Empire State History

In this episode come along and visit the most famous fortress in North America, Fort Ticonderoga! This upstate NY fort in the Adirondacks nestled between Lake Champlain and Lake George played a crucial role in two conflicts. We will cover the importance of the fort in both the Seven Years War and the American Revolution and later on how the ruins of the fort were restored and turned into a public museum largely thanks to a movement known as Romanticism. So strap on your boots, gas up the car, and lets get out and see some history! https://fortticonderoga.org/

This month I have something a little different for you. Instead of one specific site or town of historic significance to visit, we are exploring a theme. The theme is of course Christmas in New York! In this episode you will discover how crucial New York was in the formation of the Christmas holiday icons, imagery, and traditions we know and love today. We will run into our old friend Washington Irving and join him in his meetings with Charles Dickens. We'll do a deep dive into the origins of Santa Claus as we know him today beginning back in antiquity then moving forward in time to the Hudson Valley Dutch. We'll learn how Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Victorian Britain influenced our Christmas and just how spooky some Christmas traditions were. For sites to visit we are all over the place in this episode including Rockefeller Center, https://www.rockefellercenter.com/ Radio City Music Hall, https://www.msg.com/radio-city-music-hall Staatsburg https://millsfriends.org/mansion/ The Old Dutch Church in Kingston NY, https://olddutchchurch.org/ Sunnyside, https://hudsonvalley.org/historic-sites/washington-irvings-sunnyside/ Germania of Poughkeepsie, https://germaniapok.com/ and others. Join me on this incredible journey through centuries and across continents to find out the origin story of New York Christmas!

In this episode of Empire State History, we travel to the capitol of New York Albany. We will meet the original inhabitants of the Albany area the Mohawks and Mohicans. We'll also learn about the Dutch, English and later American colonists, the Revolution, and the 19th century period of economic growth in Albany. Finally, we will visit the Capitol building and the Plaza. The sites we will visit are the Schuyler Mansion https://parks.ny.gov/visit/historic-sites/schuyler-mansion-state-historic-site, The New York State Museum https://nysm.nysed.gov/visit, The Egg https://theegg.org/, The New York State Capitol Building https://empirestateplaza.ny.gov/capitol, and the Albany Institute of History and Art https://www.albanyinstitute.org/. My food recommendations this episode are Tanpopo Ramen https://tanpopoalbany.com/, and Banh Mi 47 http://banhmi47.com/.

Halloween season is finally here in Sleepy Hollow Country! In this episode enjoy some of the most haunting and historic folklore stories from Sleepy Hollow Country. Meet the Lady in White of Raven's Rock, the Star Maidens of Spook Rock, Captain Kidd the Pirate, Hulda the good witch of Sleepy Hollow, and of course the Headless Horseman. History and Legend go hand in hand in Sleepy Hollow; while enjoying the ghost stories you will also learn local history. New to this episode is also an events segment where I will cover the cemetery tours, Hulda's Night, and performances by expert storytellers among other events. I will provide links below for the sites and events. Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Tours, https://sleepyhollowcemetery.org/tours-and-events/ Hulda's Night, https://huldasnight.com/ The Great Jack-O-Lantern Blaze https://pumpkinblaze.org/ Historic Hudson Valley Events, https://tickets.hudsonvalley.org/events Rockefeller State Park Preserve https://parks.ny.gov/parks/59/details.aspx Susuru Ramen https://susururamentarrytown.com/

In this episode join us back in Sleepy Hollow Country. This is part 2 of our 3 part series on Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, and Irvington collectively known as Sleepy Hollow Country. Part 2 covers the 19th century focusing on the area's most famous resident, author Washington Irving. Enjoy a mini bio of Irving's life and times. You will also get to hear some samples of his writing. Next we move on to what is known as the Gilded Age, a time of industry, immigration, enormous wealth and enormous wealth gaps! Visit the home of the Rockefellers and Jay Gould and join me at Sunnyside home of Washington Irving. We also visit the Cemetery where Gilded Age personae such as Andrew Carnegie, William Rockefeller, and Samuel Gompers are buried. I will provide links to the websites for the sites below. Sunnyside, https://hudsonvalley.org/historic-sites/washington-irvings-sunnyside/ Kykuit, https://hudsonvalley.org/historic-sites/kykuit-the-rockefeller-estate/ Lyndhurst, https://lyndhurst.org/ Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, https://sleepyhollowcemetery.org/

Hey everyone welcome back! In this episode we will go into the history and folklore of one of the best known towns in the Hudson Valley, Sleepy Hollow. We will dive into the Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving and discuss the colonial and Indigenous history of the region. We will also cover the history of enslavement in NY and the four main cultures which create the unique cultural history of Sleepy Hollow, Leni-Lenape, Dutch, African, and English. We will visit Philipsburg Manor https://hudsonvalley.org/historic-sites/philipsburg-manor/ a Dutch manor house, Kingsland Point Park where you can connect with the mighty Hudson River and it's deep history https://parks.westchestergov.com/kingsland-point-park The Tarrytown Historical Society is also worth a stop https://www.thehistoricalsociety.net/ . Some of the food and beverage stops I recommend are Coffee Labs https://www.coffeelabs.com/ The Cube Inn https://thecubeinn.net/ and Beekman Ale House https://www.beekmanalehouse.com/ This episode is intended to be part one of a three part series on the Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, and Irvington area culminating with a spooky folklore episode in October so watch this space!

In this episode I explore the conflict between the French, British and their respective Indigenous allies known as the French and Indian War. Scenic Lake George New York was the site of battles, massacres, and sieges between 1755 and 1757 and saw some of the bloodiest fighting of the war. These events inspired NY author James Fenimore Cooper to write the great American novel The Last of the Mohicans. After a longer than usual historical narrative (extra background was necessary for this one) I of course go into how to visit the sites, where to eat, parking, and bathrooms! The two sites I cover are Lake George Battlefield, https://lakegeorgebattlefield.org/visitor-center/ and The Fort William Henry Museum, https://www.fwhmuseum.com/ Some restaurants I recommend are the Lakeside at the Fort William Henry Hotel, https://www.fortwilliamhenry.com/resort-overview/dining-and-nightlife/lakeside-restaurant-lounge/ and the Adirondack Brewery https://adkbrewery.com/ . As always checkout our website for pictures and more details! Empire State History – Your guide to all things New York History!

In this episode of the podcast I delve into the fascinating and inspiring narrative history of Eleanor Roosevelt. The first part of the episode is a mini-bio of her life and times and the latter part is a guide of how to visit the site and what you can expect to see there.  https://www.nps.gov/elro/index.htm Here's the park website to help you plan your visit. Tours are free and run hourly on the half hour. You will be visiting Eleanor's furniture factory Val-Kill where she helped to teach the rural poor carpentry and other trades. Later in life she converted the factory into her personal residence and that is the period the museum interprets. If you are looking to eat in the area I recommend picking something up from Rossi's and having a picnic, also great Italian pastries from La Deliziosa in Poughkeepsie NY. https://www.rossideli.com/ https://www.ladeliziosany.com/ I encourage you to get out and visit Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site and learn all about Eleanor!

In Episode 2 I dive into the history of and how to visit FDR National Historic Site aka Springwood in Hyde Park NY. Springwood was the home of president Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The site also contains the visitor's center and the Presidential Library and museum which contains a huge amount of interpretive signs about FDR and interactive exhibits. Here's the website to help plan your visit https://www.nps.gov/hofr/index.htm I don't cover everything about FDR or the Roosevelts in the episode because that is beyond the scope of this podcast but I do give a mini-biography covering what I consider the main points of his career including his term as governor of NY, the Depression, the New Deal, the presidency and of course World War Two.

Welcome to our very first episode of Empire State History and thank you for joining us on this journey! This podcast will be a historical narrative with information on how to visit the fantastic historic sites we have here in New York. For our first episode we visit Fort Montgomery a Revolutionary War fort attacked and destroyed by the British in 1777. See more show notes and photos at our website: http://www.empirestatehistory.com  https://parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/28/details.aspx (Fort Montgomery) https://parks.ny.gov/parks/13/details.aspx (Bear Mountain)