Office of State History

ALBANY — The New York National Guard on Tuesday marked the 100th anniversary of Henry Johnson's defeat of nearly two dozen German soldiers, an act that won him the Medal of Honor 97 years later. Johnson was one of the first American heroes of W...

Congraulations to all of the participants and winners of the 2018 New York State History Day contests!  After a series of exciting regional contests throughout the spring, nearly 500 student winners gathered in Cooperstown along with their pa...

Students and their families and teachers from every region of the state will gather in Cooperstown on April 23rd to take part in New York State History Day.  This annual competition allows students to work individually or in groups on a histo...

New York’s capital city is as rich in cultural institutions as it is history! Join us during Women’s History Month 2018 as several of Albany’s partners in history host talks and tours to tell the complex story of the Empire State’s leading role in...

This article originally appeared in the Waterville Times Prior to the Civil War fugitive slave laws sought to capture runaway slaves from the south and return them to their owners. The famous “Jerry” rescue in Syracuse occurred in 1851, but Uti...

2018 marks the Bicentennial of Frederick Douglass' birthday and Rochester, NY is taking the lead in celebrating this momentous occasion.  Though Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland, he lived for several years with his family in Rochest...

There are some obvious truths that emerge from the survey of New York State county and borough historians, submitted by the State Historian to all county and borough historians in September 2017 to which approximately thirty individuals responded....

A couple of weeks ago Keith Williams, the author of the "F.Y.I." column that runs in The Sunday New York Times, reached out to me (and others) for his end-of-year article. He asked us: If you could go back in time and attend any par...

  A survey created by New York State Historian Devin Lander in partnership with Tompkins County Historian Carol Kammen was recently sent to all 62 County and 5 Borough Historians. The survey questions ranged in topics from the amount ...

On August 25th, 2017, the Office of State History and Office of Cultural Education hosted the 2017 County and Borough Historians' Institute, a day-long facilitated workshop. The day was a success and allowed for an interesting and informative exch...

On Saturday, July 22, 2017, I had the honor of being asked to give the keynote address at the 238th Anniversary of the Battle of Minisink Commemoration.  I was asked to attend and speak at the event by Sullivan County Historian John Conway wh...

WHAT County and Borough Historians’ Institute WHEN August 25th, 2017 9:00am-5:00pm WHERE New York State Museum Huxley Theater 222 Madison Avenue Albany, NY Goal—The County and Borough Historians' Institute is a free learning opportu...

This is the first article in an ongoing series from professional publishers on current trends in the field of New York State History. Trends in the History of Early New York Big history is making a comeback in the subfield of early Amer...

(This article was originally published in the March issue of Perspectives on History by the American Historical Association) As part of a 2013 AHA Roundtable in Perspectives about the Supreme Court ruling in Fisher v. University ...