Top Sites>NNew York Almanack - History, Natural History & the Arts

User-agent: bingbot
Crawl-delay: 1
User-agent: SemrushBot
Disallow: / 

Generated by Rank Math SEO, this is an llms.txt file designed to help LLMs better understand and index this website.

# New York Almanack: History, Natural History & the Arts

## Sitemaps
[XML Sitemap](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/sitemap_index.xml): Includes all crawlable and indexable pages.

## Posts
- [Subscribe to the New York Almanack for Free!](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/new-york-almanack-subscribe/): Free Subscriptions - get all of New York Almanack's stories.  Sign up here.
- [New York Almanack Book Purchases Now Support Local Booksellers](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/new-york-almanack-book-sales/): Almost 20 years ago when New York Almanack was founded I signed up for Amazon.com's affiliate program in order to earn a small percentage from the sales of New York State related books noticed here on the site.
- [Mabel Allen’s 1908 Diary: ‘Mixed up’ in Math & Dressmaking](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/mabel-allens-1908-diary-mixed-math/): Alice Mabel Allen (1886-1976) grew up in the village of Adams in Jefferson County. In 1908,  while attending Syracuse University, Mabel, as she was known, kept a diary which New York Almanack is publishing each week.
- [Poetry: Just a Matter of Time](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/poetry-just-a-matter-of-time/): Just a Matter of Time
- [Lesbian History: Eve Adams, Monocles, Tearooms & Deportations](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/lesbian-history-eve-adams/): Eve became a traveling salesperson of subversive periodicals such as Emma Goldman’s Mother Earth and Max Eastman’s The Liberator. By 1919, the year that Goldman faced deportation, Eve Adams was a suspect under surveillance by the “Radical Division” of J. Edgar Hoover’s Bureau of Investigation (later known as the FBI).
- [American Revolution Symposium Set for Schuylerville May 2nd](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/american-revolution-symposium-2026/): The 5th annual Turning Point Symposium, a day-long event featuring notable Revolutionary War era historians and authors presenting new scholarship to enhance our understanding of the War for American Independence, is set for Saturday May 2nd marks at the American Legion Hall in Schuylerville, NY.
- [Saratoga Springs 2026 Historic Homes Tour](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/saratoga-springs-2026-homes-tour/): The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, along with Honorary Chair Julie Furey, will welcome spring with the 2026 Historic Homes Tour on Saturday, May 9. This annual event held between 10 am and 4 pm offers the rare opportunity to see the interiors of private historic homes and buildings.
- [Updated ‘Mapping Early New York’ 3D Digital Installation](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/mapping-early-new-york-3d-digital/): This spring, the New Amsterdam History Center (NAHC) brings its expanded "Mapping Early New York" 3D digital installation back to The New York Historical, enhancing the major exhibition "Old Masters, New Amsterdam," on view from May 1st to August 30, 2026 and curated by Russell Shorto, Director of the New Amsterdam Project, and Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., of The Leiden Collection.
- [Major Benjamin Tallmadge in the Revolutionary War](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/benjamin-tallmadge-revolution-apr/): Benjamin Tallmadge (1754–1835), a native of Setauket, Long Island, is best known today as George Washington’s spymaster, in charge of the Culper Spy Ring, popularized in the television series, Turn: Washington’s Spies.
- [Meadow Jumping Mice: Spring’s Late Riser](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/meadow-jumping-mice-spring/): Studies show that hibernating jumping mice occasionally rouse from deep sleep, though they do not feed during these bouts. Meadow jumping mice rarely emerge from their hibernacula prior to springtime emergence, and they do not create winter larders.
- [Adirondack Mountain Reserve Reservation System Begins](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/adirondack-mountain-reserve-2026/): The parking reservation system for the privately-owned Adirondack Mountain Reserve (AMR) has returned for the season.
- [Owl Festival 2026 Set for Saturday, April 25th](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/owl-festival-2026-saturday-apr-25/): The Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) invites families, nature enthusiasts, and wildlife lovers to celebrate the wonder of owls at their Owl Festival 2026 on Saturday, April 25th, from 9 am until 5 pm.
- [‘Caring for Your Cemetery Day’ This Weekend: Volunteers Sought](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/caring-for-your-cemetery-day-2026/): The third annual Caring for Your Cemetery Day will take place statewide on Saturday, April 25 and/or Sunday, April 26, 2026, with participation dates varying by cemetery.
- [When the Trees Came Back: The Battle to Save Vermont Forests](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/trees-came-back-vermont-forests/): When the Trees Came Back: The Great Battle to Save Vermont's Forests by Robert A. Mello (Vermont Historical Society, 2026) chronicles the recovery of Vermont's forests, which were 75% deforested by the 1880s due to farming and logging.
- [David Gibson: The Price We Must All Pay for the Adirondack Park](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/david-gibson-adirondack-park/): That it do more in the climate change era to pay for the lived-in, state and globally significant Adirondack Park; that it do more to invest in community development; and do more to help rural Adirondack towns and villages with small year-round populations defray the high costs of maintaining and rebuilding necessary infrastructure supportive of an influx of seasonal residents and millions of visitors like me.
- [Rangers Battle Wildfires; Rescue Numerous Hikers; High Tor Fall Victim; Recover Teen at Kaaterskill Creek](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/rangers-battle-wildfires-haystack/): Wildfires remain a concern across New York State. Checking the weather before hiking. The temperature and conditions at the top of a mountain are often very different from those at the trailhead.
- [Revolutionary War Smallpox Hospital Reinterments on Schedule](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/smallpox-hospital-cemetery-lk-geo/): Town of Lake George officials say construction continues on schedule for the “Repose of the Fallen” project involving the reinterment of the skeletal remains of 44 people who are believed to have been associated with a Continental Army smallpox hospital when they died during the American Revolution.
- [Nat Fein: The Man Behind The Iconic Babe Ruth Photo](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/nat-fein-babe-ruth-bows-out/): Most people don’t know Nat Fein’s name — but they know his work. Fein, who lived in Tappan, in Rockland County, NY, for many years, captured one of the most iconic images in American sports history.
- [Mechanicville’s WWII & Korean War Veterans Photo Collection](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/mechanicville-wwii-korean-veterans/): The National WW II Museum in New Orleans is home to about 250,000 artifacts, including more than 100,000 photographs ranging from battlefield pictures captured by military and press photographers to individual albums full of wartime snapshots donated by veterans and their families.
- [Women’s Role in Canned Food Consumption](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/canned-food-history-womens-role/): Initially, canned foods were not widely accepted, however. The overarching factor that drove the prevalence and public acceptance of canned food was the symbiotic relationship between the evolving canning industry and the changing role of women, in particular their need or desire to work in the public sphere.
- [Erie Canalway Launches “Revolutionary Experiences” Tours](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/erie-canalway-launches-road-trips/): As America marks its 250th anniversary, the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor is launching Revolutionary Experiences, road trips along New York’s historic waterways.
- [Tour Recalls 1860 Harriet Tubman Led Liberation of Charles Nalle in Troy](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/1860-harriet-tubman-charles-nalle/): Charles Nalle of Culpeper, Virginia, was forcibly liberated by Harriet Tubman and others in Troy, NY on April 27, 1860.
- [April 1989: Five Innocent Teens Charged for Central Park Rape](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/five-innocent-teens-charged-rape/): On April 19, 1989, a white woman was brutally raped and beaten in New York City's Central Park. Police officers soon arrested a dozen young men and eventually charged five teenage boys ranging from 14-16 years of age.
- [Recent Wildlife Rescues Around New York State](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/recent-wildlife-rescues-around-new-york-state/): New York State Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) made several wildlife rescues recently including a Red-Tailed Hawk on Long Island, two rabbits in Erie County, and an Red-Necked Grebe in Columbia County.
- [Back to University: Mabel Allen’s 1908 Diary](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/mabel-allen-back-to-university/): Alice Mabel Allen (1886-1976) grew up in the village of Adams in Jefferson County. In 1908,  while attending Syracuse University, Mabel, as she was known, kept a diary which New York Almanack is publishing each week.
- [Poetry: Italian Rainbow Cookies](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/poetry-italian-rainbow-cookies/): Italian Rainbow Cookies
- [Royal Savage: Neglected Champlain Warship Finally ‘On View’](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/royal-savage-champlain-warship/): In the murky depths of Lake Champlain, the skeletal remains of the Continental Navy schooner Royal Savage rested for over 150 years, a silent witness to the birth of the American Navy.
- [Here Comes the Sun: Bill McKibben Event Now Online](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/here-comes-the-sun-bill-mckibben/): "The sun travels 93 million miles to reach the earth - but none of those miles go through the Strait of Hormuz," Bill McKibben told a standing room only audience at the Sanctuary for Independent Media, a telecommunications production facility dedicated to community media arts in North Troy.
- [Watching Migrating Birds This Spring: A Primer](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/tracking-spring-migrating-birds/): This provides a great opportunity to observe birds flying to their summer breeding grounds. Here's a few resources to get you started:
- [Defending the Public Lands Workforce: A Virtual Discussion](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/defending-public-lands-workforce/): Public lands agencies have been especially hard hit. Since January 2025, the National Park Service has lost nearly a quarter of its employees, while the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have each seen their staff decline by almost 20%.
- [Pinkster Celebration Set for Schuyler Mansion May 23rd](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/schuyler-mansion-pinkster-fesitval/): Once considered a colonial Dutch holiday, Pinkster quickly became an African celebration of family, community, and cultural identity.
- [NY Music History: Wurlitzers, Martin Guitars & Saxon Immigration](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/music-history-wurlitzer-cf-martin/): Read more about music history in New York State.
- [Hidden Histories of Jazz Age New York](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/hidden-histories-jazz-age-new-york/): Hidden Histories of Jazz Age New York: From the Suppressed to the Strange (SUNY Press Excelsior Editions, 2026) by Jonathan Ezra Goldman offers a fresh look at 1920s New York City, unearthing stories of everyday life and marginalized communities.
- [Some Early History of Glens Falls](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/some-early-history-of-glens-falls/): The location was renamed Glens Falls in 1788, and Johannes Glen established mills powered by the falls (which played an important part in James Fenimore Cooper's Last of the Mohicans, published in 1826), ushering in the prosperity based on the Hudson River for waterpower and transportation, along with access to Adirondack forests to harvest lumber.
- [Students Work To Clean Up Saranac River Trail, Seek Help](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/students-clean-up-saranac-river/): Eight volunteers recently removed roughly 100 pounds of garbage from the Saranac River Trail in Plattsburgh from Seltzer Road to behind Clinton Dining Hall on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus.
- [Forest Spring Ephemerals & The Vernal Dam Hypothesis](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/forest-spring-ephemerals-vernal/): Every year I know that spring has arrived when it’s time for my family to forage for ramps on a two-acre patch on the hill above my house. We have just a few weeks to enjoy their spiciness before they disappear from the landscape, along with other spring ephemerals.
- [Gowanus Canal is Getting Cleaner Every Day](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/gowanus-canal-getting-cleaner/): The Gowanus Canal (originally known as Gowanus Creek) is a 1.8-mile-long waterway in Brooklyn that was once a saltwater marsh teeming with wildlife, but is now among the most polluted bodies of water in the United States.
- [Adirondack Architectural Heritage Launches Salvage Warehouse](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/adirondack-architectural-salvage/): Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) has announced the upcoming launch of their new architectural salvage warehouse, Adirondack Architectural Salvage, located in the former Pray's Family Farm Market in Keeseville, NY (397 State Route 9N).
- [The Historic Preservation Philosophy of William H. Mersereau](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/william-h-mersereau-philosophy/): In the extensive collection of Fraunces Tavern Museum are three letters among others from architect William H. Mersereau (ca. 1862-1933) to Morris P. Ferris, the Secretary of Sons of the Revolution.
- [Forest Rangers Rescue Ill-Prepared Catskills Hiker](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/rangers-rescue-catskill-hiker/): New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to wildfires, and search and rescue incidents throughout New York State locating and extracting lost, injured or distressed people and policing state lands.
- [The Global History of the American Revolution](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/global-history-american-revolution/): What if the American Revolution didn't just create the United States, but also created Australia? And what if the Muslim ruler of Mysore in southern India was, by the logic of wartime coalitions, George Washington's ally?
- [7 Cents An Hour: The 1950 Utica Bus Strike](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/1950-utica-bus-strike-drivers/): The twelve-day New York City transit strike in January 1966 is considered the first major citywide shutdown of subways and buses. About 33,000 workers, led by the Transport Workers Union, paralyzed the city on Mayor John Lindsay's first day in office.
- [Matthewis Persen House Museum Closing for 2026 Season](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/matthewis-persen-house-closing/): The Ulster County Clerk’s Office has announced that the Matthewis Persen House Museum will be closed to the public for the 2026 season while critical roof restoration work is completed.
- [NYS Archaeological Association Meeting This Weekend](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/nys-archaeological-association/): New York State Archaeological Association's 107th Annual Meeting will be held on April 17-19, 2026 at the Rochester Airport Marriott.  The Association is the primary organization for professional and avocational archaeologists in New York State.
- [Grace Brown, Her Murderer Chester Gillette & Old Herkimer Jailhouse](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/grace-brown-murderer-gillette/): In 1906, the murder of the pregnant Grace Brown by her boyfriend Chester Gillette at Big Moose Lake in northern Herkimer County became one of New York State’s most widely followed criminal cases.
- [Just 3% of Adirondack Park Is More Three Miles From A Motorized Corridor](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/adirondack-park-remoteness/): New York State's Adirondack Park offers much less remoteness than you might imagine. In the 2010s when all areas at least three miles from a road and at least two miles from motorized lakes were mapped, it left less than 3% of the Park.
- [Davis Dalton & The Volunteer Life Saving Corps](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/davis-dalton-life-saving-corps/): Following the drownings, Tippetts and Burhans brought Captain Davis Dalton of the Volunteer Life Saving Corps to Lake George to direct training for the local squad. Dalton was one of the nation’s leading authorities on swimming and aquatic life saving.
- [Watchdog, Historians Sue to Block Trump Effort to Evade Presidential Records Law](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/trump-presidential-records-suit/): American Oversight and the American Historical Association have filed suit challenging a sweeping memorandum from the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel that declared the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional and that President Donald Trump “need not further comply” with its requirements, effectively encouraging the president to violate federal law.
- [Women & The Hidden History of Delftware](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/women-hidden-history-of-delftware/): Delftware is a renowned type of tin-glazed earthenware, predominantly featuring white pottery with blue cobalt designs, originating in The Netherlands during the 17th century to mimic Chinese porcelain.
- [Fraunces Tavern: Architecture and Restoration](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/nyc-fraunces-tavern-restoration/): The architectural history of Manhattan's Fraunces Tavern dates back to 1719, when merchant Étienne “Stephen” De Lancey (1663-1741)  applied to the city of New York's Common Council for, and was granted, an additional three and a half feet on his plot of land so he could build “a large brick house,” which he then proceeded to have constructed at 54 Pearl Street.
- [Spring Paddling in Floodplain Forests](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/spring-paddling-floodplain-forests/): But when mud season lingers, I pick up my paddle. Kayaking and canoeing in floodplain forests is a seasonal treat as fleeting as spring ephemerals – and it comes earlier.
- [Mabel Allen’s 1908 diary: Back Home for Easter](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/mabel-allens-1908-diary-back-home-for-easter/): In 1908, while attending Syracuse University, Alice Mabel Allen (1886-1976) kept a diary which is being published each week. In this week’s entries, she and her sister Edna return to their home in Adams, a village in Jefferson County, to celebrate Easter. She recalls the Great Earthquake of 1906.
- [Poetry: If There Were a 4-Point Play in the NBA](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/poetry-4-point-play-in-the-nba/): If there were a 4-Point Play in the NBA
- [Beer, Hops, Reformation & Prohibition](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/beer-hops-reformation-prohibition/): Christianity banned beer from the sacred domain as the Roman clergy continued the Latin habit of drinking wine. The opposition: Christian wine versus pagan beer, was upheld even in the north of Europe. Believers accepted wine’s sacramental role, whatever their climates, social habits, or drinking customs.
- [An New Biography Explores Andy Rooney’s Lucky Life](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/andy-rooneys-a-lucky-life/): A soon to be published biography of Andy Rooney (1919-2011) carries readers through the arc of a true American original, a New Yorker who was once one of the country's most popular television and newspaper commentators.
- [1980s East Village Photographs Go Online](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/east-village-1980s-photo-archives/): Peter Bennett is a photographer who grew up in Greenwich Village and lived in the East Village from 1979-1988, bartending by night and photographing the neighborhood around him by day.
- [Automatic Draft Registration to Begin in December](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/automatic-draft-registration/): National automatic voter registration appears to be off the table, but men 18 and 25 will be automatically registered for military conscription, better known as "the draft," beginning in December.
- [The Equal Suffrage League & Black American Women’s Vote](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/equal-suffrage-league-brooklyn/): The month's episode of the A Minute in New York History podcast tells the story of the Equal Suffrage League, an organization founded in Brooklyn by Black American women.
- [Jesse Sexton’s Lake George Boat-Building & Photography Shop](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/jesse-sexton-lake-george-boat-shop/): Years later however, the decaying wooden structure where Jesse Sexton and his colleagues built many excellent vessels, finally tumbled to the ground.
- [Remington Arms Environmental Assessment Finds Contamination](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/remington-arms-contamination/): The former historic Remington Arms factory in Ilion, Herkimer County, NY, closed in March 2024, ending over 200 years of operation and laying off 270 workers. In the 1990s the company had employed about 1,100 people.
- [Memories of a Saratoga County One-Room School](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/saratoga-county-one-room-school/): I started first grade in our local one-room school in Daketown, in Greenfield, Saratoga County, sitting in the row of the smallest desks beside the blackboards in September 1942. I finished in the last seat of the last row of bigger seats on the window side of the room eight grades later in June 1950.
- [Time to Clean Your Bird Feeders](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/time-to-clean-your-bird-feeders/): Did you know that sanitizing your bird feeder helps limit the spread of disease? It's a good practice to clean your bird feeders regularly as several diseases are commonly spread at bird feeders.
- [35th Anniversary High School Juried Art Show Opens at The Hyde April 18th](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/35th-high-school-art-show-at-hyde/): The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, NY, has announced the return of the annual High School Juried Art Show for its 35th anniversary.
- [Frederick Law Olmsted’s Reports on Slavery in the South](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/frederick-law-olmsted-on-slavery/): From December 1852 until August 1854, Frederick Law Olmsted, who later gained renown as a landscape architect for designing New York City’s Central Park and Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, traveled through the American South as a special correspondent for the New-York Daily Times, the predecessor of The New York Times.
- [Peter Pan in the Catskills and Other Historical Essays](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/peter-pan-in-the-catskills/): Peter Pan in the Catskills and Other Historical Essays (Purple Mountain Press, 2026) is a collection that evokes the magic of the region, from Rip Van Winkle to Maude Adams, whose renowned portrayal of Peter Pan made her famous.
- [DEC Considering Hiking Limits in Most Popular Adirondack, Catskill Areas](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/dec-considering-hiking-limits/): New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the release of two reports regarding Visitor Use Management (VUM) for the Adirondack High Peaks Wilderness and Kaaterskill Clove region of the Catskill Park.
- [Occupied City: New York and the American Revolution](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/occupied-city-new-york-revolution/): In celebration of the 250th anniversary of these events, the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) and Gotham Center for New York City History will present "The Occupied City: New York and the American Revolution," a new exhibition opening on May 1, 2026.
- [New Interactive Map Celebrates Greenwich Village Jazz History](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/nyc-map-village-jazz-history/): Map users can discover dozens of historic venues, recording studios, archives, and homes of major jazz artists, with photos, sound samples, and stories about their role in shaping jazz history.
- [Mabel Allen’s 1908 Walk in the Park](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/mabel-allen-walk-in-the-park/): In 1908,  while attending Syracuse University, Alice Mabel Allen (1886-1976) kept a diary which is being published each week. In this week’s entries, she takes a walk with a suitor and enjoys a visit from her older sister.
- [Poetry: False Casting](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/poetry-false-casting/): False Casting
- [Critical Mass and the Road to Revolution, 1763-1776](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/critical-mass-american-revolution/): According to Webster's American Dictionary, “critical mass” is the time when a turning point is reached in a series of events leading to a major action. Scientifically, the term is used when sufficient size of matter leads to a chain reaction, as in a nuclear reactor.
- [Why Do Frogs Cross the Road?](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/why-do-frogs-cross-the-road/): I paused as soon as I heard a faint but high-pitched call coming from the trees. It was a spring peeper. I was not the only one who could feel the rain coming; the frogs could feel it too.
- [Bald Eagle Rescued from Beneath George Washington Bridge](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/bald-eagle-washington-bridge/): On February 17, New York State Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) Ableson and Baldwin responded to a call from the New York City Police Department Harbor Unit regarding an injured bald eagle recovered from a sheet of ice floating beneath the George Washington Bridge.
- [Benjamin Franklin’s Travels Through Upstate New York in 1776](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/benjamin-franklin-new-york-in-1776/): A 70-year-old Benjamin Franklin passed through upstate New York in the spring of 1776 on a mission to Canada that failed in the moment but helped shape the American Revolution.
- [Brooklyn Museum Planning Permanent Galleries for Arts of Africa Collection](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/brooklyn-museum-arts-of-africa/): The Brooklyn Museum is launching a major new project to renovate and design permanent galleries for its historic African art collection, one of the largest and most renowned in the United States.
- [‘A Terrible Death Struggle’: The Wreck of the George W. Lee](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/wreck-of-the-george-w-lee/): Over the last sixteen hours, Frawley had brought the canal boat George W. Lee from the Morgan sawmill in Glens Falls, and forty miles down the Champlain Canal to the Albany Basin, where he deposited the year's last load of lumber. Despite the rain, his trip down had been uneventful, even getting well-behaved mules when he stopped for a fresh team in Schuylerville.
- [Thoreau, Wilderness, and Our Community of Life](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/thoreau-wilderness-community-life/): The Ken Burns documentary film Henry David Thoreau is airing on PBS. This renewed focus on Thoreau’s life provides an opportunity to present an excerpt of Ed Zahniser's speech "Wilderness and Our Community of Life," delivered at Vassar College on March 31, 2004.
- [Arts and Crafts Movement Utopias in Progressive America](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/arts-crafts-utopias-america/): In the late 1800s, as rapid industrialization transformed the American landscape, a counter-cultural movement emerged. Fed up with the grueling conditions of factory work and the soulless nature of mass-produced goods, the Arts and Crafts Movement championed the idea that beauty and meaningful labor should be accessible to everyone.
- [Lake Champlain’s Crown Point Pier Closed](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/champlain-crown-point-pier-closed/): The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced an immediate, temporary closure of the fishing pier located at the Crown Point Campground and Day Use Area in Crown Point, Essex County, due to the discovery of structural damage to the pier roof.
- [Rangers Fight Wildfires Sparked by Train, Burning; Make Catskills Hiker Rescue](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/wildfires-sparked-by-train/): New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to wildfires, and search and rescue incidents throughout New York State locating and extracting lost, injured or distressed people and policing state lands.
- [The Plume Boom: Feathers, Fans, Funerals, Fashion & Filth](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/plume-boom-feathers-fans-fashion/): While the assets may change over time, from tulips to technology, the factors of greed and fear are the ever-present psychological drivers of economic upheavals. Of all the bubbles known to historians, the “Plume Boom” is one of the more obscure tales.
- [Beyond ‘Americanization’: New York’s 1921 Celebration of Diversity](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/americanization-new-york-diversity/): Canadian born New Yorker Franklin Knight Lane (1864-1921), who had served as Secretary of the Interior from 1913 to 1920, reflected this concern. In a 1919 speech, he described "Americanization" as the process of turning newcomers into members of the national community. He included adopting the English language, reflecting the nation’s values, and identifying as an American rather than someone from a foreign land.
- [The Life and Times of John Stark](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/life-and-times-of-john-stark-bio/): Live Free or Die: The Life and Times Of John Stark (Page Publishing, 2025) by William Baker Jr. is the story of how one of the American Revolution's best battlefield commanders triumphed over the self-interest of others to play a major role in securing victory for the new republic.
- [Snow Fleas Are Not Really Fleas](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/snow-fleas-are-not-really-fleas/): They’re called snow fleas, but don’t panic — they’re not real fleas.
- [The Revolutionary War’s Home Front](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/04/revolutionary-war-home-front-ny/): For thousands of civilians living in cities during the American War for Independence, the home front experience included quartering British officers and interacting with soldiers.
- [Mabel Allen’s 1908 Diary: Invitation to Junior Prom](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/mabel-allens-1908-diary-invitation-to-junior-prom/): In 1908,  while attending Syracuse University, Alice Mabel Allen (1886-1976) kept a diary which is being published each week. In this week’s entries, a suitor visits Syracuse and invites Mabel to the junior prom at his college
- [Poetry: It Was A Close Call](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/poetry-it-was-a-close-call/): It Was A Close Call
- [Cellar Holes and Old Foundations](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/cellar-holes-old-foundations/): As I kneel digging in the dirt of the gently collapsing stone foundation, birds singing, knees aching, and dirt permanently embedded under my fingernails, I try to imagine life here in Vershire, Vermont, in the 1880s.
- [Fire and Freedom: The American Revolution in New York](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/american-revolution-in-new-york/): Beyond these well-known players and moments, however, lies a trove of new information on New York's hidden revolutionary stories. Fire and Freedom: The American Revolution in New York (Three Hills / Cornell University Press, 2026) showcases New York's central role in the revolution and highlights the stories of people and events previously hidden from popular view.
- [New York State Launches New Harmful Algal Blooms Effort](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/nys-harmful-algal-blooms-plan/): In celebration of World Water Day on March 22, 2026, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced a sweeping plan to address one of the most challenging water quality issues facing communities across the state — Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs).
- [Be Prepared for Spring Black Bear Visitors](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/spring-black-bear-visitors/): In the 1950s, black bears only occupied the most remote and mountainous regions of New York, such as the Adirondacks, Catskills, and Allegheny mountains. Over the past 70 years, bears gradually expanded their range and now occupy most areas of the state except Long Island and New York City.
- [Attorneys General Sue Trump Regime Over USDA Funding Conditions](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/trump-usda-funding-conditions/): In addition, forestry and wildfire prevention programs supported by USDA funding could be impacted, reducing the state’s ability to manage forests, prevent wildfires, and protect natural resources.
- [Forest Rangers Rescue Lost, Ill and Injured Hikers in Adks, Catskills](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/forest-rangers-adks-catskills/): New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State locating and extracting lost, injured or distressed people and policing state lands.
- [Bear Hunting Statistics Show Record Number Killed in 2025](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/nys-bear-hunting-statistics-2025/): In the 1950s, bears only occupied the most remote and mountainous regions of New York, such as the Adirondack, Catskill, and Allegheny mountains. Over the past 70 years, bears gradually expanded their range in the State, and DEC began opening new areas for bear hunting.
- [The Orange County Mastodon](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/the-orange-county-mastodon/): In 1799 unusually large bones and teeth of an animal resembling an elephant were discovered at a Montgomery, NY farm in Orange County.
- [First Amendment Win in Decision to Make DOGE DEI Videos Public](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/first-amendment-doge-dei-videos/): The American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association, and the Modern Language Association are welcoming a ruling Tuesday by Judge Colleen McMahon allowing video footage of depositions that went viral to be published online again.
- [Albany’s Underground Railroad Education Center Sues Trump Regime](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/underground-railroad-trump/): The Trump administration has faced criticism and legal action for efforts to alter historical narratives surrounding the Underground Railroad and slavery. For example, National Park Service (NPS) websites have removed mentions of Harriet Tubman, "enslaved" people, and the Fugitive Slave Act.
- [The Battle of Long Island with Dan Davis of the American Battlefield Trust](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/battle-of-long-island-dan-davis/): The Battle of Long Island went down in history as a major defeat for the fledgling American army and George Washington. The fighting in late August 1776 focused around the Gowanus Heights in Brooklyn and saw the patriots outflanked on their left, routed by Hessians in the center, and hunted down across the marshy Gowanus Creek.
- [2026 New York History Conference Registration Now Open](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/2026-new-york-history-conference-2/): Registration is now open for the 2026 New York History Conference. You can visit the conference website below to register and to access information on hotel lodging, keynote events, sponsorship opportunities, and conference sessions.
- [Spectral Database Planned for Museum of Natural History Mineral Collection](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/spectral-database-minerals-collect/): This new project, a Raman spectral database, serves the museum’s mission to disseminate knowledge about the natural world “through scientific research and education.”
- [The First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2026/03/first-baptist-church-ballston-spa/): In the heart of Ballston Spa, in Saratoga County, NY, on the main thoroughfare of Milton Avenue, sits a stone structure called the First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa.

## Pages
- [Submitting Your News For Publication](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/submitting-your-news-for-publication/): If you are interested in having your organization's news or event noticed at the New York Almanack, send a press release and photo following these simple steps:
- [Please Support New York Almanack](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/support-the-new-york-almanack/): The best way to support New York Almanack is with a monthly contribution of any size, but any help is appreciated:
- [Subscribe To The New York Almanack By Email](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/sign-up-for-email-updates/): Sign up and you'll receive our more-or-less daily email Monday through Saturday at about 6 am.  We won't share your email with anyone, ever. Unsubscribe securely anytime.
- [Adirondacks Page](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/adirondacks/)
- [Having New Books Noticed On The New York Almanack](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/having-new-books-noticed-on-the-new-york-history-blog/): New York Almanack reaches nearly 2 million readers per year interested in history and natural history.  Authors and publishers of new books related to New York State can have their books noticed on the New York Almanack by providing a copy of the book to:
- [Contact](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/contact/)
- [Submitting Your News](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/about-page/submitting-your-news-for-publication/): If you are interested in having your organization's news or event noticed at the New York Almanack send a press release to nyalmanack@gmail.com using these guidelines:
- [Submit A Story to the New York Almanack](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/about-page/new-york-history-blog-article-submission-guidelines/): Writers are encouraged to review the New York Almanack over the past few weeks to get a sense for our style and tone before submitting an article for publication. Please also read these short guidelines. The copyright of all stories remains with the author.
- [About The <i>New York Almanack</i>](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/about-page/): Founded in the tradition of an old-time press by John Warren in 2008, the New York Almanack is typically updated several times per day.