Native American & Pioneer Sites of Upstate New York


Book Description

Prior to the Revolutionary War, everything west of Albany was wilderness. Safer travel and the promise of land opened this frontier. The interaction between European settlers and Native Americans transformed New York, and the paths they walked still bear the footprints of their experiences, like the shrine to Kateri Tekakwitha in Fonda. Industry and invention flourished along these routes, as peace sparked imagination, allowing for art and the freedom to explore new ideologies, some inspired by Native American culture. The Latter Rain Movement took hold in the heart of the Burned-Over District. Utopian communities and playgrounds for the wealthy appeared and vanished; all that remains of the Oneida Community is its Mansion House. Follow New York's westward trails--the Erie Canal and Routes 5 and 20--that opened the west to the United States, beginning in Albany and moving westward to Buffalo.




A History of Native American Land Rights in Upstate New York


Book Description

A complex and troubled history defines the borders of upstate New York beyond the physical boundaries of its rivers and lakes. The United States and the state were often deceptive in their territory negotiations with the Iroquois Six Nations. Amidst the growing quest for more land among settlers and then fledgling Americans, the Indian nations attempted to maintain their autonomy. Yet state land continued to encroach the Six Nations. Local historian Cindy Amrhein takes a close and critical view of these transactions. Evidence of dubious deals, bribes, faulty surveys and coerced signatures may help explain why many of the Nations now feel they were cheated out of their territory.







Native American & Pioneer Sites of Upstate New York


Book Description

Prior to the Revolutionary War, everything west of Albany was wilderness. Safer travel and the promise of land opened this frontier. The interaction between European settlers and Native Americans transformed New York, and the paths they walked still bear the footprints of their experiences, like the shrine to Kateri Tekakwitha in Fonda. Industry and invention flourished along these routes, as peace sparked imagination, allowing for art and the freedom to explore new ideologies, some inspired by Native American culture. The Latter Rain Movement took hold in the heart of the Burned-Over District. Utopian communities and playgrounds for the wealthy appeared and vanished; all that remains of the Oneida Community is its Mansion House. Follow New York's westward trails--the Erie Canal and Routes 5 and 20--that opened the west to the United States, beginning in Albany and moving westward to Buffalo.




Native American and Pioneer Sites of Upstate New York


Book Description

Prior to the Revolutionary War, everything west of Albany was wilderness. Safer travel and the promise of land opened this frontier. The interaction between European settlers and Native Americans transformed New York, and the paths they walked still bear the footprints of their experiences, like the shrine to Kateri Tekakwitha in Fonda. Industry and invention flourished along these routes, as peace sparked imagination, allowing for art and the freedom to explore new ideologies, some inspired by Native American culture. The Latter Rain Movement took hold in the heart of the Burned-Over District. Utopian communities and playgrounds for the wealthy appeared and vanished; all that remains of the Oneida Community is its Mansion House. Follow New York's westward trails--the Erie Canal and Routes 5 and 20--that opened the west to the United States, beginning in Albany and moving westward to Buffalo.




Mysterious Stone Sites


Book Description

There are mysteries in the woods of the Hudson Valley of New York and northern New Jersey. There are stone sites that are assumed to be the work of colonial farmers, but why do they have precise astronomical alignments? Could they be the work of Native Americans or Pre-Columbian voyagers? Author and researcher Linda Zimmermann explores stone chambers, perched boulders, standing stones, and massive walls that may just be unique historical treasures that must be studied and preserved.




Before Central Park


Book Description

Winner - 2023 John Brinkerhoff Jackson Book Prize, UVA Center for Cultural Landscapes With more than eight hundred sprawling green acres in the middle of one of the world’s densest cities, Central Park is an urban masterpiece. Designed in the middle of the nineteenth century by the landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, it is a model for city parks worldwide. But before it became Central Park, the land was the site of farms, businesses, churches, wars, and burial grounds—and home to many different kinds of New Yorkers. This book is the authoritative account of the place that would become Central Park. From the first Dutch family to settle on the land through the political crusade to create America’s first major urban park, Sara Cedar Miller chronicles two and a half centuries of history. She tells the stories of Indigenous hunters, enslaved people and enslavers, American patriots and British loyalists, the Black landowners of Seneca Village, Irish pig farmers, tavern owners, Catholic sisters, Jewish protesters, and more. Miller unveils a British fortification and camp during the Revolutionary War, a suburban retreat from the yellow fever epidemics at the turn of the nineteenth century, and the properties that a group of free Black Americans used to secure their right to vote. Tales of political chicanery, real estate speculation, cons, and scams stand alongside democratic idealism, the striving of immigrants, and powerfully human lives. Before Central Park shows how much of the history of early America is still etched upon the landscapes of Central Park today.




Native New Yorkers


Book Description

To be stewards of the earth, not owners: this was the way of the Lenape. Considering themselves sacred land keepers, they walked gently; they preserved the world they inhabited. Drawing on a wide range of historical sources, interviews with living Algonquin elders, and first-hand explorations of the ancient trails, burial grounds, and sacred sites, Native New Yorkers offers a rare glimpse into the civilization that served as the blueprint for modern New York. A fascinating history, supplemented with maps, timelines, and a glossary of Algonquin words, this book is an important and timely celebration of a forgotten people.




Names of New York


Book Description

"A casually wondrous experience; it made me feel like the city was unfolding beneath my feet.” —Jia Tolentino, author of Trick Mirror In place-names lie stories. That’s the truth that animates this fascinating journey through the names of New York City’s streets and parks, boroughs and bridges, playgrounds and neighborhoods. Exploring the power of naming to shape experience and our sense of place, Joshua Jelly-Schapiro traces the ways in which native Lenape, Dutch settlers, British invaders, and successive waves of immigrants have left their marks on the city’s map. He excavates the roots of many names, from Brooklyn to Harlem, that have gained iconic meaning worldwide. He interviews the last living speakers of Lenape, visits the harbor’s forgotten islands, lingers on street corners named for ballplayers and saints, and meets linguists who study the estimated eight hundred languages now spoken in New York. As recent arrivals continue to find new ways to make New York’s neighborhoods their own, the names that stick to the city’s streets function not only as portals to explore the past but also as a means to reimagine what is possible now.




Ten Exciting Historic Sites to Visit in Upstate New York


Book Description

New York State has some of the most interesting and important historic sites in the United States. Visiting historic sites can be an interesting, even thrilling, experience, especially if the visitor knows the history represented by the site before the visit. Further appreciation of a historic site is gained by acquiring an understanding of the overall historic background in which the events of the site occurred. Ten Exciting Historic Sites to Visit in Upstate New York provides the reader with the information needed to make for an unforgettable visit to some of Upstate New York's fabulous historic sites. Background information regarding the history of the area that now comprises New York State is presented in the introductory chapter. The period of history covered briefly in this chapter begins before European contact and runs through 1825 with the building of the Erie Canal. This provides an understanding of the world in which our historic sites became historic sites. Each chapter of this book presents a detailed description of one of Upstate New York's most interesting historic sites along with logistical information (driving directions and GPS coordinates) to help readers get to the site. Also included in each chapter is a brief history of the site so that the reader can be prepared to get the most enjoyment out of their visit. The beginning of the book includes a map of New York with the approximate location of the sites. Among the sites included are the following: “Old” Fort Niagara Fort Ontario in Oswego Johnson Hall Fort William Henry Saratoga Battlefield National Historic Park Fort Ticonderoga