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History of the Region

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History, until very recently perhaps, has been recorded by those in power. You know, the victor not only gets the spoils of war but gets to tell how it happened. Last week, our Canadian friend Hank Hofmann sent me a link to a Globe and Mail...
Photography by Mark Kurtz except where noted. Construction of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival ice palace has begun, with one aspect of the building process being no different than it was 75 years ago, the ice harvest.  Garrett Foster, Michael...
For most of human history travel was a luxury largely reserved for the rich. Not so many generations past, crossing the ocean was a one-time gamble of last resort. Yes, millions of tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breath free made their way...
“Primogeniture” is a seldom-used word. It crops up now because royal succession is making headlines – as with the widely-reported news that Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is expecting her first child. Although I’ve met the...
With November 11 looming over the first third of this month, it’s been poppy time where I live once more. Having spent the majority of my life in the U.S. I can contemplate this quaint Canadian custom with an anthropologist’s detachment....


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Museums and Galleries
Historical Sites and Associations

Specials Reports

In the Sudio logo
Audio Series:
The Adirondack Attic
Andy Flynn uses the objects people make, use, and leave behind to tell stories about the life and times of the region.
Audio Series
StoryCorps in the North Country: North Country residents have shared their stories with this national oral history project during visits to the region in 2006 and in 2008.
Masons
Audio Slideshow:
Upper Canada Village welcomes addition
Lucy Martin reports on the newest addition to Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario--the Ancient Brethren Lodge.
Watson's Mill
Slideshow:
Old mill requires old skills
Lucy Martin returns to Watson's Mill in Manotick, Ontario to see how old millstones can be made new again, and learn about other vanishings arts of the miller's trade.
Stoddard photo
Audio Slideshow:
Anique North Country Postcards
Jon Kopp, a former state forester who owns an antique store in Tupper Lake, has set out to collect thousands of vintage North Country postcards. He shares his collection with Brian Mann.
Country Schoolhouse
Audio Play:
No Bigger Than a Piano Box: a North Country Schoolhouse in 1893
By historian Betsy Kepes. Based on the 1893 diary of a North Country schoolteacher. A Women's History Month special. Teacher's guide and CD available.
Lock Wheel
Audio Slideshow:
Canada's Rideau Canal hits 175th anniversary
The Rideau Canal is a manmade waterway connecting Kingston to Ottawa. Lucy Martin was in scenic Merrickville for one of the year’s many 175th anniversary celebrations.
faso cartoon
Audio Slideshow:
Volunteers keep Watson's Mill alive
Watson's Mill opened for business in 1860 on the Rideau River in Manotick. It comes alive in the summer — full of the noise of water, turbines, grindstones, and people. Lucy Martin followed two modern enthusiasts who help keep it all turning.
miners
Audio Slideshow:
Mining in Lyon Mountain
Brian Mann talks with author Lawrence Gooley about the hard and dangerous history of mining at Lyon Mountain.
flower library
Audio Slideshow:
Flower Library Gets Facelift
Todd Moe tours an Art Nouveau gem, Flower Memorial Library in Watertown, as it undergoes renovation in its centennial year.
La Duchesse
Audio Slideshow:
Aboad La Duchesse in Clayton
La Duchesse is a 110-foot Gilded Age treasure that's become the crown jewel of the Antique Boat Museum's collection in Clayton. Todd Moe tours the historic houseboat.
Audio Slideshow
King's Garden at Ft. Ticonderoga
1920s landscape architect Marion Coffin designed a pleasure garden for the Pell family's summer home, the Pavillion, at Fort Ticonderoga. It was neglected and almost forgotten until, about ten years ago, workers began to restore the garden to Coffin's plan. Todd Moe takes a tour.
torah cover
Slideshow
A Look Inside Temple Beth Joseph, Tupper Lake
Beth Joseph Synagogue in Tupper Lake is the oldest synagogue in the Adirondacks. Built in 1905, its origins stem from the late 1800s, when Jewish immigrants from Russia and eastern Europe arrived in America. It had been closed up for decades when a summer resident asked to take a look inside. What she found was a national treasure.
St. Williams photo
Audio Slideshow
St. William's on Long Point
In the late 1800s, St. William's was the parish church for Raquette Lake and served many of the Irish and French-Canadian Catholics who were the early pioneers on the Lake. Today, it's a seasonal camp and cultural center, accessible only by boat. Todd Moe visited during restoration work.
The King and Queen
Slideshow
Cape Vincent French Festival 2005
In the early 1600s, French settlers came to the eastern end of Lake Ontario. Much of northern Jefferson County traces descent from them and Cape Vincent holds an annual French Festival to celebrate the heritage. David Sommerstein was on hand and sends this audio postcard.
House of Healing
Audio Slideshow
Saving Sackets Harbor's Historic House of Healing
A group of history buffs wants to restore the old Stone Hospital at Madison Barracks as a military heritage center and cornerstone for restoration work. Todd Moe has more.
Stoddard photo
Audio Slideshow
Following Photographer Seneca Ray Stoddard
In the late 1800s, photographer Seneca Ray Stoddard captured some of the most iconic scenes in north country Now another Glens Falls native, Mark Bowie, has spent two years photographing the exact same scenes.
Farm equipment repair
Slideshow
The School of Agriculture, Canton NY
SUNY Canton started life as The School of Agriculture in 1906. This slideshow is part of a display from the school archives presented at the Third Annual Symposium on Education, Environment and Economic Vitality in April 2005.
Audio Slideshow
A Walking Tour of Sackets Harbor: Battlefield, Bay and Barracks
Todd Moe tours historic Sackets Harbor, one of five villages hosting Seaway Trail Walks this summer.
Photo Audio Essay
Children's Camps in the Adirondacks
The Adirondack Museum opens today for the summer season. A major new exhibition looks at the history of the region's summer camps.
Audio Slideshow
Music Hall Restoration in Heuvelton
A group of residents and historians in Heuvelton is trying to preserve Pickens Hall, one of the oldest buildings in the village. And the building's restoration has sparked a renewed interest in the career of Bessie Abott, a granddaughter of the original owner of Pickens Hall. Bessie took the opera world by storm in the early 1900s. Todd Moe reports.
Audio Slideshow
Napoleon's Brother in the North Country
David Sommerstein visits the historic Benton House in the town of Oxbow in Jefferson County, the former home of Joseph Bonaparte's extramarital daughter.
Photo/Audio Essay
Inside Dark Island's Castle
On the St. Lawrence River near Chippewa Bay, a representative for the buyers of Dark Island and its historic castle gave David Sommerstein a peek of what visitors could see as early as next summer.
Audio Series
Leonora Barry: First Voice for Working Women
North Country Public Radio presents an extraordinary profile of one of the unsung heroes in the history of the struggle for the rights of working women in America.
Audio Series
Ice Storm '98: A Retrospective
This retrospective looks back on Ice Storm '98 through the sounds and stories we all shared during those three weeks of disaster—and community.

Books: "Man of War"

What would it have been like to fight in the Roman Legion or row a cargo boat down the St. Lawrence River, or march to Stalingrad during World War II? Charlie Schroeder writes of his experiences as a re-enactor in his book, Man of War. Our book reviewer, Betsy Kepes, talked with Schroeder from his home in Hong Kong.  Go to full article
John Scarlett at work in his shop in Rossie. Photo courtesy John Scarlett

Traditional Work: Shaping flowers from steel at a forge in Rossie

This week, we're revisiting one of our favorite series of stories from the past year: conversations with artisans in the North Country who do traditional work. These are industries, and skills, that have been a way of life in our region for a century and more.

Blacksmith John Scarlett has been operating a forge in Rossie for 30 years.

Scarlett uses fire and metal to create everything from tools to works of art. On the day we visited, he was working on a sculpture of Asian poppies, forged out of steel and copper.  Go to full article

Books: "London Underground"

Canton writer Chris Angus has written another historical thriller. In London Underground, a search for hidden treasures and artifacts leads several citizens beneath London's underground. The novel includes secrets, spies, an ancient disease and a Nazi V-2 rocket. He told Todd Moe that London is one of his favorite cities. Chris will sign copies of his book on Saturday, December 15th, at the Brewer Bookstore in Canton, from 1 - 3 pm.  Go to full article
John Eddy's 1818 map of the Adirondack/North Country region.  Photo: Adirondack Museum

Adirondack Attic: an 1818 map of the North Country

Andy Flynn visits the Adirondack Museum for a closer look at an early 19th century map of the region.

Published in 1818, the map was divided into four sections,...  Go to full article
Modern abolitionist Ken Morris.  Photo: courtesy of Frederick Douglass Family Foundation

Preview: Freedom Then, Freedom Now: The Long History of Emancipation

Frederick Douglass' great-great-great grandson will be the one of the speakers at this weekend's "Freedom Then, Freedom Now: The Long History of Emancipation" event in Lake...  Go to full article
Barbara, Sally, Peggy and Kay gathered in 2010 to share stories.

Four friends share Thanksgiving memories

As families and friends gather for Thanksgiving meals this week, food and stories will be shared around the dinner table. Friday is the fifth annual National Day of...  Go to full article
Fort Drum cultural resources intern Michael Sprowles refers to a map to find grave markers at Sheepfold Cemetery on the Army post.

Maps make Fort Drum's historic cemeteries more accessible

With the outbreak of World War Two, the Army installation then known as Pine Camp expanded, to become Camp Drum and eventually Fort Drum today. In the process, it swallowed...  Go to full article
<em>Peace Oath</em>, ca. 1967, wood engraving, private collection

Rockwell Kent's enduring art, legacy

An exhibition of one of America's most famous 20th century artists, and an Adirondack farmer, is on display through mid-December at St. Lawrence University. Rockwell...  Go to full article
Dermot Morgan and Forrest "Dew Drop" Morgan at the Storycorps booth in 2008.

Remembering Forrest "Dew Drop" Morgan

Over the weekend, one of the North Country's most famous icons passed away. Forrest "Dew Drop" Morgan was a fixture in Saranac Lake for decades after he returned home from...  Go to full article
Robin Collen, holding a wartime photo of her parents, with Hilda Nuttens in St. Martin de la Lieue, France.

Retracing her father's wartime footsteps

Veterans Day is this Sunday - a time to honor the service of all U.S. military veterans. A Potsdam woman traveled to a small village in France to retrace her father's...  Go to full article

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