November 2010

Philip Schuyler and his wife, Catharine Van Rensselaer, descended from affluent and powerful Dutch families. Together they raised eight children in this home. The Georgian structure, reflecting Schuyler's English tastes - was built on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River. Originally situated on an 80-acre tract of land, the grounds once included an orchard, a formal garden, and a working farm.

Throughout the Schuyler family occupancy from 1763-1804, the mansion was the site of military strategizing, political hobnobbing, elegant social affairs, and an active family life. The wedding of daughter Elizabeth Schuyler to Alexander Hamilton took place in the house in 1780. Today, visitors can enjoy a guided tour of the mansion as well as an orientation exhibition in the Visitor Center focusing on Philip Schuyler's life. Temporary exhibitions and public programs are scheduled year-round.

The historical Society also fosters public education and chronicles the story of Saratoga Springs history by operating the museum, conducting programs,and thoughtfully exhibiting the materials of the city.

The current location of the Canfield Casino has been the site of the museum since 1911. This beautiful 1870 gambling casino, owned by the City of Saratoga Springs, is on the National Register of Historic Places. While the building was originally intended for gambling and elegant dining, reformers closed it in 1907. Visitors to the museum can take a tour through time as they see exhibits on three floors of the Casino displaying different aspects of Saratoga Springs history.

Visitors today can tour the remains of the 14-acre fortification, perched on a cliff overlooking the magnificent Hudson. On October 6, 1977, British, Loyalist and Hessian forces attacked Fort Montgomery and nearby Fort Clinton. The defending American Patriots, outnumbered 3 to 1, fought desperately until driven out of their forts at the points of the enemy bayonets. More than half of the Patriot forces were killed, wounded or captured.

Visitors can learn about this important military post at the new Visitor Center, which showcases original artifacts and weapons, large scale models of the fort and the attack, highly detailed mannequins frozen in poses of battle, and an action packed fifteen minute movie of the 1777 assault. Archeologists have revealed many of Fort Montgomery's remains, including stone foundations of barracks, the gunpowder magazine and eroded redout walls.

There is a spectacular view of the Hudson River from the Grand Battery, where reproduction cannon stand guard and are occasionally fired by the fort's staff. The past comes alive at Fort Montgomery with living history demonstrations of artillery, musketry, music and camp life activities.

Most of the work on the fort was completed by 1861. The outbreak of the Civil War then left the remainder of work to the Confederate States of America, which added the last touches by 1862. The role of Fort Gaines in the Battle of Mobile Bay, one of the wars most notable naval conflicts, is detailed on the inside and rear covers of this brochure. In 1898 the fort was further modified as a result of the Spanish-American conflict. Three 6-inch disappearing naval guns and three rapid fire 3-inch naval guns were emplaced. Concrete gun mounts and ammunition magazines were added to the easterly walls, which eliminated the corner bastions and rain catches and blocked off the tunnels there. The gorge bastions, or corner blockhouses, are intricate structures designed to serve a dual purpose.

As the oldest of NYSBA’s bridges, Bear Mountain Bridge was the first vehicular river crossing between New York City and Albany. At the time it was built, it was also the longest suspension bridge in the world and the first suspended bridge to have a concrete deck.

The project of building the Bear Mountain Bridge marked the beginning of a golden age of long span bridge building along the Hudson River and throughout the New York metropolitan area. The success of the inventive methods used broke new ground and paved the way for the building of other suspension bridges such as the George Washington and the Golden Gate.

The Student Museum offers Seminole County Public School students a unique learning opportunity in the oldest school building in continuous use in Seminole County and the fourth oldest school in continuous use in Florida. In 1984 the building was placed on the National Department of the Interior.

The 1902 Romanesque Revival Style brick building was designed by Architect W.G. Talley of Jacksonville . The two story rectangular brick façade is dominated by a massive three-story bell tower with an open belfry showing Romanesque arches on all four sides. Two symmetrical one-story wings, designed by Sanford architect Elton Moughton, were added in 1916. The building's exterior features decorative corbelling, string-and belt-courses, and recessed round arched entryways. The building is one of the few surviving examples in Florida of turn of the century school architecture. The school overlooks a park donated by the area's pioneer developer, General Henry Shelton Sanford. George Touhy Park is home to Sanford 's famous and historic tree grove. Many of the trees here are seedlings of historic trees from around the nation.

On display are some of the Heritage Center's most valuable artifacts: an original copy of explorer John Lawson's A New Voyage To Carolina, published in 1711; and an original oil painting that depicts Smith's Ferry on the Neuse River at the place that became the Town of Smithfield in 1777.

During the American Revolution, groups of citizen-soldiers called Whigs or revolutionists, and Tories, who were still loyal to the king of England, waged irregular warfare against each other in North Carolina's backcountry (western frontier). The House in the Horseshoe was then the home of Whig colonel Philip Alston. On the morning of July 29, 1781, while Alston and his band of revolutionaries were camped at the home, they were attacked by a larger unit of Tories, whose leader was the notorious David Fanning. During the ensuing skirmish, the Fanning's forces attempted to light the house on fire by rolling against it a cart filled with burning straw. After several casualties on both sides, Alston surrendered. The house was left riddled with bullet holes, many of which can still be seen today.

Though Alston was distinguished as a lieutenant colonel in the state militia, a justice of the peace, and a state senator, his later career was seen as disreputable. Twice indicted for murder, he was removed as justice of the peace, and suspended from the state legislature for various reasons. In 1790, Philip Alston sold the house and plantation and left the state.

This site is located on Hatteras Island in the village of Rodanthe on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Built and manned in 1874, Chicamacomico was the first United States Life-Saving Service station in North Carolina, dedicated to the sole purpose of rescuing lives in peril from the sea. After the U.S. Life-Saving Service evolved into the U.S. Coast Guard in 1915 this station saw service until 1954. It is home to one of the greatest rescues in early Coast Guard history, the 1918 rescue of forty-two crew members of the British tanker, Mirlo.