HEAR about HERE, Albany, NY (2024)

08/22/2024

The Pastures was just that - a place for animals to graze.

Albany’s Pastures neighborhood stayed intact and avoided urban renewal and highway that surround it on three sides and separate it from downtown today . This mostly early 18th century neighborhood was the first stop for those departing the ferry from New York City . Even earlier, this area was actually a cow pasture as its name implies. Tony Opalka leads an audio tour telling Tales in the HEAR and Then.
Check out the first stop https://www.hearabouthere.com/historical/united-states/new-york/albany/early1800s/pastures-tour-by-t-opalka/ or the tour page https://www.hearabouthere.com/lists/the-pastures-albany-tales/ through the Pastures.

08/15/2024

Pearl St in Albany was named for the First Patroon, Kilaen Van Rensselaer, He was an Amsterdam Pearl & diamond merchant.that purchased nearly 1000 sq miles from Mahicans in 1630 and established Rensselaerwyck in land around Fort Orange. Tenant farmers paid him and his descendants to farm the land in the land in and around Albany County. The Historic Albany Foundation tells the Tale. Check it out along with the Pearl St Stroll walking tour by Historic Albany Foundation. https://www.hearabouthere.com/historical/united-states/new-york/albany/walktourstart/1-pearl-st-pearl-st-stroll/

What’s a Patroon anyway. https://www.hearabouthere.com/historical/united-states/new-york/albany/colonial/patroons-what-were-they/

08/12/2024

Cannon shot by Peter Stuyvesant. Apparently, there was a dispute as to where exactly the boundaries of Albany ( then Beverwyck) were. A cannon ball was the answer. Check it out along with the Pearl St Stroll walking tour by Historic Albany Foundation. https://www.hearabouthere.com/historical/united-states/new-york/albany/colonial/clinton-avebeverwyck-boundary-story-pearl-st-stroll/

08/06/2024

Fort Johnstown was a colonial outpost along the Mohawk founded by Sir William Johnson. Check it out and the other nearby sites on HEAR about HERE.
https://www.hearabouthere.com/search/?geodir_search=1&stype=gd_historical_place&s=%20&snear=Johnstown%2C%20NY%2C%20USA&sort_by=&spost=&sauthor_or_contributor_=&saffiliation=&sgeo_lat=43.0067399&sgeo_lon=-74.3676356

07/18/2024

Take a Stroll on Pearl St in Albany and Hear Tales of Albany by the Historic Albany Foundation. Pearl Street has been at the center of it all from the beginning.
https://www.hearabouthere.com/lists/pearl-st-stroll/

05/12/2024

Happy Mom’s day to all the Moms. If you check out the Tulipfest in Albany,’s Washington Park, Hear more about it from Anja Adriaans. https://www.hearabouthere.com/historical/united-states/new-york/albany/20thcentury/tulipfest-history-njimegen/

03/11/2024

Ever head down the Thruway and wonder what a Tappan Zee is? Take a trip on the Thruway and Unearth the secrets of the Hudson Valley through the lens of the Bridge over the Zee. Hear about its strategic placement, novel engineering and transformative impact.. Before the Thruway, discover the fragmented connections that shaped the region. David Levine tells the Tale in the HEAR and THEN. https://www.hearabouthere.com/historical/united-states/new-york/south-nyack/20thcentury/tappan-zee-bridge/

01/09/2024

05 January 1776. Albany, New York. Henry Knox wrote George Washington in regard to the progress of hauling cannon from Fort Ticonderoga. “The want of snow detained us some days, and now a cruel thaw hinders [us] from crossing [the] Hudson River, which we are obliged to do four times from Ft. George to this town.”

When the train was able to move on, Knox was forced to break up his caravan into smaller groups of sleds due to logistics. On crossing the Hudson east to Massachusetts, cannon broke through the ice and crashed into the water. With the help of locals, they recovered the cannon. On January 9, the last of the cannons had crossed the Hudson. Now, he was faced with the challenge of the hills and mountains of western and central Massachusetts.

01/09/2024

Despite some looking around by our intrepid correspondents, we have not located Albany Bicentennial Tablet No. 45, commemorating the Bicentennial Loan Exhibition itself.

The exhibition, marking the 200th anniversary of Albany's chartering as a city, was little more than a chance for area residents to show off stuff they had collected – a show and tell without a huge amount of historical significance. But if you wanted to see Mrs. Pumpelly's "cup and saucer brought from China in an Albany sloop," this was the place to go.

https://hoxsie.org/2024/01/05/albany-bicentennial-tablet-no-45-bicentennial-loan-exhibition/

01/01/2024

If you've ever wondered *why* they drop a ball on New Year's eve – the idea, like so many, goes back to Albany. The director of the Dudley Observatory tried to sell New York City, and many others, on the idea of providing a telegraph signal that would drop a ball at a precise time, so that everyone would know what the correct time was.

Dr. Benjamin Apthorp Gould wrote to the Mayor of NYC that in 1856, "It would be our pride and pleasure, from and after the day of the Inauguration of the Dudley Observatory, to give accurate time to your city, within the fraction of a second, by the dropping of a time ball." He also noted that "New York City is so nearly on the meridian of Albany that it ought to use Albany time just as all England uses Greenwich time."

The observatory proposed to make a significant portion of its revenues by dropping "time balls" all over the state. Albany Time would be the New World's version of Greenwich Time.

Oh, hey, it didn't happen. Much more at this link:
https://hoxsie.org/2015/08/10/the_observatorys_new_clothes/

12/31/2023

Christmas in Albany? Not so much. The Dutch who settled in Albany celebrated St. Nicholas Day (St Nicholas was also known as Sinterklaas) with feasting and frolics in early December. Sinterklaas wa…

10/27/2023

Learn about the Battle of White Plains , where General Washington's Army suffered a defeat at the hands of General Lord William Howe.

10/17/2023

Join Maeve McEneny in exploring the incredible tale of Albany's Halloween festival in 1904 and 1905. Find out what caused the chaos and why it took over 100 years for another festival to be planned. 🎙️ Discover Albany
https://www.hearabouthere.com/historical/united-states/new-york/albany/20thcentury/albany-all-hallow-een-festival/

09/21/2023

Since my novel about Nathanael Greene "The Line of Splendor" went into pre-order on August 7, its been in the Top 5 New Releases in Biographical Fiction and in the Top 10 New Releases in Military Biographical Fiction. Huzzah for Natty Greene! Pre-order at: https://amazon.com/Line-Splendor-Nathanael-American-Revolution/dp/0998755869

09/08/2023

What does Moby Dick have to do with NY and the Hudson Valley? More than you might think as apparently whaling gave the Valley a big boost. David Levine tells us the Tale in the HEAR and THEN. Check out his book on the history of the Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley: The First 250 Million Years”,at Bookshop.org and Amazon

09/03/2023

Rock Pond and Rock Pond Mine in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area. Anyone know the TALE of the mine and care to tell via HaH audio?

08/24/2023

Where is the oldest ‘authentic’ street in America and who founded it? Don’t look to the Pilgrims or Williamsburg for this. Check out New Paltz in NY’s Hudson Valley founded by the Huguenots. David Levine tells the TALE in the HEAR and THEN via HEAR about HERE audio. https://www.hearabouthere.com/historical/united-states/new-york/new-paltz/colonial/oldest-authentic-street-in-america-huguenot-st-in-new-paltz/

08/21/2023

Stopped by Clute’s Dry Dock and took a paddle on the Erie Canal. Imagine the setting sun calling you west as your boat was being fixed by Clute in the dock back in the day. Hear more about the Erie Canal by listening to our Tale Collections about the Mohawk Towpath Byway and by Brad Utter about the Erie Canal.

08/18/2023

So who is this guy anyway and was he from Troy, NY? David Levine tells us the TALE in the HEAR and THEN. https://www.hearabouthere.com/historical/united-states/new-york/troy/early1800s/so-who-was-uncle-sam-troy-statue/

06/11/2023

I'm presenting General Nathanael Greene and the American Revolution at History Camp Boston, again, in August. I'm changing up my usual presentation with a map (offered good advice). Now, I need one of those laser pointers so I can make sure Nathanael and I are good tour guides so the audience's eyes don't glaze over or they think "what the hell?" 😂

05/12/2023

in this weekend! Where’d it come from? After WWII, Albany sent relief supplies to Nijmegen in Netherlands. Albany’s official flower, a new tulip variety, picked by Netherlands’ Queen for first official Tulipfest. Anja Adriaans of Friendship Albany Nijmegen tells the Tale in the HEAR and THEN

04/28/2023

One hundred and fifty miles up the Hudson River from New York City stands the earliest and best example of Dutch colonial urban architecture in the Hudson Valley—the cradle of New Netherlands and, as Russell Shorto calls it in The Island at the Center of the World, “the first multiethnic, upward...

04/28/2023

Great Chain over the Hudson River -
So what would you do to stop British ships from sailing right up the Hudson River? Just put a big chain across the River of course and open it up to let friendlies through.David Levine Tells the TALE in the HEAR and THEN. https://www.hearabouthere.com/historical/united-states/new-york/west-point/colonial/great-chain-over-the-hudson-river/
This and more is in his book, “The Hudson Valley: The First 250 Million Years”, David Levine at available at Bookshop.org and Amazon.

04/10/2023

New Arrivals. HaH marker stickers and magnets. Spread the Word about Historic Tales nearby by posting a free sticker in a window of your business or a magnet on your car. https://tinyurl.com/Hahvmarker

04/09/2023

Dr. Joseph Warren’s funeral & 2nd burial was held on April 8, 1776 in Boston after his brothers, John and Eben, found his remains in a shallow grave on Breed’s Hill. He was identified by a tooth & gold wire Paul Revere had fashioned for him. Joseph’s body lay in state at the State House for several days. His fellow masonic brothers, including Paul Revere, conducted the funeral for their M.W. Grand Master for the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts & the continent of North America.

The funeral procession carried Joseph’s coffin from the State House to King’s Chapel where a eulogy was read by the young lawyer, Perez Morton. Members of Joseph’s grieving family attended. The Warren’s didn’t have a family burial plot in Boston. He was buried in the Minot family plot in Granary Burying Grounds where his remains laid unmarked for 50 years until his nephew, Dr. John C. Warren, discovered them. On August 8, 1856, Joseph’s body was moved from St. Paul’s Church in Boston to the Warren family plot in Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts where they lay now under a pudding stone & his statue.

04/04/2023

Washington crosses the Delaware

We have all heard of the familiar tale of Washington, crossing the Delaware. It turns out there's more to the story. HEAR Salina Baker tell us the tale in the HEAR and Then. https://www.hearabouthere.com/historical/united-states/pennsylvania/washington-crossing/colonial/washington-crossing-the-delaware/ Also, check out the whole Salina Baker collection. https://www.hearabouthere.com/historical/united-states/pennsylvania/washington-crossing/colonial/washington-crossing-the-delaware/

02/26/2023

New Scotland Historical Association

02/13/2023

New at the website Hoxsie.org: The last of the substantial Albany Bicentennial Markers, this one for Academy Park.

Interestingly, it's the only park or public space that was recognized by the Bicentennial Committee. What they originally planned to put on the marker was a bit erroneous, but that was changed with the final copy. What someone decided to put on another marker a century later was way more erroneous.

The whole story is at this link:
https://hoxsie.org/2023/02/11/albany-bicentennial-tablet-no-31-academy-park/

After this, the remaining markers are all for streets of Albany. Maybe that means I'll finally finish this project.

01/05/2023

Albany Bicentennial Tablet No. 30: The First Methodist Church. The church was gone before the tablet was placed on its site, and the tablet's been gone since 1914. We trace the church across its various locations, talk about its role in Albany's social structure, and briefly visit Menter's clothing store.

It's all in the blog:
https://hoxsie.org/2023/01/04/albany-bicentennial-tablet-no-30-first-methodist-church/