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The Apollo 13 story as told by NASA
Tags:
Apollo
13
space
NASA
Added: 17th August 2007
Views: 264
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Posted By: Admin |
 
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The Sign is on the north side of the Mohawk River, in Crescent, but there are stone remains on both the south and north bank of the river. There were two different Aqueducts at this site; The first "Clinton's Ditch" aqueduct was a wooden structure supported by twelve stone piers. It served from the canals opening in 1825 until 1842.
The second "Lower Mohawk Aqueduct", which was built of stone in 1842, was 1,137 feet in length, 40.5 feet wide (interior width) and had 26 stone arch spans. It stood for 73 years until the New State Barge Canal system opened in 1915. It was the longest aqueduct in the state.
Tags:
Erie
Canal
Mohawk
River
Crescent
Added: 7th September 2007
Views: 116
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Posted By: Ohlhous |
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The Wabash & Erie Canal opened between Toledo and Lafayette, Indiana, May 8, 1843. The Miami Extension Canal was completed to Junction, Ohio, on July 4, 1845, linking the Wabash & Erie Canal with Cincinnati and resulting in changing the canals name to the Miami and Erie Canal. Prosperity reigned until the 1850s when railroad competition caused a slow decline in commerce. The canal branch to Indiana was in disuse by 1858 and totally abandoned in 1888. The canal system was revived from 1906-1909 with much reconstruction and improvement only to be badly damaged by severe statewide flooding in 1913. The canal was maintained from here to Maumee for generating hydro-electric power until it was drained in 1929. Twelve miles of canal and the Maumee Side Cut Canal have been leased to the Toledo Area Metroparks since 1932.
VISIT: www.youtube.com/historymarkerguy
Tags:
miami
and
erie
canal
ohio
history
historic
marker
providence
maumee
river
wabash
ludwig
mill
metroparks
toledo
Added: 30th September 2007
Views: 123
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Posted By: HistoryMarkerGuy |
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Stillwater Blockhouse: A history
Located in the Center of the Village of Stillwater, NY the Stillwater Blockhouse is historically unique. It was built in part with timbers from Revolutionary era structures once standing within what is now Saratoga National Historical Park, in Stillwater. It replicates the early 18th century blockhouses of the region, but was actually built in 1927 as New York State turned the site of the American Revolution’s 1777 “Turning Point Battles” into an historical park.
The “battlefield Blockhouse” as it was first known, was a popular attraction used primarily as a visitor center-museum. Later, a new and larger visitor center-museum was erected and park officials eventually decided in 1975 to donate the Blockhouse to the Town of Stillwater.
Today, the Stillwater Blockhouse, and the Historic Marker, stand in a small riverfront park (approx. 2 acres) on a notably scenic section of the Hudson River. The riverfront park rests at the heart of the Village of Stillwater, east of U.S. Route 4 & N.Y. Route 32.
Stillwater Blockhouse Website
Stillwater Historic Marker Video
The 57 second long video shows 13 Historic Markers in Stillwater, NY.
Tags:
Stillwater
Blockhouse
Saratoga
Added: 18th October 2007
Views: 154
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Posted By: Ohlhous |
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The Poughkeepsie Bridge (sometimes known as the "Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge" or the "Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge") is a steel cantilever single track
railway bridge spanning the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie, New York on the east bank and Highland, New York on the west. It was completed in 1889 and went out of service after cathing on fire in 1974. It is expected to reopen in 2009 as a pedestrian bridge.
The Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge was the first bridge to be built over the Hudson River from the ocean all the way up to Albany. It was a technological wonder.
Opened in 1889 soon after the Brooklyn Bridge opened, it is not only higher above the water than the Brooklyn Bridge, and founded deeper in the water, but also
longer. When it opened, its promoters claimed it was the longest (6,767 feet) bridge in the world.
The rehabilitated bridge is expected to open in the fall of 2009, in time to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson sailing up his namesake river. When
completed, the bridge, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979, will tie rail trails on both sides of the river, creating a 35-mile trail. The
bridge, now owned by Walkway Over the Hudson, would be turned over to the state after construction, a way to ensure that it's always available to the public and
takes advantage of state expertise in park management.
The photo above shows the Poughkeepsie Bridge as seen from the Mid-Hudson (highway) Bridge. The view is to the North. Poughkeepsie is out of view to the right.
Highland, NY is on the left.
Poughkeepsie Bridge; Highland to Poughkeepsie, NY
(Click Photo for many more Photos of Bridge)
Tags:
Poughkeepsie
Railroad
Bridge
Added: 17th November 2007
Views: 376
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Posted By: Ohlhous |
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New York
FRIENDS
MEETING HOUSE
Erected 1807 Near Site
Of Original Log Structure
1st Preacher - Ezekiel Tripp
Society Organized About 1790
State Education
Department 1932
The little village of Quaker Street, in the
Schenectady County town of Duanesburg, is in one of the oldest settlements in this part of New
York State. 200 years ago, in 1807, The Religious Society of Friends, whose members are commonly known as Quakers, built the current frame building to replace the previous building, a log structure.
The Quakers, after buying the land from the family of James
Duane, began building the meeting house in 1807, probably began using it in 1809, and finished the structure in 1813. It was a Quaker by the name of Job
Briggs who paid James C. Duane, son of James Duane, 32 pounds for the two acres of land that became the site of the current meeting house. The building cost
close to 550 pounds to build.
This well-preserved two story building has an attic and rests on a field stone foundation with no cellar. It was originally built with no porch and had a dividing-
folding partition, through the center of the building, which was raised and lowered by means of pulleys and ropes, because the men and women usually entered and
sat on opposite sides of the room. The partitions were removed in 1885. An adjoining carriage shed and burial ground are still on the property.
"The architecture tells you everything you need to know about the Quakers... It's white and gray, very simple and plain, with no embellishment or accoutrements, and
that speaks volumes about the Quaker faith. They believe in complete directness, honesty, plainness, with no guile or personality. You’re not supposed to draw
attention to yourself." - Art Willis - Quaker and Duanesburg Town Historian
In the photo at the top of the page the historic marker is seen back in place at the edge of Route 7 and in front of the meeting house, after receiving a fresh coat of paint. It had been down for some time after being knocked over by a snow plow last winter.
Other Historic Markers in New York State can be looked up by County Here
Tags:
Quaker
Street
Friends
Meeting
House
Duane
Duanesburg
Added: 8th December 2007
Views: 166
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Posted By: Ohlhous |
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Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 23 in Rotterdam, NY
History: Enlarged Double Lock No. 23, "Alexander's Lock", was constructed to replace nearby Lock 26, one of 83 "first generation" locks originally built as part of Clinton's Ditch. The overnight success of the Erie Canal proved a mixed blessing. By the end of the first decade of operation the heavy volume of canal traffic was taxing the original system beyond its designed capacity. Single chamber locks quickly proved inadequate as lines of boats waiting to pass formed in both directions. Beginning in 1836 the Canal Commissioners of the State of New York initiated a comprehensive program of system improvements, carried out in stages between 1836 and 1862, which reduced the number of lock from 83 to 72 and doubled their capacity by adding a second chamber at each site in order to allow two-way traffic.
Lock No. 23 was constructed in a double-chamber configuration during this period of the First Enlargement in 1840-1841 and opening to traffic in 1842. Rather than expand the existing Lock 26, as was done at several other locations, a completely new double-chambered lock was built immediately adjacent to the original lock and right-of-way. Lock chambers were built wider and longer, at 18 feet wide by 110 feet in length. Previously they were 15 feet wide by 90 feet long.
Built entirely of large cut limestone blocks laid in a regular ashlar pattern and mortared using hydraulic cement, Lock No.23 raised or lowered boats by 7.89 feet; from a level of 231 feet at the south end to 239 feet at the north end. This lock was of importance to the Erie Canal, and Schenectady, N.Y. in particular, because it was the first lock west of Schenectady, a.k.a., "Gateway to the West", a major transfer point at the west end of the 17-mile portage from Albany around the Cohoes Falls. Many passengers left the Erie Canal to travel overland between Albany and Schenectady; goods stayed on barges for the trip which could take more than a day. During its busiest seasons, the lock was operating with a lockage every 5 minutes. (Approximately 47,000 lockages per season).
By the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the Canal Commissioners recognized that the Erie Canal would require substantial further modification if it was to remain competitive with expanding rail transportation. During the early 1880s steam motive power introduced on the Eric Canal led to the introduction of larger vessels that could be towed or pushed in combination along the waterway. To accommodate this traffic, a program to lengthen the locks was begun in 1884. Lock No 23 was one of six locks lengthened during 1889. The southwest chamber was extended south to a total of 220 feet along the berm side; the width of the added portion of the lock chamber was 20 feet. With its southwest chamber nearly doubled in size, Lock No. 23 could raise or lower "double-header" vessels towed by steam barges without interrupting though traffic.
With the opening of the current Barge Canal the Enlarged Canal was abandoned in 1918, and this section of the canal was purchased by the General Electric Company (GE). GE kept water in the canal from their main plant in Schenectady to Lock 23 until the late 1950's. It functioned as a test bed for GE products including the Electric Mules used to pull ships through the locks in the Panama Canal. In the 1950s the lock property was donated to the Town of Rotterdam which was in the midst of building its new water pumping station on the nearby well field; the town ran its new main directly through the lock chambers. Portions of the limestone walls were partially collapsed to make way for the pipe. In the north chamber the pipe was covered with debris and dirt blocking off that chamber. In the south chamber the cement replaced the removed limestone blocks and a concrete walkway was installed above the waterway crossing the chamber, however the water main is no longer in use.
After a long period of neglect the lock had become completely overgrown. Beginning in 1999, students and staff of the Department of Civil Engineering at Union College had undertaken an effort to keep the lock free from small trees and brush and at one time had an ambitious plan to rehabilitate the lock and bring it back to working condition. Between 2000 and 2003 they built a replica board-and-batten Lock Tender's Hut and a Wooden Pier. Volunteers from Union College History Department were joined by volunteers from the Schenectady County Historical Society, the Rotterdam Sunrise Rotary Club and Friends of the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail in subsequent years to maintain the lock and continue promoting its preservation and sought official recognition as a historic site.
On December 28, 2007 the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation listed the Lock No. 23 property on New York’s registry as an important engineering landmark in Schenectady County. On March 6, 2008 Lock No. 23 had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Plans are in the works to apply for grant monies and the installation of permanent interpretive signs about the lock.
Lock No. 23 remains the focus of continuing preservation efforts and a distinguished example of masonry engineering design and construction associated with the transportation history of the Old Erie Canal.
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Lock 23 in 1941
Lock 23 in 1941 showing the east end of the south chamber. In this photo the water is still in the canal as it is being used by Schenectady's General Electric for testing. The wooden pier is still quite evident in the water at the foot of the lock.
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Lock 23 in 2007
Same view as first photo; East end of South lock chamber which had been lengthened.
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Lock 23 in 2007
Detail of the locks stonework under a blanket of fresh snow.
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Clean Up Day at Lock 23
Professor Andrew Morris of the Union College Department of History organized the Clean Up Day on May 27, 2006. Here we see Union College students as well as other volenteers cutting back brush and removing debries from the lock. At this location the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail is built on the old tow path and passes right beside the lock, on the left, in this view.
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Lock 23 After Clean Up
After clean up Saturday, May 12, 2007.
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Lock Tender's Hut
Closer view of the Lock Tender's Hut which sits on the pier between the two lock chambers on April 2, 2005
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Lock 23 in 2007
Winter Time Again, February 17, 2007.
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Lock 23 in 2008 - Interpretive Sign Added!
This interpretive sign was installed on the side of the Locktender's hut in the late spring of 2008. The text on the sign points out that the Lock 23 site
has been recognized by its listing on the New York State and National Historic Registers in 2008.
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Old Lock 23 is located beside the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail, near the intersection of Rice Road and Schermerhorn Road in Rotterdam, New York.
Google Maps Satellite image of Lock 23, Here.
(Other Old Erie Canal Lock Photos Here)
Tags:
Erie
Canal
Lock
23
Locktender
Pier
Rotterdam
GE
Added: 9th December 2007
Views: 983
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Posted By: Ohlhous |
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Site of the Battle of Clarksville
On Dec. 3, 1839, During the Anti-Rent Wars, Sheriff Artcher and His Posse Marched from Albany to Clarksville. They Met Their First Resistance Here.
The march from Albany to the location of this marker is 13.1 miles.
An important part of the Albany County hilltown history is the Anti-rent Wars which lasted 41 years. Tenant farmers became "Calico Indians" in protest of Dutch Patroon lease agreements. The book “Tin Horns and Calico” by Henry Christman chronicles that history.
This Marker, which was dedicated on October 15th, 2006 by the Clarksville Historical Society, is located beside the intersection of Cass Hill Road and the Delaware Turnpike, (Route 443) in the Town of New Scotland in Albany County, New York in the shadow of the Beautiful Heldeberg Escarpment.
Tags:
Anit-Rent
War
Riot
Riots
Clarksville
Albany
Sheriff
Artcher
Posse
Heldeberg
Heldeburg
Added: 24th December 2007
Views: 165
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Posted By: Ohlhous |
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A Treacherous Towpath
The two images are both of the same stretch of the Erie Canal. One is a recent shot of the modern NYS Barge Canal and the other is a postcard published about 100 years ago before the Barge Canal widening was done. They both show Lockport's famous Deep Cut; and the arrows point to the towpath that was a shelf cut into the solid rock on one side of the channel in this section.
Richard Garrity was born the son of a canal boat operator at just about the turn of the century, and in 1971 his recollections of the Erie were published. In them, he recounts the following incident that happened in the area shown above.
"When mother called me one morning for breakfast, she did not seem her usual cheerful self. I sensed that something had gone wrong. On inquiring, I was told that our team of mules had fallen into the canal just before midnight and had drowned about a mile above the [Lockport] locks. The current had carried the boats along the canal, and were lying at the head of the locks tied up. Nearby I could see the two drowned mules floating in the canal with their collars and harness still on. The current had also carried them down to the locks during the night. The driver was safe, but I could sense the general air of gloom that was felt by everyone on the boats.
When I asked how it had happened, I was told that the wind had picked up during the night and a sudden gust had blown a piece of paper along the towpath towards the mules. This caused the outside mule to shy and crowd the other mule off the towpath into the canal. Being hitched together, one mule had dragged the other into the water with him. The towpath, in the rock cut at this point, was six or seven feet above the water's edge, and the night being very dark, the mules soon became entangled in their harnesses and drowned. Had it been daylight, they might have been saved. In this particular place, along the towpath, nothing could have been done to save them in the darkness."
Mr. Garrity goes on to point out that the towpath remained in the rock cut even after the canal was widened for diesel traffic in 1905-1918 because mules were still needed while work was underway. Only the south side (the left side in the top right photo) had material removed. In the lower photo, trees have long since taken root in the soil that was washed by rains down to this ledge from above.
(Recollections of the Erie Canal, by Richard Garrity. Published by Historical Society of the Tonawandas, Inc. Tonawanda, NY April 1971 Pg 13).
Tags:
towpath
deep
cut
erie
canal
lockport
garrity
Added: 16th February 2008
Views: 359
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Posted By: Lowbridge |
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