New Plaque Honors Edith Wharton

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New York City’s Historic Districts Council and the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center have commemorated the life and work of Edith Wharton, author of “The House of Mirth” and “The Age of Innocence” with a historic plaque. Born in 1862 at 14 West 23rd Street in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District, Wharton was a chronicler of New York City’s Gilded Age and trendsetter for her generation.

The plaque is part of the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center’s Cultural Medallion program. The Center, chaired by Dr. Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel (HDC’s 2011 Landmarks Lion), has installed almost 100 medallions around New York City to heighten public awareness of New York’s cultural and social history.

Distinguished Edith Wharton scholars, including Susan Whissler, executive director of The Mount, participated in the plaque unveiling.

Photo: Photograph taken in Newport, Rhode Island, of author Edith Wharton, wearing hat with a feather, coat with fur trim, and a fur muff. Image courtesy of the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Power in a Union: The Story of American Labor

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There Is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America by Philip Dray is an epic, character-driven narrative that moves between picket lines, union halls, jails, assembly lines, corporate boardrooms, the courts, the halls of Congress, and the White House.

Dray (NPR Interview) presents an urgency of the fight for fairness and economic democracy for working people — a struggle that remains especially urgent today, when ordinary Americans are so beset by economic troubles.

From the textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts, the first real factories in America, to the triumph of unions in the twentieth century and their waning influence today, the con­test between labor and capital for their share of American bounty has shaped our national experience. Dray’s ambition is to show us the vital accomplishments of organized labor in that time and illuminate its central role in our social, political, economic, and cultural evolution.

Philip Dray is the author of At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America, which won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award and made him a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and Stealing God’s Thunder: Benjamin Franklin’s Lightning Rod and the Invention of America, and the coauthor of the New York Times Notable Book We Are Not Afraid: The Story of Goodman, Schwerner, and Chaney, and the Civil Rights Campaign for Mississippi. He lives in Brooklyn.

Note: Books noticed on this site have been provided by the publishers. Purchases made through this Amazon link help support this site.

This Weeks Top New York History News

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Shelburne Museum Announces $14M Center

  • Crane Music School Celebrates 125 Yrs
  • New Leader for Plattsburgh Museum
  • IBM to Maintain National Archives Records
  • 1940 US Census Records to be Free
  • Canada Digitizes Canada Gazette (1841-1997)
  • Former Archives Employee Pleads Guilty

    • Each Friday morning New York History compiles for our readers the previous week’s top stories about New York’s state and local history. You can find all our weekly news round-ups here.

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    Saturdays are Play for All Day at AIHA

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    The Albany Institute of History & Art is hosting “Play for All” on Saturdays throughout the run of the exhibit Kid Stuff: Great Toys from Our Childhood.

    The program debuts last weekend to coincide with the opening of Kid Stuff, an exhibition celebrating the great toys from the 1950s and 1960s. The highly participatory show has ten hands-on toy stations including a LEGO construction site, Twister, magnetic Mr. Potato Head (and friends) game and more. “Play for All” enhances the experience with museum educators in the galleries to help visitors play and interact with all the exhibition has to offer. The program will also include additional art stations, which will vary each week. Plus, children who stop by may take home a FREE Slinky style spring toy (while supplies last).

    “Play for All” is FREE with museum admission, and will take place during regular museum hours on Saturdays from 10 AM until 5 PM. There will be an extra session held on Sunday, October 9 as part of MoHu Fest.

    “Play for All” will be held on the following days:

    October 15, 22, 29

    November 5, 12, 19

    December 3, 10, 17

    January 7, 14, 21, 28

    February 4, 11, 18, 25

    March 3

    Shades of Gentility Saturday Lecture in Albany

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    Historic Cherry Hill and Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site will present “Shades of Gentility”, a lecture on refinement given by Historic Cherry Hill’s curator, Deborah Emmons-Andarawis. Emmons-Andarawis will explore the homes and possessions of three of 18th century Albany’s leading citizens – Philip Van Rensselaer, Stephen Van Rensselaer III, and Philip Schuyler – in order to uncover the subtleties of class in early New York. This lecture is part of the special series: Got Class? Status and Power in Early America, a collaborative effort between Historic Cherry Hill and Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site. The Got Class? Series is funded by the New York Council for the Humanities.

    This free event will be held on Saturday, October 15th at 3:00pm at First Church in Albany. For more information about this event or the Got Class? Series call Historic Cherry Hill at (518) 434-4791 or email [email protected].

    Historic Cherry Hill, located at 523 ? South Pearl Street in Albany, NY, is a non-profit historic house museum built in 1787 and was lived in continuously by five generations of the same family until the death of the last family member in 1963. The museum is currently undergoing a large restoration project and offers a Behind-the-Scenes Restoration tour from April through December, on Wednesday afternoons at 1, 2 and 3pm and Saturday afternoons at 2 and 3pm. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and college students and $2 for children between the ages of 12 and 18. An Architecture Hunt for Families is also offered on Saturdays between 1 and 2pm at the admission price of $2 for adults and $1 for children ages 6-11. Visit Historic Cherry Hill’s website at www.historiccherryhill.org for more information.

    Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site, located at 32 Catherine Street in Albany, NY, was once the home of Philip J. Schuyler, the renowned Revolutionary War General, US Senator and business entrepreneur. He and his wife Catharine Van Rensselaer descended from affluent and powerful Dutch families. Together they raised eight children in this home. Throughout the Schuyler family occupancy from 1763-1804, the mansion was the site of military strategizing, political hobnobbing, elegant social affairs, and an active family life. Guided tours are available mid-May through October 31st, and are offered on the hour, Wednesday through Sunday, 11:00am to 4:00pm. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and college students. Children under 12 are free. Visit www.schuylerfriends.org for more information about Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site.

    Candlelight Tour at Schuyler House Saturday

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    The annual Candlelight Tour of the General Philip Schuyler House, located just south of Schuylerville on Route 4, will be held on Saturday, October 15th from 6 to 9pm.

    Old Saratoga Historical Association hosts the event and in addition to providing light refreshments, their members join park staff and volunteers to guide visitors through the candle-lit atmosphere of General Schuyler’s 1777 country house.

    As the autumn evenings can be chilly or wet, please dress for the weather. It is also recommended that visitors bring a flashlight for the walk back to their cars.

    For more information about this or other park events, call the Visitor Center at 518-664-9821 ext. 224 or check the park website.

    This Weeks New York History Web Highlights

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  • Adirondack Attic: A19th Century Watercolor
  • Txchnologist: 10 Inventors of Lightbulb
  • New: The Occupy Wall Street An-Archives!
  • Algonkian Church History: Mohicans and Mahicans
  • Albany: Sheridan’s Unveiling 95 Years Ago
  • The Border War: New York and Vermont
  • Occupy Wall Street: American Tradition Since 1776
  • Lousie Bernikow: The Black Hole of Women’s History
  • Dick Eastman: Free Genealogy Software
  • Harvey Road: Winter Sports Snow Trains

    • Each Friday afternoon New York History compiles for our readers a collection of the week’s top weblinks about New York’s state and local history. You can find all our weekly round-ups here.

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    Lies My Teacher Told Me Author Event Friday

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    James W. Loewen, award-winning author of the popular Lies My Teacher Told Me titles, will visit the North Country tomorrow Friday, October 14 from 10-12 pm at SUNY Plattsburg.

    The freedom education project John Brown Lives! and SUNY Plattsburgh’s Honors College, Department of Anthropology, Department of Education, Health & Human Services and the Center for Diversity, Pluralism & Inclusion are teaming up to sponsor Loewen.

    Loewen’s address, “Lies My Teacher Told Me About the Civil War—And How They Still Affect Civil Rights Today”, is open to the general public. Known for his engaging style and gripping retelling of U.S. history, Loewen has inspired K-16 teachers across the country to get students to challenge, rather than memorize, their textbooks. His best-selling title, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, resulted from two years studying U.S. history textbooks and it has sold more than 1,250,000 copies.

    Currently residing in Washington, D.C., Loewen taught race relations for twenty years at the University of Vermont and previously at the predominantly black Tougaloo College in Mississippi. He has been an expert witness in more than 50 civil rights, voting rights, and employment cases and is also Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians, Visiting Professor of Sociology at Catholic University in Washington, DC, and Visiting Professor of African-American Studies at the University of Illinois in Urbana/Champaign.

    Behind the Scenes Servants Tour at Vanderbilt Mansion

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    The Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site is offering a unique opportunity on weekends through the end of October. On the “Servants to Stewards Tour” participants will be assigned the role of a servant and learn about the running of the Vanderbilt household as you tour the home from behind the scenes, meet your supervisor, catch a glimpse of your living quarters and get a list of your daily duties.

    While no manual labor is actually involved, this tour requires climbing 74 steps. Comfortable shoes and a willingness to participate are essential. The tours are available Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 AM through October 30th.

    Standard tour fees apply. Participants must be over the age of ten. This program is not handicap accessible. Reservations required – call 845-229-7770 daily from 9:00 to 4:00 to inquire and reserve.

    Photo: The Butler’s Pantry at Vanderbilt Mansion.

    18th Century Militia Muster at Senate House

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    In conjunction with The Burning of Kingston Reenactment (sponsored by the First Ulster County Militia, the Queen’s 16th Light Dragoons and the City of Kingston) the 3rd Ulster County Militia will recreate military camp life on the grounds of Senate House State Historic Site on Sunday, October 16, from 10am – 4pm.

    18th century activities featured throughout the day include blacksmithing, coopering, cooking, medicine, fur trade and musket firing. Also featured is a Native American camp along with other activities suck as candle dipping, corn husk doll making and 18th century currency. Guests can also enjoy colonial music performed by Rural Felicity and participate in the many hands-on activities.

    On October 16, 1777, during the British campaign to control split the colonies, a fleet of 23 ships and 2,000 troops sent North toward Saratoga under General Vaughn stopped at Kingston, then capitol of New York, and burned every building but one.

    There is no admission fee to attend this event and as usual Senate House will be open for tours. Admission to Senate House is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors & students and children 12 & under are free.

    Senate House State Historic Site is part of a system of parks, recreation areas and historic sites operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the site is one of 28 facilities administered by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission in New York and New Jersey. For further information about this and other upcoming events please call the site at (845) 338-2786.

    Photo: Member of the 1st Ulster Militia, courtesy Dean Barnes &#8211 1st Ulster Militia.