local history

In 1788, Elijah Blackman settled on what would later be known as Cork Island in the Chenango River. Three years later, after a harrowing journey,…

In 1789, a party of twenty families traveled from Connecticut to the Catskill Mountains in Delaware County – in search of a new home. Along the east…

Located between the northern ends of Cayuga and Seneca Lake is an area once known by the Indian name “Sha-so-onse,” or “running waters.” Seneca Falls is…

In 1770, Rev. William Johnston and an Indian guide set out by canoe from Otsego Lake to explore the Susquehanna River valley, and arrived at the site of…

In 1789, John Stoyell travelled from Connecticut to establish a home in New York. He was offered a gift of land at the southern end of Owasco Lake, on the…

Farmers such as Benjamin Norton and Alfred and Russell Gates first settled in the area in western Broome County that became the town of Maine in 1790s. In…

Among the many Iroquois villages destroyed during the 1779 Sullivan-Clinton Campaign was She-que-ga, often referred to by travelers as Catharine’s Town.…

First settled in 1789, Horseheads, New York is located a few miles north of Elmira in Chemung County. Horseheads' unique name comes from a Revolutionary…

Peter Burford's book 'Wines of the Finger Lakes' is a treasure trove of information about this major industry. It tells of the industry's unlikely…