Mining was once a major industry in the Adirondacks. Iron ore was a prime resource, but there were also mines for pyrite, graphite, garnet, and talc, among others.

The vast Adirondack Mountains were one of New York State’s last untamed wilderness regions, and historical maps tell the story of how this area was explored, charted, developed and settled from the 1700s through the present day.

Abby and Will Csaplar met in the 1950's on Silver Bay in Lake George and have vacationed there ever since. Their passion for the Lake led to an incredible collection of Lake George images-including stereoviews, post cards, photographs-as well as souveniers and ephemera. Lake George is located in the Champlain Valley watershed along the southeastern portion of the Adirondacks. Its natural beauty and important role in the early history of our country have made it one of the most popular vacation destinations in New York State.

In 1980, Onondaga Community College Professor Barbara Davis set out to collect a variety of photographic and ephemeral materials that would document African-American life and history in the Syracuse area. The region was home many early abolitionists and civil rights advocates.
Established in 1918, the Dunbar Center continues to serve the historically black community in the south side of Syracuse by offering a range of programs and community services. Early in its history, the Dunbar Center served as a support center for black families migrating north to take advantage of plentiful factory jobs, and more recently the center has shifted its focus to serve its community's evolving needs.

19th Century Monographs on the History of Western New York
"To one whose own neighborhood has been the theater of events prominent in the nation's annals, the history of those events is the most interesting of all history..."—History of Niagara County, N.Y., Preface
This collection includes two published books from the 19th century relating to regional history in Western New York that are held in the Library at Niagara University:
History of Niagara County, N.Y. (1878)
History of the City of Buffalo and Erie County...Volume 1, History of Erie County (1884)
History of the City of Buffalo and Erie County...Volume 2, History of Buffalo (1884)   
History of Niagara County, N.Y., with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, private residences, public buildings, fine blocks and important manufactories and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents was published in 1878 by Sanford & Co.
This book gives the reader a sense of the struggles the pioneers had while creating farmland, the War of 1812, relations with Native American tribes, detailed descriptions of each town in Niagara County, as well as the founding of Niagara University. History of Niagara County, N.Y. is also filled with early etchings of some of the orchards and farms in the area.   
History of the City of Buffalo and Erie County ; With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of its Prominent Men and Pioneers In Two Volumes. Volume 1, History of Erie County was published in 1884. Edited by H. Perry Smith, this book begins with a description of Erie County in 1620 of French and Dutch colonial settlers, Native American tribes, involvement in The Civil War (called The Union War in this book), railroad and other industrial and agricultural histories, as well as detailed descriptions of the histories of the towns in Erie County. Volume 2 of the same title begins with the time period just before the War of 1812 and covers cultural developments, banking, journalism, the first churches, the law, and medical professions. Volume 2 concludes with pictures and biographical descriptions of early pioneers.    Background:
Nineteenth century local history monographs gained in popularity and production due to a number of social and economic factors. First, a series of technological advances in the book trade market and related sectors led to a rise in output of publications and a parallel decrease in costs. Second, from a social standpoint, the rising tide of immigration and the centennial celebration of the United States were contributing factors in generating increased feelings of American patriotism (and nativism). Many of the earliest county histories often mirrored genealogies of leading families in a municipality.    Each of the books, as is typical in earlier local history publications, adopts a fairly chronological approach to the subject, beginning with pre-European history of the region (including geographical and topographical features, Native American settlements, and conflicts) and moving through the early exploration of New York (describing the Dutch, French, and British roles). The publications typically include detailed information on Native cultures and contact with Europeans, the period of the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Erie Canal, the Central Railroad, and New York State in the Civil War.
In the History of Niagara County, N.Y., the author first traces the chronological events at the New York State level followed by the Niagara County level in the second part of the book. The publications also include sections with biographical information about prominent citizens (names like Fillmore, Porter, Tryon, Holley, Walden, Tupper, Wilkeson, Johnson, Hodge, and others appear) as well as additional sections that provide brief histories of cities, towns, or villages within the counties. Each of the publications includes a table of contents, index, and illustrations.
The first book, History of Niagara County, N.Y., with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, private residences, public buildings, fine blocks and important manufactories and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents, was published by Sanford & Co. (New York, NY) in 1878.
The second book is Volume 1 of two of the History of the City of Buffalo and Erie County ; With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of its Prominent Men and Pioneers In Two Volumes, published by D. Mason & Co. (Syracuse, NY) in 1884 and edited by H. Perry Smith. The D. Mason publishing company produced several other local history titles by various authors and editors during this same time period.
Henry Perry Smith (1839-1925) was also the author of several other local history books including: History of Oakwood Cemetery (1871); A Summer Picture: And Other Verses (1879); History of Rutland County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical information (1886); The Modern Babes in the Wood, or Summerings in the Wilderness (with E.R. Wallace, 1872); History of Essex County with illustrations and biographical sketches (1885); History of Warren County, N.Y., with illustrations and biographical sketches (1885); History of Broome County, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers (1885); History of Cortland County, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers (1885); Landmarks of Orleans County, New York (edited by Hon. Isaac S. Signor of Albion, N.Y., assisted by H.P. Smith and others, 1894); and Columbia County at the End of the Century, a Historical Record of its Formation and Settlement, its Resources, its Institutions, its Industries, and its People (1900).Additional Resources    History of Buffalo and Erie County, 1914-1919 (Buffalo, NY: Committee of One Hundred, 1919)History of Niagara County, N.Y. (Cornell University, Internet Archive)New York State counties (county histories on Ancestry.com, rootsweb)Nineteenth-Century American Social History (bibliography by Pat Pflieger)

The last great rebuilding of the Erie Canal was launched in the midst of the Great Depression with backing from the Federal government. Known as the 1935 Improvement, it rebuilt locks, bridges and channel between Waterford and Oswego. While work was immediately undertaken, the Improvement was not completed until the early 1960s. It changed much of the infrastructure of the system, creating greater navigable depth and higher clearances. As part of the planning for the Improvement, an aerial survey of the Barge Canal was conducted between those two points. At the time, these orthorectified stereo images represented state-of-the-art documentation. Scales between prints were the same. The overlapping imagery allowed for stereo. They are the earliest systematic aerial imagery of the Barge Canal. While some sections of the state were so covered as early as 1927 (Buffalo), the first state-wide survey was not accomplished until 1936/38. The 1935 survey of the Barge Canal is centered on the channel and presents unmatched clarity and resolution for the time. As a work of the state, the imagery is in the public domain.

In early 1913, a severe winter storm hit the Eastern, Midwest, and Southern parts of the United States. It was the most geographically widespread natural disaster the United States had suffered up to that point in its history, and was considered worse than the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire by many.

The Hudson-Fulton Celebration was held in the fall of 1909 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the discovery of the Hudson River, as well as the 100th anniversary of the creation of the steamboat. Towns along the Hudson River held a variety of events to celebrate the region's significance in the growth and development of America.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the kitchen was not only the physical center of the household, but also the social center of the home. The hearth was used for warmth, cooking and as a place for the older generation to teach skills to the younger generation. As time progressed, newer tools were created and recipe books became more common but the hearth and the food that was made there remained at the center of life on Huguenot Street.