Start exploring New York's historic sites, buildings, and art!
A major player in world events for centuries, New York has a rich and fascinating history. Extraordinary events that happened here have been portrayed in books and films from James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans to the documentary Woodstock. While everyone enjoys hearing a good story, it’s more fun and exciting to experience it for yourself.
In New York, you can step right into history at colonial villages, canal towns, covered bridges, battlefields, grand estates, humble homesteads, halls of fame, presidential sites, and many other landmarks, museums and historic sites, from the Montauk Lighthouse on the eastern tip of Long Island to Old Fort Niagara in the west.
Here are some highlights:
Native Americans [sound: NA chant or storyteller]
The indigenous people of the area now known as New York include the Algonquin, the Lenape and the Iroquois. The powerful and influential Iroquois, a confederacy of Six Nations--Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora—played a vital role in the history of New York, both before and after the arrival of European settlers. At museums, art centers and festivals around the state-- from New York City’s National Museum of the American Indian to the Six Nations Museum in the Adirondacks--stone tools, clay pots, baskets, beadwork, music, dance and ancient legends create a timeline that follows 10,000 years of Native American culture.
European Explorers and Settlers [sound: ship masts creaking, bells, land ho]
The first European to sail into New York--in 1524--was Giovanni da Verrazzano (the monumental bridge that connects Brooklyn with Staten Island is his namesake). In 1609, Henry Hudson sailed up the river that is now named for him and claimed the region for the Dutch. The Dutch established the first colony, New Netherland, in 1624 and ruled until 1664, when the English conquered the province and re-named it New York in honor of the Duke of York.
Dutch heritage is still reflected in the names of towns and waterways throughout New York, as well as events such as Albany’s Tulip Festival. Many historic homes in the Hudson Valley have architectural features such as traditional Dutch doors, shutters and gambrel roofs. You can take a step back in time at living history sites such as Philipsburg Manor, a 300-year-old Dutch colonial estate in Tarrytown.
The French & Indian War [sound: Indian drumbeat]
Fought from 1754 to 1763, the French and Indian War was a fierce contest to gain control of the New World. The British and American colonists fought against the French and Canadians, with various Native American allies on both sides. The strategic waterways in New York—Lake George, Lake Champlain, and the Hudson, Mohawk and St. Lawrence rivers—made our state a focal point of the war.
New York State has one of the strongest collections of historic sites that tell the story of this dramatic war that changed the course of history and set the stage for the American Revolution. This fascinating period is recreated with battle reenactments, musket drills, walking tours with costumed guides, and other demonstrations at historic forts and villages. In July 2010, a commemoration of the War’s 250th anniversary will be held at Fort La Presentation and Fort Levis in Ogdensburg.
The Revolutionary War [sound: fife and drum]
A colony of Great Britain for over a century, New York declared its independence on July 9, 1776, becoming one of the original 13 states of the Federal Union. Nearly one-third of the hundreds of battles of the American Revolution took place on New York soil, at places such as Fort Ticonderoga, West Point and Saratoga—icons in American history. The signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 ended the Revolutionary War and established the United States among the nations of the world. The Revolutionary War Heritage Trail links 70 historic sites that reveal New York’s vital role in the fight for independence. You can experience exciting military history at forts, battlefields, colonial estates, farmhouses, urban mansions and taverns that bring stories of the Revolutionary War to life.
The Erie Canal [sound: Erie Canal Song]
In the years following the Revolution, New York's economic and industrial growth soared. Progress continued with Robert Fulton’s 1807 steamboat trip from New York City to Albany, the first significant distance traveled by a steamboat and the beginning of a new era of transportation. After the war of 1812, turnpikes were built, railroads extended across the state, and steamboats plied the waterways. The Erie Canal opened in 1825, linking the Hudson River to the Great Lakes and leading to greater development in the western part of the state. Cities such as Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse grew into large manufacturing centers. Today, the canal is popular for boat tours, and the 100-mile Erie Canal Heritage Trail offers hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and wildlife viewing along the former towpaths where mules once trod.
The Underground Railroad [sound: spiritual of the era]
New York was at the forefront of the Underground Railroad movement after outlawing slavery in 1827. It had more anti-slavery organizations than any other state, strong abolitionist leaders--including Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and John Brown, and access via land and water routes that provided good options for settlement or travel. From the early 1800s until the end of the Civil War in 1865, thousands of people passed through New York as they traveled to freedom in Canada. You can tour the former homes of prominent abolitionists, retrace the route taken by freedom-seekers in the 1800s, and explore related sites and museums on the Underground Railroad Heritage Trail.
The Birthplace of the Women's Suffrage Movement [sound: women’s rights folksong]
Many of the most prominent advocates for women's suffrage were New Yorkers. In July of 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and more than 300 women and men gathered in Seneca Falls, for the nation's first women's rights convention. A Declaration of Sentiments modeled after the Declaration of Independence, was presented and passed by the convention. Among the resolutions included in the Declaration was a call for women's suffrage, the right to vote. Visit the Women’s Rights National Historical Park to learn more about this compelling time in history. The Women’s Heritage Trail links historic sites related to the struggles and accomplishments of strong women in New York State.
Immigration, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty [sound: poem, give me your tired˜]
From the late 1800s to the mid-1900s, Ellis Island in New York City’s harbor was the main entry point for immigrants to the US. Between 1892 and 1954, more than 12 million immigrants passed through the facility that is now part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Today, over 100 million Americans can trace their ancestry to the immigrants who first arrived here. The Statue of Liberty, one of the world’s most inspiring landmarks, was a gift from France to the United States to mark the Centennial of the American Declaration of Independence. It was dedicated in New York Harbor on October 28, 1886.
The 1960s: Idealism, Cultural Rebellion, and Peace, Love & Rock’n Roll [sound: excerpt of MLK’s I have a dream speech (NY) or 1960s music]
The 1960s was an era of unprecedented social change in New York, along with the rest of the US. Advances in technology changed the American lifestyle; by the end of the decade, men would walk on the moon. This period was also the height of the Cold War, the Anti-War Movement and the Civil Rights Movement. For many, the single event that epitomizes the tenor of the decade was the three-day Woodstock Music & Art Fair held on farmland in Bethel in 1969. The open-air festival featured icons of rock music and attracted half a million fans.
The era and the festival are memorialized at the 1960s Museum at Bethel Woods, part of the Bethel Woods Center for the Performing Arts. Exhibits describe the conflicts of the 1960s, when differing opinions on war, peace, civil rights, drugs and lifestyles divided the country. With concerts, interactives and artifacts like a psychedelic painted hippie bus, the Museum is also a giant celebration of music, fun and youthful idealism-- all that was fabulous about the 1960s.
Postmodern Years [sound: New York State of Mind]
Over the centuries and up to the moment, New York has made tremendous strides in education, science, agriculture, industry and commerce. Despite the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the New York Stock Exchange, founded in 1792, continues to be the center of world finance. Research and inventive genius have been wide-ranging, in fields from electronics to nanotechnology and biomedical advancement. With New York City as its heart, the state is also an international center for art, music, literature and cuisine.
From 1977 when the I LOVE NEW YORK campaign introduced one of the world’s most iconic brands, to 2008 when David Paterson became New York’s first African-American governor, to May 2009, when a Pedestrian Mall was created on Broadway in New York City, New York continues to make history. And after more than 30 years, millions of visitors from around the world continue to say, "I Love New York.”