Historical Significance and Historical Markers

What we know and understand about the past is just the tip of the iceberg. Of everything that happened to people throughout time, only a fraction of evidence has survived the passage of time, and even that fraction is often too much for all of us to remember. So, how do we determine what is worth remembering, and how do we share our knowledge and understanding with each other and future generations? The concept of significance helps direct historical research and education.

New York State Historic Marker on State Street showing the location of Clench's Tavern. Photo from the Grems-Doolittle Collection. George Washington is obviously a significant historical figure, but what else can we learn from this marker?

It’s easy to say that historically significant people and events are ones that resulted in a great change for a large number of people. If we all wrote a list of people and events that match that criteria, our lists would include a lot of the same entries; for example, the American Revolution, Martin Luther King Jr., the ratification of the 19th Amendment, and Thomas Edison and his incandescent light bulb. Historic firsts are also generally considered significant. These people and events connect to other people and events in the complicated web that makes up our history; the more connections, the greater the significance. According to The Historical Thinking Project funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage, “A historical person or event can acquire significance if we, the historians, can link it to larger trends and stories that reveal something important for us today.” Age does not guarantee significance. A 200-year-old building is notable because few structures survive that long, but it's not necessarily significant. The key questions are "How does this connect with the rest of history?" and "What evidence exists to support those connections?"

Historic marker commemorating the Crane Street railroad station.
Photograph courtesy of Frank Taormina. This is the first railroad station in Schenectady and connects our city to the early history of the railroad, one of the most significant industries in our nation's history.

There are levels of significance: personal/familial (people, places, and events that are significant to you and your loved ones), local, regional, statewide, and national. These levels reflect the connections to other aspects of history, the number of people who are or were impacted, and the perspectives, biases, and access to historical evidence of our communities. Previous generations of historians and community leaders emphasized the study of white, upper- and middle-class men in history. People of color and white women have always been active and important in starting, shaping, and directing events, communities, and ways of thinking, but the evidence of their involvement was overlooked, neglected, and sometimes deliberately erased. Thus, with few exceptions, they were deemed not significant. This has been changing, but we have a lot of catching up to do.

In 1929, the Schenectady Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution installed this monument to the Schenectadians who were killed during the Beukendaal Battle. Photo from the Grems-Doolittle Library Photo Collection

We learn about historically significant people, places, events, philosophies, and movements in school, but there are many other ways to learn about them and many ways to share that knowledge. Institutions like SCHS play a vital role in this, but we aren’t the only venue. Historical significance plays a role in who and what is depicted on our money, stamps, and street signs. Historical significance informs our public spaces from where they are located to what they are named and the artwork and statues displayed in them. For example, the Schenectady County Forest Preserve in Duanesburg is “historically significant as one of James Duane's original Great Lots where remains of stonewalls, a farm house foundation and a small family cemetery can be found” (Schenectady County Nature Preserves and Trails). We’ve all seen historic markers, plaques, statues, and memorials (like the examples featured in this post) displayed in our public spaces.

37 Front Street was the site of the Eleven O'clock House. The name referred to the custom of craftsmen and shopkeepers stopping work for a drink at that hour of the morning. Is this building significant? Photo from the Grems-Doolittle Library Collection.

We all know that where an event happens impacts how it unfolds. Markers and plaques provide a physical reminder of the significance of a place to our history. They focus our attention on a concrete point, a quick glimpse into the past. While they can’t convey abstract patterns and nuanced details, markers can be a starting point in learning the complex, intangible connections in an area’s history and culture. They are valuable in travel, tourism, education, and memorial events, particularly when combined with dynamic methods of exploring history like tours. As part of the public space, the community determines their creation and maintenance. The next time you are out walking or driving, take note of the markers you pass. What do they tell you about the community? What questions do they inspire?

There are plenty of places in our county that have historical significance, but are currently unmarked. If you could pick any place in Schenectady County for a new historical marker, where would it be? What is the significance of that place? What would the marker say? The Schenectady County Historical Society wants to hear from you!

 Learn more about the historic markers included in this post:
-Railroad Beginnings in Schenectady
-Taverns and Inns of Schenectady, Part II: Tapsters in a Time of Crisis
-Taverns and Inns of Schenectady, Part III: From Taverns and Inns to Hotels and Saloons
-The Battle of Beukendaal
-The Historical Marker Database

Schenectady's Armories

Schenectady's second armory building, looking very inch the architectural bastion of strength and security. Image from Larry Hart Collection. 

This blog entry is written by Library Volunteer Victoria Bohm. 

There is a list of the arsenals and armories built in the State of New York from the Republican era through the Antebellum and Civil War eras in N.L. Todd’s book on New York’s Historic Armories. Albany had already two arsenals (1799, 1858) and Troy had the Fulton Market Armory (1830s) before the construction of Schenectady’s first armory. The first Armory was finished in 1868 for the 5th Division after the Civil War. Schenectady’s second Armory was built in 1898/99 for the 36th and 37th Companies. The third Armory, built in 1936, was used by both companies and the National Guard until it was sold in 2012.

Schenectady's first armory, constructed in 1868. Image from the Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection. 

Plans and fund-raising efforts for the construction of new arsenals/armories in New York State was interrupted by the Civil War. Following the Civil War, Schenectady’s first Armory was authorized in 1866. The name of the architect is not known. Constructed to house Schenectady’s “Washington Continentals,” which, from 1859 through the Civil War was part of the 83rd Regiment, the first Armory found its champion in post-Civil-War Company Commander and State Assemblyman Robert Furman. He convinced the State to finance an armory for the Schenectady with $30,000 (a little less than half a million dollars in today’s account) approved on January 19, 1866. Furman, along with John W. Veeder and Judson S. Landon, were appointed commissioners to choose the site and get the armory built. They chose the rise above Crescent Park (now Veterans’ Park) near Nott Terrace and bought up the property of Civil Engineer Henry Ramsey in the process. The Schenectady Armory, completed in 1868 with its red-brick walls and slate roof, in overall design resembled the Utica 1862 Armory. In 1873/4, the Washington Continentals/83rd Regiment were joined by the new Citizens’ Corps; during the 1880s, both units were disbanded, separately mustered into the National Guard, and renamed the 36th and 37th Companies. They shared the Armory until its demolition for a new Armory, built in 1898.

Lobbying for a new, larger Armory began around 1880 and continued through the 1890s. State Assemblyman and then Commander of the 36th and 37th Companies, Austin A. Yates, managed at first to obtain only $5,000 for repairs to the existing Armory, but by 1897, he was granted $60,000 for a new Armory to be constructed by Barnes, Butts & Ingalls with architect Isaac G. Perry, who designed twenty-six arsenals and armories during the 1890s throughout New York State. This Armory was completed by 1898 and accommodated the troops from the Spanish-American War, specifically the 36th and 37th Companies, which had again been re-formed and re-named this time as Companies E and F in the 2nd Regiment (re-named the 105th Regiment). The building was also used for community activities, exhibitions, concerts, clothing and furniture sales, sports events such as wrestling, auto shows, and Boy Scout-o-ramas through the 1920s and 1930s. As early as 1913, there were recommendations from Federal Offices to demolish this second Armory for a third, even larger construction. However, nothing was realized until 1936.

The 1936 Armory under construction. Image from Larry Hart Collection.

Schenectady’s third Armory, the cornerstone of which was laid at 125 Washington Avenue in 1936, was completed in the Art Deco style and was 65,000 square feet. The interior was designed in what was them termed the “Tudorbethan” style. The Armory was designed by William E. Haugaard (1889-1948), New York State Architect from 1924-1944. Haugaard designed eleven other armories in the 1930s and 1940s. It was the headquarters for Companies E and F and the National Guard. The Armory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. Eventually the Washington Street Armory was closed, given over to the State Office of General Services. It was purchased by Legere Restorations in 2012. The company hopes to give the historic building a new life as a venue for concerts, trade shows, expos, and sporting events.

Aerial view of the third Armory, ca. 1980. Image from the Grems-Doolittle Library Photograph Collection.

“The Nicest on the Whole Line”: A History of the Niskayuna Railroad Station

This blog entry is written by volunteer Hannah Hamilton.

Prior to the invention and development of “Iron Horses” in Europe, Americans as late as the early 19^th century were still accustomed to travel by foot, wagon or waterway. Following the importation of this new technology to the Western Hemisphere, businessmen could not wait to see the popularization of the railroads. State governments, however, were not so keen to encourage the growth of the railroad, especially when it came to their funding!

As far back as 1811, Colonel John Stevens of Hoboken, New Jersey was petitioning for the institution of railroads as a means of transporting goods in the Americas. Caught up in the excitement of this new and, what he recognized as revolutionary, steam engine, he published pamphlets to enlighten the general public, as well as urging Congress to consider railroad construction as a national endeavour. Stevens even went so far as to build a small locomotive and a track to boot, and to the astonishment of all who saw it, he let it complete a number of trips around his Hoboken estate.

Such zeal for innovation was not widespread, however, especially in Schenectady County and New York State. “One of the last of the pioneer railroad enterprises to get started was the New York & Erie Railroad. The people of New York had the Erie Canal, with excellent facilities for water-borne traffic, and were consequently very apathetic toward Railroad construction,” (Alexander Norton, pg 34 Iron Horses).

Even after congress had approved of railroads and entrepreneurs had begun the national and interstate construction of the railroads around 1835, upstate New York was still rather late in adopting the new means of transportation.

The Niskayuna Train Station of the Troy-Schenectady Railroad was constructed in 1843, and ran between 10-12 trains, carrying tons of cargo and between 75-100 passengers daily for around one hundred years. Throughout the century and a half of its existence, it has seen great change following economic and social development.

Above: A group of passengers awaits the boarding of a train circa 1890 at the Niskayuna Aqueduct Train Station located above the Mohawk River on what is now the bike trail of River Road. The train’s tracks would once have serviced numerous such groups each day. (From the Niskayuna Train Station Photo File.)

The train station remained popular and well-used into the 20^th century. However, as other industries such as that of the automobile became more fashionable, railroads slowly fell out of use as far as public transportation went.

Above: A view from the West of the Niskayuna Aqueduct Train Station taken before 1925. The image was captured in winter and depicts what appears to be a mother and two children with luggage in, waiting to board a train about 100 yards in the distance. (From the Niskayuna Railroad Station Photo File.)

The Niskayuna train station was described as “the nicest on the whole [Troy-Schenectady] line” by the late S.T. Gilroy, who was a New York Central Engineer that knew the station in its golden days. However, by the 1950s the tracks had been removed for the most part, and passenger traffic had come to a complete halt. The Niskayuna line was no longer the center of travel that it had once been for Niskayuna residents. Instead, it became a home.

In the early fall of 1953, a curious event took place when the Parks family moved into the Niskayuna Railroad Station and turned it into a tiny home for their family of four and pet dog, cuddles. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Park were described as “an enterprising couple from Carman” (Old Railroad Station Put to Modern Use, Niskayuna Railroad File), who turned the station into not only a home, but a boat livery and a lodge for hunters. The Parks resided here for a number of years, but inn-keeping must not have proved as ample a livelihood as they had imagined, for by the mid 1960s, the station was abandoned.

Above Left: An image of Mrs. Robert Parks standing in the doorway of the Railroad station, which she and her husband converted into a home summer of 1953. The tracks had been all but completely removed by this time. Above right: Mrs. Parks proudly shows off her original pot-belly stove while one of her sons, either Edward or Brenden, pets their dog Cuddles while watching “the only modern item in the house,” a television. Mrs. Parks humbly described their abode in the train station as “a compact but not crowded life.” (Niskayuna Railroad Station Photo File.)

After the departure of the Parks Family, The Niskayuna Aqueduct Train Station fell into a sorry state of overgrowth and disrepair. It was almost entirely forgotten, except for by the newly formed Niskayuna Historical Society, whom petitioned for state grants and strove to gain recognition for their cause of restoring the historical building, and having it added to the Historical Register in the 1970’s.

Above: Niskayuna Parks Commissioner Robert Kline overlooks the old railroad station. The rails themselves were now entirely gone. The building was overgrown and the slate roof a terrible mess, the doors blowing in the wind, paint peeling off the brick walls and windows boarded up. It was a sorry site of what had, at the turn of the century, been a delightful place bursting with life and commerce. (Niskayuna Railroad Station Photo File.)

Finally in the 1970’s, SETA acquired the funds to repair the roof, walls, and foundations. With a group of only 50 people, they hacked back the overgrowth and turned The Niskayuna Railroad Station building into a lovely historical landmark in a small, quiet park along the banks of the Mohawk. With the aid of the Niskayuna Historical Society as well as the dedication of Niskayuna inhabitants, the Niskayuna Aqueduct Railroad Station was saved from becoming a forgotten ruin and crumbling down the bank into the river.

Above Left: In August of 1977, teenagers Sean and Chris Hart work with project coordinator Linda Champagne Van Dyke to clean up the area on the bank below the Niskayuna Train Station. Above Right: A group of Niskayuna Historical Society members admire a plan for the new building while others in the background work to repair planking of the wrap-around porch and foundations in May of 1979. (Niskayuna Railroad Station Photo File.)

Today, the railroad station is a small historical museum which also occasionally serves as an art exhibit overlooking the Mohawk River. The surrounding park is enjoyed by the young and elderly alike, much as it was during the early days of the Iron Horses.

Above left: A recent image of the Niskayuna Railroad Station Museum in the Summer. Above left: Photo from the East of the Museum in the fall, overlooking the scenic Mohawk river and facing the Mohawk River bike trail. (Niskayuna Railroad Station Photo File.)