Each participant is asked to pack a lunch, wear walking shoes and bring an umbrella. To register, please contact Helen Nerska at 518-643-0938 or email allenhomestead@gmail.com
“Villages and Churches Divided” is a 5th Annual Canal Splash! event. Canal Splash! celebates the history and culture of New York's Canals.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Frederick Douglass's 1843 Lecture to Highlight Tour
By Editorial Staff
Friday, July 30, 2010
This Week's New York History Web Highlights
By Editorial Staff
- Fenimore Art Museum: Upstate Birds-eye Views
- Ephemeral NY: Old Manhattan Lives on in City Parks
- Preservationist Confessions: Campbell-Whittlesey House Closing
- Clermont SHS: Clermont Livingston's Garden
- Brooklynology: eden ahbez
- The Bowery Boys: Cable Cars, Trolleys and Monorails
- Adirondack Almanack: Raquette Lake Durant Days
- City Room: 19th-Century Piano So Square, It’s Cool
- The In Box: Historic Arctic Wreck Found
- Confessions of a Gene-a-holic: Shocking Family Stories
VT Seeks Candidates For Native American Commission
By Editorial Staff
A new law that sets up a process for state recognition of Native American tribes in Vermont has revised the makeup of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs and has that panel seeking nine new members.
The law, also known as S222, increased the number of members on the VCNAA from seven to nine, and also imposes a Vermont residency requirement for the first time.
“This law establishes a completely new Native American Commission with new responsibilities,” said Giovanna Peebles, State Historic Preservation Officer and director of the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.
Governor Jim Douglas will be appointing 9 new members to the VCNAA by September 1, provided that a sufficient number of qualified candidates have submitted applications to the Governor.
The new law requires that eligible applicants must have lived in Vermont for a minimum of three years and that appointments should “reflect a diversity of affiliations and geographic locations in Vermont.”
The division will compile a list of candidates from recommendations from Native American communities residing in Vermont. Individuals may also apply to the Division.
All applications will be due at the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation by August 15, 2010.
The VCNAA will implement the new process, as set forth by the Vermont legislature, for recognizing Native American tribes in Vermont that includes review by the commission, an independent review committee of experts, and approval by the legislature.
Applications for appointment to the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs will be available on-line July 22, 2010, at the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation website: www.historicvermont.org or the VCNAA website: http://vcnaa.vermont.gov/.
A full-text review of S222 can be found online [pdf].
This Week's Top New York History News
By Editorial Staff
- Gloversville Closer to Razing Old Church
- Look Building Named a Landmark
- NJ Town Fed By Slavery
- FDR Archive to be Opened
- Dive to Champlain Tug Set for Spring
- APA: Four Options For Fire Towers
- Boy Scouts 100th Anniversary Event
- Celebrating Dutch-Canadian Heritage
- Officials Vote to Move Historic Mansion
- Slavery Subject of Johnson Hall Dig
- Button Engines at Waterford Heritage Day
- Essex County Tenant Farm Restoration
- 1900 Span Will Be Part of Trail
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Haudenosaunee Dancers at Iroquois Museum
By Editorial Staff
The Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave, NY has announced the second in a series of three “Summer Dance Saturdays” featuring Iroquois social dance groups. This Saturday, July 31, will feature the Haudenosaunee Dancers from Onondaga. The group will perform three sets at approximately 11, 1, and 3. Visitors are encouraged and welcomed to join in with the dancers.
Led by Sherri Waterman Hopper, the Haudenosaunee Dancers will perform Iroquois social dances as practiced in their small traditional community near Syracuse. Waterman-Hopper has traveled internationally as an artist and cultural speaker.
The Dancers feature a core group of seasoned singer/musicians and young adults. Pride in the culture and adherence to the traditions are the hallmarks of this troupe. Hopper is also a respected designer and seamstress who incorporates her knowledge of the construction and significance of traditional outfits into her presentations.
For more information contact the Museum at: Iroquois Indian Museum, P.O. Box 7, 324 Caverns Road, Howes Cave, NY 12092, 518-296-8949, info@iroquoismuseum.org or visit their web site at www.iroquoismuseum.org.
Stony Point Battlefield Evening Lantern Tour
By Editorial Staff
The Stony Point Battlefield State Historic Site will be hosting an Evening Battlefield Lantern Tour on Saturday, August 7, 2010 at 7:30 PM. Participants will learn the Learn story of the Storming of Stony Point as they follow in the footsteps of the American Light Infantry soldiers who captured the British fort.
Presented by the Friends of the Stony Point Battlefield & Lighthouse. Please bring a flashlight and bug spray. Admission $4.00 adults, $3.00 seniors and children 10 and older. Program not appropriate for children younger than age 10. Reservations are required.
The historic site is located at 44 Battlefield Road, accessed from Park Road. off Route 9W in Stony Point. For more information and directions and to reserve your spot, call the site office at 845-786-2521.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
CFP: Abolishing Slavery in the Atlantic World
By Editorial Staff
The Call for Proposals submission deadline has been extended to July 31, 2010 for Abolishing Slavery in the Atlantic World: The 'Underground Railroad' in the Americas, Africa, and Europe, The Tenth Anniversary Underground Railroad Public History Conference to be held April 8 - 10, 2011. The event is being organized by Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, and hosted by Russell Sage College, in Troy, New York.
Where there was slavery, there was resistance, escape, and rebellion. The Transatlantic Slave Trade (1400s to 1800s) was a global enterprise that transformed the four continents bordering the Atlantic, and that engendered the formation of a multifaceted and international Underground Railroad resistance movement. The broad geographic nature of this freedom struggle is the theme of the 2011 UGR Public History Conference. The organizers invite proposals that address capture, enslavement, and resistance within and across borders in Africa, Europe, and the Americas, historically and contemporarily, as well as proposals that address the preservation of the voices of the past and their relationship with us today.
Proposals should be submitted by July 30, 2010 Via postal mail to URHPCR, PO Box 10851, Albany NY 12201 or via email to urhpcr2011@gmail.com For more information, visit www.ugrworkshop.com or call 518-432-4432
Hike Into History at Mount Independence
By Editorial Staff
Visitors are invited to “hike into history” at a Vermont historic site that Yankee magazine has named the best in New England for doing just that.
On Sunday, August 1st, at 2:00 p.m., Steve Zeoli will lead another of his popular hikes into history at the Mount Independence State Historic Site in Orwell.
“Steve is the president of the Mount Independence Coalition and a former caretaker at the site, so he really knows both the trails and the history behind them,” said Elsa Gilbertson, Regional Site Administrator with the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.
Visitors will get an in depth look at what can be found along the Orange and Baldwin Trails and learn what was happening during the American Revolution at this important military site.
The site is a National Historic Landmark and has been named a 2010 Editors’ Choice in Yankee Magazine’s Travel Guide to New England, winning the “Best Hike Through History.”
In 1776, the sprawling military complex at Mount Independence was one of the largest communities in North America after some 12,000 soldiers built a massive fort to defend against an anticipated British attack from the north.
On the night of July 5, 1777, General Arthur St. Clair withdrew the American army from Mount Independence and nearby Fort Ticonderoga without firing a shot after a British force more than twice his size occupied high ground from which they could bombard him with impunity.
The British and Germans occupied Mount Independence until November of that year.
While the Baldwin Trail meets outdoor standards for handicapped accessibility, participants are urged to wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather.
Admission is $5.00 for adults and free for children under 15, and includes the guided walk, access to all the trails, and a visit to the air-conditioned visitor center with its exciting exhibits.
Call (802) 948-2000 for more information or visit www.historicvermont.org/sites.
Illustration: Mural of Mount Independence 1776-1777, by Ernest Haas
Commissioned by the Mount Independence Coalition. On display at Mount Independence State Historic Site in Orwell, Vermont.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
"Cookin' Out" With the Adirondack Museum
By Editorial Staff
The Adirondack Museum will hold a special event, "The Adirondacks are Cooking' Out," this Thursday, July 29, 2010. Activities are planned from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. All are included in the price of general museum admission.
A highlight of the day will be a "top chef" competition - Adirondack style. Outstanding regional chefs will compete in a trial by campfire. Visitors are invited to watch and cheer them on as guest judges choose the winner of this outdoor cooking challenge.
The Campfire Cook-Off will begin at 11:00 a.m. Each chef will select his own menu; all will cook over an open fire. The grills will be hot! The food hotter! Judging will take place at 1:00 p.m.
Competitors include: Chef Kevin McCarthy, former Executive Chef at The Point in Saranac Lake, N.Y. and the Lake Placid Lodge, Lake Placid, N.Y., now a faculty member at Paul Smith's College; Chef Stephen Topper, former Executive Sous Chef at The Sagamore on Lake George, Executive Chef at Friends Lake Inn, Chestertown, N.Y., and currently at Lorenzo's al Forno in the Copperfield Inn, North Creek, N.Y.
Also, Chef Richard Brosseau, Executive Chef at the Interlaken Inn and Restaurant, Lake Placid, N.Y., and Chef Luke Bowers, Executive Chef, barVino, North Creek, N.Y. Tony Zazula, co-owner of "Commerce," a contemporary American restaurant in Greenwich Village, Suvir Saran, a respected food authority, television personality, and consultant worldwide, and Sally Longo, a chef and owner of Aunt Sally's Catering, Glens Falls, N.Y. will be judges for the Campfire Cook-Off.
Lake Placid Brewery will offer a tasting of their award winning products - including Ubu Ale, the brewery's flagship beer -- from 12 noon until 4:00 p.m. Visitors must be twenty-one years of age to enjoy the sampling; ID will be required.
Visitors can expand their own cooking skills by participating in demonstrations and food-related talks throughout the day. At 1:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. smoking and grilling will be the hot topics. Join Susan Rohrey (grilling) and John Roe (smoking) to learn more about both techniques.
The presentations "Edible Adirondack Mushrooms" and "Wild Vegetables of the Adirondacks" with Jane Desotelle and "Pairing Beer & Food" with Christopher Ericson, founder, owner, and brewmaster of Lake Placid Brewery will be offered in the museum's Auditorium. Times will be posted.
Intermountain Trio will offer three sets of classic folk and rock in the Marion River Carry Pavilion at 12:00 noon, 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Visitors can purchase lunch hot off the grill at the Patio Café. The menu includes Kilcoyne burgers available with Oscar's Smokehouse bacon or cheese, Oscar's hot dogs, Saratoga Potato Chips, and Saranac Soft Drinks.
Dessert can be a yummy do-it-yourself project. "Make Your Own Gourmet S'mores," will be available from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m., while supplies last.
"The Adirondacks are Cookin' Out" will also feature hands-on fun for all ages, exhibit tours, a vendor's market, and local food products including barbeque sauces and rubs in the Museum Store.
Patroons and Plowmen, Pietism and Politics:
Dutch Settlers in the Hudson Valley
By Editorial Staff
Firth Fabend will give a series of lectures presenting a brief overview of the Dutch people who settled in the Hudson Valley in the 17th and 18th centuries. She illustrates her talk with eighty slides, screened in forty pairs for purposes of comparison. Fabend asks, who were these Dutch people who replanted themselves in the Hudson Valley when it was a wolf-infested wilderness? Why did they come to America? What did they do when they got here? And why is their cultural influence still felt in the area today? She examines the importance of the fur trade, the importation of slavery, the patroon system of land tenure vs. the English manorial system, farming practices, family structure, domestic architecture and house furnishings, the religious culture, the winsome beauty of the land, and the schism in the Dutch Reformed Church that paralleled the divisions between Patriots and Tories in the War of Revolution.
The lecture will be given at the following locations:
Fort Montgomery on Thursday, August 5, at 7:30 p.m. [LINK]
Fishkill Historical Society on Saturday,Sept. 11 at 2 p.m. [LINK]
Emanuel United Church of Christ in Woodhaven, NY on September 29th at 1:00 p.m. [LINK]
Firth Haring Fabend is the author of the prize-winning works A Dutch Family in the Middle Colonies, 1660-1800, and Zion on the Hudson: Dutch New York and New Jersey in the Age of Revivals, both published by Rutgers University Press, and many scholarly articles. Land So Fair, a historical novel set in the Hudson Valley, with flashbacks to New Netherland, is her sixth novel. She is a Fellow of The Holland Society of New York, The New Netherland Institute in Albany, and the New York Academy of History.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Bar-B-Cayuga to Benefit Cayuga Museum
By Editorial Staff
Food catered by Balloon’s Restaurant and music by The Flying Column will be the main attractions for this 4th Annual Cayuga Museum of History and Art barbecue fundraiser to be held on Sunday, August 15th from 3 pm to 6 pm at the Deauville Island Shelter at Emerson Park in Auburn, NY. Tickets are only $25 per person for adults and $15 for children under 10 years. Tickets are available by advance sale only.
To purchase tickets, visit, call or send a check to the Cayuga Museum, 203 Genesee St., Auburn, NY. 13021. Tickets are also available at www.cayuganet.org/cayugamuseum. No ticket will be sold after August 9th. For more information, contact Museum staff at (315) 253-8051.
Vermont Adopts New Archeological Protection
By Editorial Staff
A new rule for protecting archeological and historical sites during development under Act 250 is in place after a legislative panel signed off the changes.
Officials from the Douglas administration said the new rule would maintain the protection of archeological sites while making it easier for applicants to comply with the state’s environmental protection and development control law.
“This new rule should make the process of applying for an Act 250 permit smoother and more predictable for an applicant under the ‘historic sites’ section of Criterion 8,” said Tayt Brooks, Commissioner of Economic, Housing and Community Development, including the Division for Historic Preservation.
Under Act 250, the division makes recommendations to the district environmental commissions on whether a proposed development would impact “historic sites,” including archeological sites.
The new rule clarifies that District Commissions, not the Division, have the final decision-making authority about such questions as whether to require additional field studies, and whether a site is historically significant enough to warrant protecting it.
“The division doesn’t issue permits,” Brooks said. “Our experts provide testimony to the District Commission about historic and archeological resources, and whether or not a project will adversely affect them.”
While the state recommends how much field study should be done to determine whether an area is historically significant and should be protected if a permit is issued, the District Commissions make those decisions
The new rule also clarifies that the definition of a “historic site” includes archeological sites that have not yet been discovered, and encourages applicants to work with the Division as early as possible in the planning process to identify and protect sites, even well before an Act 250 application is submitted.
“We can identify an area as historically significant and recommend to the District Commission that an archeological investigation be conducted by the applicant to ensure no undue adverse effect,” Brooks said. “The applicant can still present evidence to the commission disputing that.”
The new rule also sets additional time limits for reviews to make the process more predictable for permit applicants.
Brooks said the changes reflected the feedback received during five public meetings last summer around the state, and minor changes were made after a hearing before the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules, which then recommended approval of the new rule.
Additional details and the final rule are available at www.HistoricVermont.org
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Get New York History Delivered Every Day
By Editorial Staff
More than 400 people get the New York History blog each day via various subscription services. It's a convenient way to get the latest New York History news, information, and events.
There are a number of ways you can subscribe:
Get New York History By E-Mail
RSS Feed - Subscribe!
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Facebook (occasional updates).
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Lois McClure at Champlain Canal's Hudson Crossing
By Editorial Staff
On Wednesday July 28, from 10am to 5pm, the 90-foot canal schooner Lois McClure while will be docked at Hudson Crossing Park, located on Champlain Canal Lock 5 Island, off of Route 4 just north of Schuylerville, Saratoga County.
The schooner Lois McClure is a full-scale replica of an 1862 sailing canal boat. These unique vessels were designed to sail from lake cities to canal ports using wind power and then to lower their masts and sails when traveling along canals. The schooner staff will share stories about the boat and its role in New York State history.
Hudson Crossing President Marlene Bissell welcomes the Lois McClure back and says, “Seeing and boarding this exquisite replica of an authentic canal boat makes you feel like you’ve stepped back to another era. It’s an exciting way to experience the continuum of history that the Hudson River and Champlain Canal holds.”
Hudson Crossing is a bi-county educational park project centered on and near the Champlain Canal Lock 5 Island of the Hudson River. For more information about this event or to learn more about Hudson Crossing Bi-County Park, please call Marlene Bissell at 518.859.1462 or visit their website.
18th-Century Day at the Historic Schuyler House
By Editorial Staff
On Sunday, August 8 from noon to 5pm, the 1777 Schuyler House on Route 4 in Schuylerville, will be the setting for dozens of artisans demonstrating their crafts much as they were plied over 200 years ago when many things for the home were handcrafted. Visitors to the 32nd annual Eighteenth Century Day will be able to enjoy free tours of the Schuyler House, listen to music of the period, see Punch and Judy puppet shows, plus stroll around artisans demonstrating 18th century crafts and showing their wares. Tinsmithing, blacksmithing, broom-making, basket-making, rope-making, beer brewing, spinning, dyeing, weaving, rug-hooking, butter-making and carpentry are among some of the arts to be demonstrated. There will also be colonial-era farm life activities such as discussions of farming methods, medicinal treatments and leather-working.
This traditional event is organized by the Old Saratoga Historical Association, a non-profit educational organization that provides furnishings for the Schuyler House and promotes interest in the history of Old Saratoga, Schuylerville, Victory and the Town of Saratoga areas, from Native American occupation, through modern times.
Free light refreshments will be available. Visitors are advised to dress for the weather, and to wear insect repellent and sunscreen, and to bring water.
Saratoga National Historical Park presents special interpretive events and programs throughout the year. For further information about this and other programs, please call (518) 664-9821 ext. 224 or check their website.
Friday, July 23, 2010
This Week's New York History Web Highlights
By Editorial Staff
- George Eastman House: Happy Birthday George Eastman!
- Landmarks45: The Fate of the Singer Building
- Adirondack Almanack: The Trudeau Sanitorium Diet
- Lord and Lady: Oneida County Pioneer Judge Hugh White
- Bowery Boys: NYC's Elevated Railroads
- Berne, NY: History of Names for the Town of Berne
- Archivist's Mailbag: The Last Hours of Alexander Hamilton
- NY Outdoors Blog: High Line History & Photos
- Don Rittner: ATrip Off The Old Block [Troy Streets]
- Tailhook Studio: 2010 Historic Aircraft Show at Geneseo
Event: Last Encampment of the Continental Army
By Editorial Staff
On Saturday August 14, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM visitors to the New Windsor Cantonment in Orange County can experience by candlelight the recreated dramatic last days of the encampment at New Windsor, before most of the Continental Army returned home after 8 years of war. Costumed historians will interact with visitors as if they were in 1783 at the re-created huts, owned by the Town of New Windsor and administered by the Last Encampment of the Continental Army, on the west side of Route 300 and on the north side of Causeway Road.
After 8 years of war, most of the army was finally allowed to go home, but some soldiers had to remain under arms until the British evacuated New York City. There was tension in the air. Knowing that their time was short, soldiers lashed out at their officers. One, they hung in effigy. Causing further resentment, the soldiers would not receive their long overdue pay, only certificates for three months pay, redeemable in six months.
Visitors will here tales of past glories, suffering, and share their hopes and aspirations for an uncertain future and tour the encampment grounds by the glow of tin lanterns and experience the tense days before the army left New Windsor, with the soldiers and civilians who once made their homes in the area.
The “residents” have no knowledge of any events past June 1783, like the fact that their beloved General Washington will one day be the President of the United States, with strong powers enumerated in the 1787 Constitution.
Visitors will meet few, if any, names that they recognize from history, but instead humble souls whose efforts combined with thousands of others, helped forge a nation. This type of presentation, called “first-person living history,” has developed into a very exciting way to make history more meaningful to visitors. This technique is used at Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts and Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.
The event is co-sponsored by the National Temple Hill Association and New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site. The National Temple Hill Association administers the Last Encampment of the Continental Army for the Town of New Windsor and owns the historic Edmonston House.
Photo: Two Soldiers of the Massachusetts Line, in a Hut, at the Last Encampment of the Continental Army, New Windsor, New York
This Week's Top New York History News
By Editorial Staff
- Champlain Canal Trail Gets Longer
- 18th-Century Ship Found at Trade Center Site
- Input Sounght on L.I. Water Trail
- Whiteface Highway Celebrates 75 Years
- 1,000 Help Stage 1760 Ogdensburg Battle
- Ceremony to Honor War of 1812 Leader
- Church to be Razed For Stewarts
- A Model of Scientific History
- State Postpones Rogers Island Purchase
Thursday, July 22, 2010
NYS Military Museum Wins History Award
By Editorial Staff
An online project created by the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center and the Saratoga Springs Public Library has won one of two First Prize awards in a contest sponsored by the History Channel.
Honoring Saratoga Veterans, a page available at the library website, features interviews with six Saratoga County residents who served in World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam and Iraq. The videos, recorded as part of the museum's Veterans Oral History Program, help tell the story of Saratoga residents in America's wars.
The History Channel prize, awarded in conjunction with the Institute for Museum and Library Services, recognizes libraries which created local programs, exhibits or media projects to tell about the role of their communities in the larger American story.
The contest was created in conjunction with the History Channel series: "America: The Story of Us." It was open to libraries around the country and recognized 13 winners, which shared $35,000 in prize money. The Grand Prize Winner-the Lower Macungie Library in Macungie, PA-received a $15,000 prize for an exhibit on the impact of the Apollo 13 flight, on the local community.
The Saratoga Springs Public Library will receive $5,000 in prize money which library director Issac Pulver says will be shared by the museum. The other First Prize Winner was the Erie Community Library of Erie, Colorado, with a project called " Erie: From Working Coal Town to Suburban Boom Town."
Ten second prize winning libraries received ten $1,000 prizes.
The New York State Military museum houses over 10,000 artifacts dating from the Revolutionary War to the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that relate to New York State's military forces, the state's military history and the contributions of New York's veterans. The artifacts include uniforms, weapons, artillery pieces, and art. A significant portion of the museum's collection is from the Civil War.
The museum also owns the largest collection of state battle flags in the country and the largest collection of Civil War flags in the world. Of the over 1700 flags in the collection, more than 60% are from the Civil War.
The library and archive holdings in the Veterans Research Center include a 2000 volume library of military and New York State history, over 6,000 photographs, unit history files, broadsides, scrapbooks, letters and maps.
Niagara Falls State Park Celebrates 125 Years
By Editorial Staff
The nation's oldest state park, Niagara Falls State Park, celebrated its 125th Anniversary this week with a concert by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra on Goat Island and the dedication of a restored pocket park.
On July 15, 1885 then Governor David Hill dedicated the land and created Niagara Falls State Park. Created to protect its natural beauty from the continued industrialization of the river and to allow public access to its scenery, Niagara Falls became a blueprint for public parks across the country-both state and national parks. Eight million people now visit Niagara Falls each year, making it the most popular park in the New York State Park system.
Ancestors of Thomas V. Welch, the first superintendent of Niagara Falls State Park and a member of the Free Niagara Movement, were on hand to dedicate Heritage Park which is the site of a renovated pocket park just outside of Niagara Falls State Park. The park which serves as a connection for visitors between the city and the park is now the home of several plaques and markers from historical events and figures of Niagara Falls State Park. New pavers were also installed and landscaping was done by volunteers from the community.
Anniversary events continue through the reminder of the year including the "History Comes Alive" program where historical figures including Annie Edson Taylor, Frederick Law Olmsted, Nikola Tesla, Father Louis Hennepin and others who spent time at Niagara Falls State Park share their stories of the park with visitors. See www.niagarafallsstatepark.com for a full listing of events.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Increased Visitation Trend Continues at NYS Parks
By Editorial Staff
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has announced that Fourth of July holiday weekend attendance numbers were consistent with the strong showing in the early part of the summer season. Attendance over the three-day holiday weekend increased by six percent over last year.
All totaled, nearly 1.9 million people spent a portion of their holiday weekend at a state park or historic site.
Last year, the state park system recorded nearly 56 million visits. The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees 178 state parks and 35 historic sites. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456, visit www.nysparks.com.
Revolutionary War Comes Alive In Vermont
By Editorial Staff
The public is invited to experience the Revolutionary War and the road to American independence as the site of the largest colonial fortification hosts two days of battle re-enactments, demonstrations, and living history activities. The annual “Soldiers Atop the Mount” living history weekend takes place at the Mount Independence State Historic Site in Orwell, Saturday and Sunday, July 24 and 25.
Both days offer opportunities to visit the American and British camps and speak with re-enactors whose units portray some of the actual units that garrisoned Mount Independence.
On Saturday, the camps open at 10:30 a.m. with ongoing demonstrations of camp life, a history scavenger hunt, and children’s activities. At 11:00 a.m. visitors can learn how to drill the American way for children and the young at heart; and at 11:30 there will be a choice of guided tours of the camps or attendance at Mistress Davenport’s School.
Later, at 1:00 p.m. there will be an artillery demonstration followed by a 2:00 p.m. reading of the Declaration of Independence and music by the Seth Warner Mount Independence Fife and Drum Corps.
Finally, the day concludes at 3:00 p.m. with a narrated military tactical demonstration with exciting battle action encircling the audience.
On Sunday, the camps open at 10:00 a.m. and the history scavenger hunt is on. At 11:00 see the artillery demonstration, go on a guided camp tour at 11:30 or attend Mistress Davenport’s School, and experience the narrated military tactical demonstration at 1:30 p.m.
The camp closes at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, but at 2:30 p.m. site interpreter Karl Crannell will give a short talk in the auditorium on Gen. John Stark, hero of the Battle of Bennington.
Constructed in 1776 and 1777 on a rugged peninsula jutting into Lake Champlain, Mount Independence was perfectly positioned to defend the southern lake and New England against British attack from Canada.
On the night of July 5, 1777, the American Army under General Arthur St. Clair withdrew from Mount Independence in Orwell and Fort Ticonderoga across the lake after British General John Burgoyne sailed down, planning to split New England off from the rest of the colonies.
Faced with a British force more than twice his size that had occupied high ground from which they could bombard him with impunity, St. Clair abandoned the fortifications without a fight.
Two days later at the Battle of Hubbardton soldiers from Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire fought in a savage rear guard action to halt Burgoyne’s army.
The fact that these actions preserved the army while stopping the British advance –helping lead to the stunning American victory in October at the Battle of Saratoga – didn’t prevent an outraged Congress from officially censuring St. Clair for the loss of the forts.
He argued that his conduct had been honorable; demanded review by a court martial; and was ultimately exonerated. The British and Germans occupied Mount Independence until November of that year.
Tickets are $6.00 for adults and free for children under 15. This includes admission to the event, the museum, and access to all the trails.
Mount Independence, a National Historic Landmark, is near the end of Mount Independence Road six miles west of the intersection of Vermont Routes 22A and 73 in Orwell and is one of the nation’s best-preserved Revolutionary War sites.
It includes an air conditioned visitor center and museum and nearly six miles of hiking trails, including the award-winning Baldwin Trail, which meets outdoor standards for handicapped accessibility and features new interpretive signs.
Call (802) 948-2000 for more information or visit www.HistoricVermont.org/sites.
Photo: American Revolutionary War Soldiers firing at Mount Independence. Courtesy Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Minnewaska State Park Master Plan Adopted
By Editorial Staff
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission have adopted a master plan for Minnewaska State Park Preserve. State Parks has reinstated the master planning process throughout the park system, and Minnewaska State Park is among the first to complete a new master plan. Park master plans define a long-term, sustainable vision for parks by helping to identify best uses for a specific site, make the most of limited resources, and protect the environment.
The Minnewaska master plan includes natural resource protection measures and more avenues for recreation, including expansion of hiking, biking, equestrian and climbing opportunities, and reuse of the former Phillips House as the preserve office and visitor center. [LINK]
The master plan outlines OPRHP's vision for potential capital improvements, operational enhancements and natural and cultural resource stewardship within Minnewaska State Park for the next ten to fifteen years. Factors such as the availability of funding, the need to invest in rehabilitation of existing park infrastructure, and other pressing needs in the entire state parks system will influence the sequence and timing of the improvements.
Highlights of the plan include:
• Developing a climbing management plan to indicate additional areas suitable for rock climbing;
• Creating a looped single track mountain bike trail system and enhancing the existing woods roads for hiking and horseback riding;
• Implementing ridgewide efforts focused on fire management, deer impacts on biodiversity and invasive species control; and
• Reusing the former Phillips House as the preserve office and visitor center and improving parking lot designs.
Free Guided Bicycle Tours at Saratoga Battlefield
By Editorial Staff
Explore the history and scenery of Saratoga National Historical Park, located on Route 32 and 4 in Stillwater, by joining a Park Ranger for free guided bike tours of the battlefield at 6:00pm to 7:30pm on Wednesday July 21 and Wednesday August 18. Participants will meet at the flagpole at the Visitor Center parking lot. Because the rides are weather dependent, call the park at 664.9821 ext. 224 by 4:30pm to learn the bike ride status.
Touring the battlefield by bicycle combines the relaxation of fresh air, fantastic scenery, and the experience of touching history. These guided bike tours will cover various sections of the Battlefield, giving riders a unique opportunity to learn about the Battle of Saratoga and the history of the park, all while breathing in the ambience of a rural summer evening.
Helmets are required for riders 14 and under, and are recommended for all riders. Please bring water and wear insect repellant.
For more information about the bike rides or other programs at Saratoga National Historical Park—the national park in your own backyard—call the Visitor Center at 518-664-9821 ext. 224 or check the park website at www.nps.gov/sara.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Troy: Chances to Tour 'Limited Access' Sites
By Editorial Staff
Hidden history will be revealed as the Rensselaer County Historical Society offers unique opportunities to tour limited-access sites around Troy. From a riverfront warehouse painstakingly renovated into an elegant loft apartment to the attic of the 1786 Melville House, the Rensselaer County Historical Society’s Hidden History programs offer the public opportunities to tour historic buildings and sites not normally open to the general public.
Participants may register for individual programs ($12 members/$15 not-yet-members) or for the whole 4-program series ($45 members/$50 not-yet-members). All tours last an hour and meet at the location specified. Call 518-272-7232, x12 to register or register online at http://www.rchsonline.org/registration.html.
HIDDEN HISTORY: 169 River Street Renovation
Date: Tuesday, July 27, 2010; 4:30-5:30 pm
Place: 169 River Street, Troy
169 River Street was once home to the Wustefeld Candy Company. Now, this renovated warehouse building on Troy’s riverfront is a great example of the adaptive re-use of historic structures. Explore this former warehouse building and learn about how it was transformed into a modern loft apartment - with some wonderful traces of its industrial past remaining.
HIDDEN HISTORY: Herman Melville House
Date: Tuesday, August 24, 2010; 4:30-5:30 pm
Place: Corner 1st Ave and 114th Street, Lansingburgh
The 1786 Melville House was home to Herman Melville while he wrote his first two novels and is now home to the Lansingburgh Historical Society. Join us for a tour of this historic building, including its “Attic Museum” which highlights Lansingburgh’s unique contributions to the area economy.
HIDDEN HISTORY: Lighting Research Center/Gurley Building
Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2010; 4:30-5:30 pm
Place: 21 Union Street, Troy
This National Historic Landmark building was built in 1862 and opened just 8 months after the original building on the site burned to the ground in the Great Fire of Troy. Rensselaer’s innovative Lighting Research Center occupies floors of the building that were once home to production lines for Gurley’s world famous surveying equipment.
HIDDEN HISTORY: Rensselaer Model Railroad Society
Date: Tuesday, October 26, 2010; 4:30-5:30 pm
Place: Davison Hall, RPI.
Hidden deep within the RPI campus and not normally open to the public, the Rensselaer Model Railroad Society has created a 33 feet wide by 123 feet long historically accurate railroad layout of 1950s Troy. RMRS has generously opened their doors for us to see this unique re-creation. For more information, please visit http://railroad.union.rpi.edu. Please note – the layout is not handicapped accessible and for safety reasons, is only open to ages 12 and up.
Adirondack History: Have You Seen That Vigilante Man?
By Editorial Staff
The Wilmington Historical Society will be hosting a program with historian and author Amy Godine entitled "Have You Seen That Vigilante Man?" to be held on Friday, July 30th at 7 pm at the Wilmington Community Center on Springfield Road in Wilmington.
Night riders, white cappers and vigilante strikes; the darker side of American mob justice was not confined to the Deep South or the Far West. Adirondack history is ablaze with flashes of "frontier justice," from farmers giving chase to horse thieves to "townie" raids on striking immigrant miners to the anti-Catholic rallies of the KKK. Amy Godine's anecdotal history of Adirondack vigilantism plumbs a regional legacy with deep, enduring roots, and considers what about the North Country made it fertile and forgiving ground for outlaw activity.
Readers of Adirondack Life magazine are acquainted with Amy Godine's work on social and ethnic history in the Adirondack region. Whether delving into the stories of Spanish road workers, Polish miners, black homesteaders, Jewish peddlers or Chinese immigrants, Godine celebrates the "under-stories" of so-called "non-elites," groups whose contributions to Adirondack history are conventionally ignored. Exhibitions she has curated on vanished Adirondack ethnic enclaves have appeared at the Chapman Historical Museum, the Saratoga History Museum, the Adirondack Museum and the New York State Museum. The recently published 3rd edition of The Adirondack Reader, the anthology Rooted in Rock, and The Adirondack Book, feature her essays; with Elizabeth Folwell, she co-authored Adirondack Odysseys. A former Yaddo, MacDowell, and Hackman Research Fellow, she is also an inaugural Fellow of the New York Academy of History.
The “Have You Seen That Vigilante Man?” program on July 30th is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For further information, contact Karen Peters at (518) 524-1023 or Merri Peck at (518) 946- 7627.
Photo: Members of Ku Klux Klan march in Washington DC in 1925.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Currier & Ives at Senate House Historic Site
By Editorial Staff
The prints of Currier & Ives—one of the most successful purveyors of lithographic prints in the 19th Century—are diverse, full of fascinating historical information and compelling imagery, perhaps despite their perennial appeal on calendars and cards. A new exhibit at Senate House State Historic Site, in Kingston, NY, offers us forty of their prints focusing on the ideals, values and innovations of the 19th Century. The exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information on hours, location and other details, please call (845) 338-2786.
While it’s better known for its buildings and collections representing colonial and Revolutionary history, Senate House State Historic Site, located in uptown Kingston, also has impressive collections of objects, documents and art of the 19th Century, including over 200 Currier & Ives prints, given to the site by the late Rutgers Ives Hurry, a Saugerties resident whose passion was collecting images of the Hudson Valley made by the firm.
The Senate House exhibition focuses on three themes: the ideal of the 19th-century home, images of New York City, and Hudson River steamboats (both the luxury and potential dangers they represented). The exhibit is entitled “Cheap and Popular Pictures,” a term touted by Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives, who shrewdly observed and marketed their images--made by many different artists of the day—to the opinions, interests and ideals of America’s growing middle class.
Currier & Ives: “Cheap and Popular Pictures” can be viewed during open hours at Senate House State Historic Site: Wednesday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm, and 1 – 5 pm on Sundays. The exhibition runs through October 31, and is available by appointment and for school groups after that date. Senate House is located at 296 Fair Street, Kingston NY, 12401. For more information: (845) 338-2786.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Collection Storage Tours at Adirondack Museum
By Editorial Staff
Visitors can now get a glimpse of more than 7,000 historic artifacts not currently on exhibit at the Adirondack Museum in a state-of-the-art facility in the hamlet of Blue Mountain Lake by touring the Collections Storage and Study Center each Monday in July and August from 2:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.
The tours are free for museum members; $10 for non-members. Visitors can sign up for a tour on Mondays at the Membership Desk in the Visitor Center. Each tour is limited to thirty people.
The Collections Storage and Study Center holds an amazing array of objects from the Adirondack past. Collections consist of: boats, including power boats, canoes, kayaks, guideboats, and unusual boats; traditional and rustic furniture; hand tools and machinery; large vehicles, including horse-drawn carriages and sleighs, snowmobiles, fire trucks, and a Jitterbug; maple sugaring equipment; ice harvesting tools; as well as agricultural artifacts.
Adirondack Museum Conservator and Collections Manager Doreen Alessi will lead the tours. Alessi cares for more than 100,000 two and three-dimensional artifacts in the collection of the Adirondack Museum. She is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC).
Photo: Collections Storage and Study Center, Adirondack Museum.
Friday, July 16, 2010
This Week's New York History Web Highlights
By Editorial Staff
- Adirondack Almanack: Aviation Legend Floyd Bennett
- Buffalo News: Canal Town A Mecca For Mormons
- All Points: Crowdsourcing NYC Building Names
- SLAM! Sports: A History of Wrestling Historians
- Adirondack Attic: Mohawk Pottery
- Huffington Post: British Royals In New York
- Warwick, New York: New Milford Flood 1984 (?)
- Upstate Earth: Mother Ann and The Shakers of Watervliet
- Buffalo News: Birthplace of Women’s Rights
- ADE: Garry Trudeau Talks About Saranac Lake
Histories of Essex County Go Online
By Editorial Staff
Jay (Essex County) author and editor Lee Manchester has published a number of volumes on the history of Essex County and its communities. The free, downloadable PDFs include five volumes compiled from the files of the late Lake Placid public historian Mary MacKenzie, a two-volume definitive anthology of 19th and 20th century materials on the McIntyre iron works and the Tahawus Club colony in Newcomb, better known as "the Deserted Village," and two collections of Lee's stories about history and historic hikes in and around Essex County.
For complete information, including download instructions, visit the Wagner College website. Print versions of all the volumes can also be ordered, at a cost that includes no markup, with the exception of Mary MacKenzie's "The Plains of Abraham: A History of Lake Placid and North Elba"; royalties for print copies of "Plains" go to the Lake Placid Public Library, which maintains the Mary MacKenzie Historic Archives.
This Week's Top New York History News
By Editorial Staff
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Poughkeepsie: Historic Family Homes Reunited
By Editorial Staff
Historic Huguenot Street has announced that it has reached an agreement with Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie to transfer to it the properties and collections of Locust Lawn located in the town of Gardiner, New York. The agreement is result of months of planning to reunite the family homes of Annette Innis Young, who was responsible for establishing both estates as protected historic sites.
Transferring ownership and “reuniting” these two estates fulfills the original vision of Annette Young. It was Miss Young’s desire to jointly preserve the Locust Lawn and Locust Grove estates under one organizational umbrella hoping “the foundation will maintain these houses as an example of the lives of three generations of a wealthy and cultured Hudson Valley family.” Unfortunately, she was unable to achieve this during her lifetime.
As an alternative, she donated Locust Lawn to Historic Huguenot Street (which was then known as the Huguenot Historical Society), an organization in which she was already involved. Upon her death in 1975, Annette Young’s will established a not-for-profit educational corporation to preserve Locust Grove and its contents in perpetuity for the "enjoyment, visitation, and enlightenment of the public."
The Locust Grove Estate was purchased by Annette Young’s father, William Young in 1901. The Young family cherished Locust Grove’s extensive grounds and historic buildings and added their own important collections of furniture, paintings and ceramics.
Locust Lawn is located on Route 32 South in Gardiner. It features an historic federal-style home was built in 1814 by Josiah Hasbrouck, a businessman and gentleman farmer whose ancestors were among those that founded New Paltz. Josiah Hasbrouck was Annette Young’s great-great grandfather and a U.S. congressman. The Hasbrouck family left Locust Lawn in 1885, leaving behind 70 years of finery and furnishings. The house was a repository of family history for another 70 years until it was donated to Historic Huguenot Street by Annette Young in 1958.
In addition to transferring the property and collections of Locust Lawn, Historic Huguenot Street will donate its adjoining properties, which include the historic Terwilliger stone house as well as the Little Wings Bird Sanctuary and Meadow. The Terwilliger House will continue to be protected as a historic building, open to the public. The existing protections on the Little Wings Bird Sanctuary and the Conservation Agreement on the Meadow also will remain in place with the transfer of the properties. Together, all of these properties preserve the core of the estate created by Josiah Hasbrouck.
The executive directors of the respective organizations have cooperated over the years to ensure that the collections and history have stayed linked to each other. These connections led to the formal transfer that is now taking place.
It is anticipated that Locust Grove will assume ownership and management of Locust Lawn by the end of August. Under the terms of the transfer, which has already been approved by the boards of both organizations, all restrictions placed on the property by Annette Young at the time she gifted the site will remain in effect. In the short term, the site will continue to be open to the public by appointment. Locust Grove plans an expanded program of public events in the future.
Photo: Locust Lawn Front Facade Courtesy of Historic Huguenot Street.
Brooklyn Museum Announces Visitor-Curated Event
By Editorial Staff
For the first time the Brooklyn Museum is inviting visitors to get directly involved in choosing the programs that will be presented at its popular First Saturdays event. From July 1 to 31, members of the public may log on to www.brooklynmuseum.org and nominate performers, musicians, films, books, and DJs that they would like to see featured at the October 2, 2010, First Saturday.
Nominees should relate to the exhibition Extended Family: Contemporary Connections, an exhibition that embraces the shared values and diversity of contemporary Brooklyn. At the end of the one-month nomination period, the Museum's First Saturday committee will narrow down the nominees in each category based on relevance to the theme and artist availability. Voting by the public will take place August 1 to 15. The winners will be announced after August 15.
First Saturdays are sponsored by Target and made possible by the Wallace Foundation Community Programs Fund, established by the Wallace Foundation with additional support from DLA Piper US LLP, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Ellis A. Gimbel Trust, National Grid, and other donors.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
'Perceiving Buffalo' Autistic Artists Exhibit
By Editorial Staff
The Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society (BECHS) has announced "Perceiving Buffalo," an exhibit of works by artists from Autistic Services, Inc. (ASI). The show opened in BECHS' second-floor Community Gallery on July 1st and will run through Sunday, August 22, 2010. The exhibit is open to the public, and free with regular museum admission.
In addition, there will be a celebratory reception sponsored by Autistic Services Inc., on Thursday, July 22, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Historical Society. The reception is free and open to the public.
The exhibit, curated by BECHS Museum Educator Tara Lyons, and facilitated by ASI staff members Veronica Federiconi, Dana Ranke, Todd Lesmeister, and Brian Kavanaugh features work by Aaron B., Dan C., Stacey M. and Neil S., four artists from ASI's Arts Work Program.
The selected paintings and drawings mesh the works of the artists with BECHS' mission to tell the stories of people and places in the region. The show highlights the artists' interests in and creative interpretations of iconic Buffalo landmarks and community figures. Portraits include those of Ani DiFranco, Tim Russert, and one featuring three local newscasters. In addition, there is a series of drawings of Buffalo public school buildings. A short film of artist Neil S. will describe the artists' creative process and his deep personal connection to the subject matter.
Autistic Services Inc. is a community organization that promotes the awareness of autism and provides treatment, education, and care for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. The Arts Work Program, through which the works in "Perceiving Buffalo" were created, is part of the ASI's individual therapy rooted in the creation of visual arts.
The reception will be held in the State Court of the Historical Society, and will feature a performance by No Words Spoken, a group of musicians which also evolved through Autistic Services programming. Wine and cheese will be served, and the public is invited to attend this free evening event.
Albany Institute Lecture on Clark's Picasso Exhibit
By Editorial Staff
This Thursday, July 15, at 6:00 pm, the Albany Institute of History & Art will host a free lecture by Sarah Lees, Associate Curator of European Art at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Lees will discuss The Clark’s current exhibition, Picasso Looks at Degas, which opened on June 13 and will close on September 12.
Picasso Looks at Degas is a fascinating exhibition including work from both artists. The first of its kind to explore the relationship between the two masters, the exhibition mainly focuses on Pablo Picasso’s work made in response to or inspired by the work of Edgar Degas, who was his Parisian neighbor in the early 20th century. Picasso admired Degas, though it is not clear whether the two ever met. The exhibition illustrates how Picasso’s work often echoes imagery and devices typical of Degas without blatantly imitating him. Picasso Looks at Degas traces the development of both artists and includes a broad array of mediums, including paintings, sculptures, and etchings.
The lecture will take place at the Albany Institute, 125 Washington Ave., Albany, and is free and open to the public. Call (518) 463-4478 for more information.
Illustration: Nude Wringing her Hair, 1952, Pablo Picasso, oil on plywood, 154 x 120 cm, private collection, Acquavella Gallery, New York. © 2010 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Archives Partnership Trust to Honor Richard Dreyfuss
By Editorial Staff
The New York State Archives Partnership Trust and the History channel will host a conversation with Academy Award-winning actor and passionate advocate for strengthening history education in our schools Richard Dreyfuss and nationally prominent Lincoln Scholar Harold Holzer to be held on Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at 7:30-8:30pm at The Egg, Center for the Performing Arts, Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York. Mr. Dreyfuss will then be presented with the Empire State Archives and History Award.
The cost for the program is $10 per person (plus handling fees). Tickets are available August 1st. Reservations are required. Tickets can be purchased by calling The Egg Box Office at (518) 473-1845 or online at www.theegg.org.
In advance of the program, a reception to meet Mr. Dreyfuss will be held at The Egg, Center for the Performing Arts, from 5:30-7:00 pm. Reservations will be accepted starting August 2, 2010 by calling the Trust office at (518) 473-7091. Please see the Trust website for reception ticket prices.
231st Anniversary of the Storming of Stony Point
By Editorial Staff
Visit Stony Point Battlefield State Historic Site on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 16th-18th, to celebrate the 231st anniversary of this bold victory as reenactors from British, American, and Loyal American regiments recreate soldier and family life during the Revolutionary War.
The Battlefield will come alive with demonstrations of 18th century warfare and performances of tactical demonstrations and mock skirmishes. Musket and artillery drills are planned throughout the weekend, showing visitors how weaponry was used in combat. Learn about the kinds of currency circulating through the colonies from our camp paymaster and witness a demonstration of the mail system by our colonial postmaster. Reserve a place on the Battlefield Lantern Tour Saturday evening and witness a recreation of the midnight assault while you take a guided walking tour through the battleground.
A range of activities are planned which will provide fun for the whole family. Children will love enlisting in Washington's army at the camp recruitment table (where they will receive a certificate signed with a quill pen) and anyone can collect a reward for discovering the renegade hiding in the camp. Enjoy a Tea Party with staff dressed in colonial costume and learn about 18th century fashions and etiquette. Talk to our working blacksmiths to discover how tools were repaired or created to meet the needs of the army.
On Saturday and Sunday afternoons, Tom Hanford will present a family show of 18th century entertainment with music, stories and dramas from life "In the Good Old Colony Days."
There will be a $5 parking fee. For more information and directions, please call the site office, 845-786-2521.
Illustration: Storming of Stony Point by J. Rogers (ca. 1770-ca. 1880).
Monday, July 12, 2010
18th-Century Day at the Historic Schuyler House
By Editorial Staff
On Sunday, August 8 from noon to 5pm, the 1777 Schuyler House on Route 4 in Schuylerville, will be the setting for dozens of artisans demonstrating their crafts much as they were plied over 200 years ago when many things for the home were handcrafted. Visitors to the 32nd annual Eighteenth Century Day will be able to enjoy free tours of the Schuyler House, listen to music of the period, see Punch and Judy puppet shows, plus stroll around artisans demonstrating 18th century crafts and showing their wares. Tinsmithing, blacksmithing, broom-making, basket-making, rope-making, beer brewing, spinning, dyeing, weaving, rug-hooking, butter-making and carpentry are among some of the arts to be demonstrated. There will also be colonial-era farm life activities such as discussions of farming methods, medicinal treatments and leather-working. Free light refreshments will be available.
This traditional event is organized by the Old Saratoga Historical Association, a non-profit educational organization that provides furnishings for the Schuyler House and promotes interest in the history of Old Saratoga, Schuylerville, Victory and the Town of Saratoga areas, from Native American occupation, through modern times.
Saratoga National Historical Park presents special interpretive events and programs throughout the year. For further information about this and other programs, please call (518) 664-9821 ext. 224 or check their Web site at www.nps.gov/sara.
History of American Musical Theater Program
By Editorial Staff
The Franklin County Historical & Museum Society presents "America's Song: A History of American Musical Theater in Word and Music," a collaboration between Drew Benware and members of the Ithaca College School of Music, on Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at 7 pm. Admission is $10.00 per person, to benefit the Franklin County Historical Society. The program of toe-tapping favorites will be held in the Bobcat Cafe in the Joan Weill Student Center at Paul Smith's College.
Drew Benware is a native of the North Country, having grown up in Malone, New York. Upon graduation from Franklin Academy, he enrolled at the Ithaca College School of Music where he received a degree in Music Education with a concentration on Trumpet in 2003. For the next three years, Drew served as the Director of Instrumental Music at Saranac Lake High School where he worked with the Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Pep Band, Parade Band, and annual Musical Theater Productions. Drew returned to Ithaca College to pursue a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting, working with the renowned Larry Doebler and Janet Galvan. Among the high points of this period was a performance of Verdi's "Requiem" at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center in New York City. Drew's choral degree was put to use during the 2008-9 academic year during which he served as Director of Choral Activities at the Peru Middle/High School. Since that
time, he has been on the faculty at the Ithaca College School of Music as an Assistant Professor of Music Education, instructing courses in woodwind and brass techniques, instrumental conducting, wind instrument pedagogy, and acting as supervisor to both Junior and Senior level teachers. Drew also works closely with the nationally acclaimed Ithaca College Department of Theatre Arts, serving as faculty accompanist for the Musical Theater Workshop and performing in Pit Ensembles. Drew continues to serve as an active pianist, performing as music minister at All Saints' Church in Lansing and as a frequent artist-collaborator including the 2009 Saranac Lake First Night Celebration. He
is active as a singer also, performing with the Saranac Lake Madrigal Singers and the Cayuga Vocal Ensemble, Ithaca's only professional choir. He has provided musical direction or pit performances for several works of Musical Theater, among them "Children of Eden," "Parade," "A Little Night Music," "Once On This Island," "The Music Man," and "Les Miserables."
The program will also feature performers from the Ithaca College School of Music and Department of Theatre Arts.
"America's Song" is co-sponsored by The Franklin County Historical & Museum Society and Paul Smith's College. The Franklin County Historical & Museum Society, founded in 1903, preserves the history of Franklin County, NY through its House of History Museum and Schryer Center for Historical & Genealogical Reseach, located in Malone. It is supported by membership dues and donations, grants, and municipal support. Paul Smith's College, the College of the Adirondacks is the only four-year private college in the Adirondack Park and is commited to experiential, hands-on learning.
For more information, please contact Anne Werley Smallman at 518-483-2750. Visit the Paul Smith's College website for directions.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition
By Editorial Staff
During Prohibition my grandfather's brother Denis Warren, a veteran of some of the bloodiest American battles of World War One, was left for dead on the side of Route 9N south of Port Henry on Lake Champlain. He was in the second of two cars of friends returning from Montreal with a small supply of beer. Going through Port Henry local customs agents gave chase and the car he was in hit a rock cut and he was badly injured in the accident. Figuring his was dead, or nearly so, and worried he would go to prison, one of Denis's best friends rolled him under the guardrail, climbed into the other car, and sped off.
Joe Kennedy, never really enthusiastic about World War One, spent the war as an assistant general-manager of Bethlehem Steel and used the opportunity to buddy up to Franklin D. Roosevelt who was then Assistant Secretary of the Navy. During Prohibition Kennedy went to England and with the help of FDR's eldest son James Roosevelt secured the exclusive American rights for Gordon's Dry Gin and Dewar's Scotch. Contrary to rumors, Kennedy wasn't a bootlegger, he imported his British booze legally under a permit to distribute medical alcohol. Kennedy was of course, the father of John F. Kennedy.
The story of these two Irish-Americans serves as a kind of microcosm of the story of Prohibition, when all of America seemed upside down. "In almost every respect imaginable, Prohibition was a failure," Daniel Okrent writes in Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. "It deprived the government of revenue, stripped the gears of the political system, and imposed profound limitations on individual rights. It fostered a culture of bribery, blackmail, and official corruption. It also maimed and murdered, its excesses apparent in deaths by poison, by the brutality of ill-trained, improperly supervised enforcement officers, and by unfortunate proximity to mob gun battles."
The medical exemption to Prohibition, along with the sacramental wine exemption, and the fruit exemption for homemade wine and cider, meant that Prohibition was fairly doomed from the start according to Okrent. In fact it's a wonder that Prohibition even got started. In the late nineteenth century drinking was at an all time high, a central part of American life. But immigration was also at an all time high, along with the Protestant Christian reformers, xenophobia, and racism. An unlikely alliance emerged to battle "Demon Rum" that included racists (including the Klan), progressives, suffragists, and populists.
Okrent lays out the story of this coalition in a readable way, avoiding much of the political minutiae, while still illuminating the personalities - people like Mother Thompson, Frances Willard, axe-wielding Carry Nation, bible-thumping Billy Sunday, William Jennings Bryan (who helped bring the Democratic party on board), Wayne Wheeler (the long-forgotten man considered the father of Prohibition), and Mabel Willebrandt (the Assistant US Attorney General despised by the nation's drinkers).
The usual suspects are all here: the rise of organized crime from scattered minor street gangs, the rum runners contributions to boat design, the rise of Sam Bronfman's Seagrams empire. The most interesting parts of the book however, detail how leading suffragists sought the vote after being denied leadership positions in the temperance movement and then used that vote to secure first the income tax (considered crucial to weaning the government off the alcohol excise tax teet) and finally Prohibition. Okrent also clearly presents the brewers' failure to band together with the distillers, and their lack of action against the Prohibitionist until it was too late. Mostly German-Americans, World War One sealed their fates.
Also illuminating is Okrent's telling of how the Eighteenth Amendment, which along with the Thirteenth Amendment outlawing slavery is the only constitutional amendment to deal with personal property and the only one to have been repealed, came to be reversed. Last Call chalks it up to a few primary factors. The ease of access to booze which was no longer regulated, and so could be found everywhere, not just at bars (the old joke went "Remember before Prohibition? When you couldn't get a drink on Sunday?"). The presidential campaign of solidly wet New York Governor Al Smith (defeated by mostly dry anti-Catholics) that changed the political mood of the country's immigrants [video]. The Great Depression, and the need for the billions in excise tax (which helped fund the New Deal) that gave Repeal a push. But the biggest factor was perhaps the right-wing wealthy anti-tax (and future anti-Roosevelt) Pierre S. DuPont who believed so profoundly that Repeal would mean an elimination of the income tax that he bankrolled the fight himself. Fundamentally though, it was the Democratic title-wave that swept FDR into office [music] that changed the make-up of the Congress that allowed the crucial Repeal vote.
Okrent avoids the obvious comparisons to today's Drug War, but even the causal reader, can't miss them. The seemingly limitless supply, the institutionalized hypocrisy of legal tobacco and alcohol while pot smokers go to overcrowded prisons. The overzealous and expensive enforcement on the one hand (particularly in the inner cities), alongside marijuana buyers clubs and lax enforcement that amounts to a defacto local option.
It took about 10 years to understand that Prohibition only increased lawlessness, corruption, greed, and violence. Last Call leaves the astute reader wondering how long it will take us to come to the same conclusion about the War on Drugs.
Note: Books noticed on this site have been provided by the publishers. Purchases made through this Amazon link help support this site.
Friday, July 9, 2010
This Week's New York History Web Highlights
By Editorial Staff
- All Points: Crowdsourcing NYC Building Names
- SLAM! Sports: A History of Wrestling Historians
- Adirondack Attic: Mohawk Pottery
- Huffington Post: British Royals In New York
- Warwick, New York: New Milford Flood 1984 (?)
- Upstate Earth: Mother Ann and The Shakers of Watervliet
- Buffalo News: Birthplace of Women’s Rights
