Office of State History

This article originally appeared on the WAMC Podcasts website.

Believe it or not, the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution is right around the corner. On this episode, Devin and Lauren discuss how some state agencies and communities are preparing for the big event (from...

The following are some examples of Native American Heritage Month events taking place at museums and historical societies across New York State. Check back often for updates.

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It’s a new season of A New York Minute in History! In this episode, Devin and Lauren dig into the 19th Century discovery of a mastodon skeleton in Orange County. The “Orange County Mastodon” was one of the earliest, if not the first, complete mastodon skeletons discovered in the U.S. As...

Juneteenth is the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. The origins of the commemoration date back to June 19, 1865, when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, first heard that the Civil War had ended and they were free, the June 19, 1865 date was...

This article originally appeared on the New York State Education Department website.

Once again, we are left with an overwhelming sense of grief that is so deep and so raw we can hardly begin to process it. We grieve for the innocent lives taken so cruelly in this...

This article orginally appeared on the WAMC Podcast website.

In honor of Women’s History Month, Devin and Lauren highlight a Pomeroy marker in Tioga County and tell the story of Corporal Margaret Hastings, a member of the Women’s Army Corps who survived 47 days in a New Guinea...

The following are some examples of Black History Month Events taking place at museums and historical societies across New York State.  Check back often for updates.

New York City...

This article originally appeared on the WAMC Podcasts website.


On this episode, Devin and Lauren tackle all of New York's historical markers at once — sort of. Devin and Lauren discuss how the state's historical marker program got started, what...

This article originally appeared on the WAMC Podcast website.

In this episode, Devin and Lauren discuss the “Burned Over District,” and how upstate New York became a “cauldron” of emergent religions and alternative communities during the 19th century. How did the Burned Over...

This article originally appeared on the WAMC Podcasts website.

On this episode of A New York Minute in History, Devin and Lauren delve into the public health industry that emerged in New York in the 19th century. As the understanding of medicine and health evolved over time there...

Devin and Lauren dive into the history of Timbuctoo, an African American settlement founded by philanthropist Gerrit Smith in response to an 1846 law requiring all Black men to own $250 worth of property in order to vote in New York state. To counter this racist policy, Smith decided to give...

This episode investigates the life and times of Audrey Munson, America’s first supermodel. Born and raised in upstate New York, Audrey Munson would go on to become the most famous artist's model of the Gilded Age, posing for many of the top American artists in the Beaux Arts movement....

The following is a message from A New York Minute in History and RTDNA.

A New York Minute in History has been awarded a Regional Edward R. Murrow award for Best Podcast by the Radio Television Digital News Association....

Women’s History Month Events

The following are some examples of Women’s History Month Events taking place at museums and historical societies across New York State. Check back often for updates....

Following the attempted coup that took place at our nation's capital on January 6th and the continuing calls for violence and anti-democratic extremism led by former-President Trump and elected Republicans in Congress, please read the following statements, which have my full endorsement. 
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Today’s historical community is as dynamic as it is diverse. It includes scholars, curators, preservationists, librarians, archivists, genealogists, re-enactors and local and community historians. In October, historians across the state will work together to strengthen the state’s history...

This article originally appeared on the Women at the Center, New-York Historical Society website.

Early in the morning on August 26, 1920, Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby unceremoniously certified the ratification of the 19 Amendment at his home, depriving suffragists the...

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 American history. Or...

COMMEMORATING WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE 100TH ANNIVERSARY

Honoring the Fight for Women's Rights

From the inception of the women’s rights movement in Seneca Falls in 1848, New York has been a leader in advancing women’s equality.

To honor the centennial of women's...

Several months ago, New York State Historian Devin Lander sent out a survey to the various municipalities in New York about their local government historian. This survey included questions such as: salary, time spent at the post, college degree and type, the facilities offered to them as the...

The Madison County World War I project was an offshoot of a project we undertook in 2013.  Each year in October we host Archives Day, usually displaying documents from our archives.  In 2013 we decided to “create new archives.”  Partnering with local libraries, we created a list of all WWII...