Category Archives: history

history

Honoring Asian-American and Pacific Islander Purple Heart Recipients  

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Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders have served with honor in every American conflict since the Revolutionary War. Several Filipino-Americans fought in the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. In the American Civil War, soldiers on both sides of the conflict listed birthplaces in present-day China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand, as well as the Kingdom of Hawaii. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, several thousand Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipinos served in segregated units in the U.S. military. Yet when the stories of American conflicts are told and their veterans honored, Asian-American and Pacific Islanders are often left out of the conversation, their stories unheard.   

The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor in New Windsor is a New York State historic site under the jurisdiction of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, and is devoted to telling the stories of all who received the Purple Heart. Its mission is to collect, preserve and share the stories of Purple Heart recipients from all branches of service and across all conflicts for which the award has been available. This is most visibly demonstrated by the Roll of Honor database of Purple Heart recipients, which can be viewed both at the Hall of Honor and online. There is no comprehensive list of Purple Heart recipients maintained by the government. The Roll of Honor is comprised of voluntary enrollments provided by the recipients, or their families or friends.  

In recognition of Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the Purple Heart Hall of Honor shared these stories of AAPI members in the Roll of Honor to recognize their service, courage, patriotism, and sacrifice.  

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2024 Centennial Celebration, history

Congratulations To The 2024 New York State Historic Preservation Awards Recipients

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Preserving our history is no small task. Whether someone is restoring a historic home, breathing new life into a warehouse through adaptive reuse, documenting and researching a building for a nomination to the State and National Registers of Historic Places, or restoring cemetery stones, a lot of time, money and creativity goes into preservation and documentation projects.

The Division of Historic Preservation recently recognized eleven outstanding projects with the New York State Historic Preservation Awards. This year saw the addition of the Joan K. Davidson Award. Joan was Parks Commissioner from 1993-1995; Chair of the New York State Council on the Arts from 1974 to 1977, and President of the J. M. Kaplan Fund from 1977 to 1993. She was a strong believer in historic preservation and an advocate for grassroots, collaborative efforts to preserve our shared history.

Without further ado, we proudly present this year’s 2024 New York State Historic Preservation Awards recipients!

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2024 Centennial Celebration, Cool Science, Family Fun, history

A Look Back At The Total Solar Eclipse Of 1925

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Many of us remember the last total solar eclipse in the United States, known as the Great American Eclipse in August 2017. The news coverage talked of the path of totality which travelled from coast to coast, starting in Oregon and arcing south across the country through South Carolina. Those who remained here in New York were treated to a view of between 59-75 percent obscuration (covering) of the sun as the moon passed between the sun and Earth. While it was definitely a national event, New York didn’t get the front-row seats that being in an eclipse’s path of totality provides.

Path of 2017 eclipse, courtesy of Wikicommons.

Thankfully, many New Yorkers will soon have the opportunity to see this celestial wonder for themselves from their own backyards or local parks. On April 8, 2024, another total solar eclipse will pass from Mexico through parts of 14 different states and into Canada. This time, New York is in the eclipse’s path.

The 2024 eclipse path in New York State, courtesy of I Love NY. To drill down on the path of totality for April 8, visit our interactive map.

Some people have been looking forward to the 2024 total solar eclipse for years, some for decades! But all of this anticipation has some of us looking backwards to the last total solar eclipse that passed through the skies of New York State in 1925.

Path of 1925 total solar Eclipse, Butler Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institute.
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Historic Sites, history, Research

Telling New York’s Whole Story: Black History At State Historic Sites

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Black History Month is drawing to a close. But at the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, research into New York’s Black history is continuous. From the 1627 arrival of the first 22 enslaved African men to the 1827 abolition of slavery in New York and into the future, Black history is the history of New York and of the United States. This is a cornerstone principle of ‘Our Whole History,’ a Parks initiative launched several years ago to thoroughly research and share the stories of New York State from the points of view of all who lived it.

As research continues, a more complete picture of the past emerges. The stories of the Black New Yorkers who contributed so much to New York’s history are revealed through painstaking, detail-oriented research. Key caretakers, highly skilled laborers, folks who contributed to a smooth-running household become clearer.

To piece together their stories, our dedicated historians conduct archaeology, study physical objects, and delve deep into records of all kinds: account ledgers of both homes and businesses; census data; estate inventories; wills; letters and journals; city directories; diaries, and more.

Several of our historians shared with us the stories of Black figures who shaped the history of their sites.  

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Historic Sites, history

How Dutch Holiday “Pinkster” Became an African-American Cultural Celebration 

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In settlements along the Hudson River Valley and in Albany on the hill where the New York State Capitol sits today, enslaved and free African descendants once gathered with family and friends to celebrate Pinkster. During the holiday, the Dutch attended religious services but also gathered socially to play games and eat holiday foods. Enslaved Africans had leave to travel and gather during the festivities, which was not allowed during most of the year. 

Left: Pinkster event signage outside of Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site. Right: Pinkster coverage from the Albany Morning Express, 1880.

Over the past few decades, the Pinkster celebration has enjoyed a resurgence in New York State. And in recent years, historic sites in New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation’s care have served as venues to carry on the deeply rooted cultural tradition. 

A History of Pinkster 

Settlers in New Netherland, a 17th century Dutch colonial province on the east coast, practiced their religious observance of Pentecost (Pinksteren in Dutch) or Whitsunday in the Americas. Pentecost signifies the Holy Spirit being sent to the disciples, roughly fifty days after the resurrection, as described in the New Testament of the Christian bible.  

In 1803, a published account of Pinkster in the Albany Centinel newspaper described the scene: “readiness, on Monday morning, blacks and a certain class of whites, together with countries and colours, begin to assemble on Pinkster from every part of the city and from the adjacent country miles around, forming in the whole a motley group of thousands…” 

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