Upstate New York
Encyclopedia
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state
of New York
that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area
.
There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York
. Latitude
is generally a consideration in whether or not a place is "upstate", as well as elevation and being away from sea level (hence the prefix "up", meaning both to the north and having a greater altitude). Distance from New York City is also a consideration. Complicating any definition is the usage of the word "upstate" (in lowercase) as a direction, rather than as the name of a region.
One usage of the term "Upstate" excludes only New York City and Long Island
. Another usage locates the Upstate/Downstate boundary farther north at the point at which New York City's suburbs segue into its exurbs
. This line would place most, but not all, of Westchester and Rockland counties south of the boundary, putting the northwestern edge of Rockland as well as the northernmost quarter of Westchester (such as Peekskill) in Upstate New York. Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam counties are the northernmost counties of the state of New York that are within the New York metropolitan area
, with Putnam
being the northernmost of all. This was the definition used (unsuccessfully) by the plaintiff
s in the Federal redistricting
case of Rodriguez v. Pataki.
One traditional, political definition of Upstate is "north of Bear Mountain
," hence the "Bear Mountain Compact
" describing where "open secrets stay secret." Bear Mountain is in Orange County, New York
.
Another view places the boundary even farther north. Orange, Dutchess, and Ulster counties, even farther "upstate" (lower case) are part of the New York-Newark-Bridgeport, New York-New Jersey-Connecticut-Pennsylvania Combined Statistical Area (CSA), and also sometimes not identified as being part of Upstate (uppercase). Because most New York City bedroom communities in Dutchess and Orange counties are situated in the southern part of those counties and the New York City's suburban public transportation system extends some distance north, the Upstate/Downstate boundary can be defined roughly by a border extended from Wassaic
(in Dutchess County
, where Metro-North's Harlem Line
ends) across to Poughkeepsie
, down to Newburgh
and then across to Middletown
and Port Jervis
in Orange County. This definition of Upstate New York roughly corresponds with the area north of Interstate 84
. This imaginary line also demarcates the northernmost reach of high housing prices associated with the Downstate region in contrast to the relatively low housing costs found farther Upstate. It also roughly corresponds to the demarcation line between area code 914
(which covers most of the northern suburbs of New York City) and area code 845
(which covers the area immediately beyond that).
Particularly within Upstate New York, the demarcation of "Upstate" is often much farther north. For instance, many communities clearly beyond the New York City commuter orbit are part of New York City's media market
, which includes Dutchess, Ulster and Sullivan counties (i.e. the aforementioned area code 845), and thus do not get local television (via cable) from Albany or Binghamton TV stations. Many upstate residents note that the state capital of Albany
, being mostly dominated by New York City-area politicians, has more in common with downstate than upstate, and imply that everything in between, including the Hudson Valley
region and occasionally the Catskill Mountains
, can be considered downstate. Geographically, Albany is also the point where the New York Thruway turns to the west and drivers continuing north on I-87 cash out of the toll system and continue on the toll-free Adirondack Northway. Columnist Liz Benjamin
(a Hudson Valley native who self-identifies as an upstater) is quoted as saying "I know there’s considerable disagreement over where, exactly, the upstate/downstate divide is located. Some would say it starts at the Capital Region and what’s to the south is more in line with NYC than Western New York
and the North Country." For example, Buffalo News
columnist Donn Esmonde (in defending Caroline Kennedy
's abortive Senate run) criticized Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
's upstate credentials by saying "In the end... [w]e get a [so-called] 'upstate' senator whose Hudson Valley base is equidistant from New York City and Albany, the state’s power centers." Charles Schumer
once famously stated "To me, the West begins across the Hudson River
." Politics aside, the term "Upstate" is occasionally used (somewhat ambiguously) to refer to Northern New York
, including the Adirondack Mountains
, as opposed to other areas of traditional Upstate such as Western New York
and Central New York
. In this sense, anything north of the Mohawk River can be considered "Upstate".
In some parts of the New York metropolitan area the term "Upperstate New York" is used to differentiate the close-in suburbs from the northern and western parts of the state. In some regions the term "Upperstate" refers to the suburbs and "Upstate" refers to the northern and western regions, and in other regions the terms are reversed.
Residents of Upstate New York often prefer to identify with a more specific region, such as "Western New York" or "Central New York". Some residents of Western New York object to their area being called "Upstate", though a number of businesses and institutions in the area have "Upstate" as part of their name.
New York City is dependent on upstate for a variety of services; it is the source of the city's water supply via the Delaware Aqueduct
and the Catskill Aqueduct
; much of the city's electric power supply comes from state owned hydroelectric plants at Niagara Falls
and the St. Lawrence River such as the Robert Moses
power station; and most of the state's prisons are upstate; hence the popular term "being sent up the river" (however, the term originally referred to Sing Sing
, which is "up the Hudson River
" from New York City, but being in Ossining
in Westchester County is still in the "downstate" region). Conversely, the operation of state facilities providing these services is an important part of the upstate economy.
Long Island
is never considered upstate, as each of its four counties extends farther south than Manhattan, two are part of New York City, and the island has no direct physical (land or bridge) connection to any part of New York north of New York City.
Institutions with "Upstate" as part of their name include the State University of New York Upstate Medical University
in Syracuse
, the Upstate New York Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation
serving 31 of New York's 62 counties, and the VA Healthcare Network Upstate New York, which includes all of New York State northward and westward from Kingston, New York
in Ulster County
.
Other organizations in New York with "Upstate" in their name include the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association, the Upstate Correctional Facility
, the Upstate New York Club Hockey League
, the Upstate New York Synod
, and the Upstate Citizens for Equality
.
The term Upstate America is also occasionally used instead of "Upstate New York" to emphasize the differences between upstate and downstate New York, sometimes in comparison to other similar states in the northern tier of the United States.
, Orange
, Dutchess
, and Ulster
are increasingly peripheral sections of the New York City metro area. The northern upstate area consists of a handful of small and medium-sized cities, with surrounding suburbs, amidst vast rural areas. Dutchess, Ulster, and Putnam are in fact on the border of the New York Upstate. They are a part of the New York Metro area.
Western New York
has many cultural and economic ties to the other Great Lakes states
as well as Southern Ontario
, while the Capital District
, the Hudson Valley
, the Mohawk Valley
and the Plattsburgh
area have ties to New England
. The North Country, the extreme northern portion of the state, also has strong cultural, economic, linguistic and familial ties to Quebec and Eastern Ontario. Thus, Plattsburgh has close ties to its neighbors in the Montreal area as well as Vermont.
Linguistically, from Western New York to as far east as Utica
is part of the Inland North
region of American English dialectology, a region which includes Midwestern cities as far west as Chicago and Milwaukee. The Hudson and lower Mohawk Valley has more in common dialectologically with western New England and New York City. The boundary between the use of the words pop and soda to refer to soft drinks
, however, falls farther west than the edge of the Inland North, running just to the east of the city of Rochester: Buffalo and Rochester use pop, like the rest of the Inland North to the west, whereas Syracuse uses soda, like New England and New York City. In Ithaca and Elmira, the border is less clear, with some people having grown up with pop and some with soda, however current trends see Ithaca, at least, turning to mostly "soda".
Foodways indigenous to regions of Upstate New York include Plattsburgh's "Michigan" hot dog
, a variety of Coney Island hot dog
; the white hot dog
of central and western New York that is known variously as the "White Hot" or "Coney" ; the "Spiedie
" of the Binghamton
area, Central New York's salt potatoes
, Utica's
Tomato Pie
, and Chicken riggies
, Rochester's
Garbage plate, Buffalo's kummelweck
and perhaps most famously, Buffalo wings
. Calvin Trillin
chronicled the origin of Buffalo wings in the August 25, 1980 issue of The New Yorker
. Although the potato chip
was invented in Saratoga Springs, it has achieved such universal popularity that it is no longer identified with the region. Winemaking is a growing industry in the Finger Lakes
. And in the center of that region Ithaca
is known for the Bo Burger, a cheeseburger with a fried egg on top.
Two of the most important rock festival
s of the 20th century were held in Upstate New York. In 1969 the Woodstock Festival
was held in Bethel, New York
, while in 1973 another multiday festival
was held at the Watkins Glen International Raceway.
Some literary, documentary and cinematic depictions of upstate present a sense of small town, simple lifetyles, such as It's a Wonderful Life
, set in a small upstate town in the 1940s. A Home Box Office
miniseries is planned that will dramatize a New York magazine article on natural gas
drillers coming to the region. Richard Russo
, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize
, is writing a script for the project.
While residents of English ancestry have a strong presence, The Hudson Valley, the Capital District and the Syracuse
region are heavily Irish American. The North Country
is heavily French Canadian. Italian Americans are the largest ethnic group in Oneida County
, Broome County
, and Schenectady
, while German ancestry is most common across western New York. Persons of Polish, Irish, German, and Italian ancestry are predominant in the cities of Buffalo
and Rochester
and their close suburbs.
There is also a significant presence of the indigenous Iroquois
American Indians in the region, who mostly congregate on several reservations: the Seneca nation
and Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians
in Western New York
, the Onondaga nation south of Syracuse, the Oneida nation of Oneida County and the Mohawk nation
in St. Lawrence County
. Members of Iroquois nations also live in the cities of Upstate New York.
, Susquehanna
, Hudson
, and Allegheny
rivers are located in the region. The region is characterized by the major mountain
ranges, large lake
s, and extensive forest
s.
The Allegheny Plateau
extends into west and central New York from the south. The Catskill Mountains
lie in the southeastern part of the state, closer to New York City. The Catskills and the Allegheny Plateau are both part of the Appalachian Mountains
. The northernmost part of the state contains the Adirondack Mountains
, which are sometimes considered part of the Appalachians but are geologically separate, a southern extension of the Canadian Shield
.
In the more mountainous eastern part of Upstate New York, the valleys of the Hudson River and the Mohawk River
were historically important travel corridors and remain so today. Western New York in the vicinity of Buffalo
is very flat, as it was once the bottom of a glacial lake. The only "hills" in Niagara County
are the Niagara Escarpment
, which formed the Falls.
Upstate has a long shared border with Canadian province of Ontario
divided by water; including the Lake Erie
, Niagara River
, Lake Ontario
and the St. Lawrence River. It shares a land border with the province of Quebec
in the northernmost part of the state.
The sizes of upstate counties and towns are generally larger in area and smaller in population, compared with the downstate region, although there are exceptions. The state's smallest county in population (Hamilton County
) and largest county in area (St. Lawrence County
on the state's northern border) are both in Upstate New York, while the largest in population (Kings County) and smallest in area (New York County
) are both part of New York City.
Upstate New York is well known for its cold and snowy winters, particularly in comparison to the more temperate climate of downstate New York. The snowy reputation is especially true for the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Oswego and Syracuse, and is largely due to lake-effect snow from Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The villages of Old Forge
and Saranac Lake
, both in the Adirondacks, often vie on winter nights with places like International Falls, Minnesota
and Fargo, North Dakota
for the coldest spot in the nation.
Many of the features of the upstate landscape, such as the Finger Lakes
and the drumlin
s that dot the region, are the result of glacier
s during the Ice Age
.
-speaking people (mainly west of the Hudson) and Algonquian
-speaking people (mainly east of the Hudson). The conflict between the two peoples was an important historical force in the days of the early European colonization. The Haudenosaunee
or Iroquois confederacy of the Five (later Six) Nations was a powerful force in its home territory, having successfully eliminated the tribes of Neutral Indians
, Wenrohronon
and the Erie Indians
in Western New York
during the Beaver Wars
. (Survivors were mostly assimilated into the Seneca nation
; others are believed to have escaped to South Carolina.) The Iroquois nations' territory extended from the Mohawk River Valley to the western part of the state. From this home base they also controlled at various times large swaths of additional territory throughout what is now the northeastern United States. The Guswhenta (Two Row Wampum Treaty)
, made with the Dutch government in 1613, codified relations between the Haudenosaunee and European colonizers, and formed the basis of subsequent treaties.
The region was important beginning in the very early days of both the French Colonization
and Dutch
colonization. Much of the fur trade of the New Netherland
colony was located in the upper Hudson Valley. In the seventeenth century, the French established trading posts as far south as the shores of Onondaga Lake
, although Samuel de Champlain
had alienated the Haudenosaunee during military forays from Quebec
. The area was the scene of much of the fighting in the French and Indian War
, events which were depicted in the work of James Fenimore Cooper
.
In the 1640s, three French Jesuit missionaries to New France
(now Canada)—St. René Goupil
, St. Isaac Jogues
, and St. Jean de Lalande
—were killed by the Iroquois in Auriesville
(then known as Ossernenon). They are considered the first three U.S. saints.
, and was the scene of several important battles, including the Battle of Saratoga
, which is considered to have been a significant turning point in the war. While New York City remained in the hands of the British during most of the war, the upstate region was eventually dominated by the Colonial forces. In 1779, the Sullivan Expedition
, a campaign ordered by Gen. George Washington
, drove thousands of the Haudenosaunee from their villages, farms and lands in the region.
, with the Haudenosaunee, affirming their land rights in what later became Central and Western New York. Nevertheless, State officials and private land agents continued to work to extinguish Indian title to these lands via non-Federally-sanctioned treaties, such as the Treaty of Big Tree
http://www.oswego.edu/library2/archives/digitized_collections/granger/bigtree.html, through the early 19th century.
Many of the settlers of Central and Western New York came from the New England States. The Central New York Military Tract
, where many of the townships were given the names of classical military and literary figures by Robert Harpur
, was established to grant land to Revolutionary War veterans.
Battles with British were fought during the war of 1812
(1812–1815), on land, including the Battle of Plattsburgh, and in the Great Lakes (Ontario and Erie) and St. Lawrence shorelines, including the Battle of Sackets Harbor.
Both before and after the Revolution, boundary disputes with Massachusetts, Vermont and Great Britain, and subsequent surveying errors, complicated American settlement. The Province of New York granted lands to settlers in what is now Vermont at the same time that New Hampshire made grants of the same lands. When Vermont declared independence in 1777, the new Republic of Vermont recognized the New Hampshire grants over those of New York. New Yorkers who lost land in Vermont came to be known as the "Vermont Sufferers" and were granted new lands in 1788 in the Town of Bainbridge, New York
.
The dispute with Massachusetts over lands to the west of Massachusetts was settled in the 1786 Treaty of Hartford
by dividing the rights to the land. The treaty granted sovereignty to the State of New York, but granted to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts the "pre-emptive" right to seek title to the land from the Haudenosaunee. The eastern boundary of the Massachusetts lands was thus known as the Preemption Line
. This line runs from the Pennsylvania line due north to Lake Ontario, passing through Seneca Lake. The line was surveyed a second time due to initial errors. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sold this land in large tracts, including the Phelps and Gorham Purchase
and the Holland Purchase
.
The Treaty of Paris
that ended the American Revolution established the 45th Parallel as the border with Quebec. This line was surveyed and after the War of 1812, the US Government began to construct Fort Montgomery
just south of the border at Rouses Point on Lake Champlain
. Subsequently it was discovered that at that point, the actual 45th parallel was three-quarters of a mile south of the surveyed line, putting the Fort, which became known as "Fort Blunder," in Canada. This was not resolved until 1842 with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty
, in which Great Britain and the United States decided to leave the border on the meandering line as surveyed.
Slavery
existed in New Netherland
and the Province of New York
. New York was in the 1690s the largest importer of slaves among the American colonies. Slavery did not end with the American Revolution
, although John Jay
introduced an emancipation bill in to the State Assembly as early as 1777. Sojourner Truth
was held as a slave in the Hudson Valley
from the time she was born in 1797 until she escaped in 1826. Through efforts of the New York Manumission Society
and others, New York began to adopt a policy of gradual emancipation in 1799. The law passed in 1817 that would finally emancipate slaves did not take effect for ten years, giving slaveowners an entire decade to sell their slaves away to other states. When the law finally took effect, the last 2,800 slaves in New York State were emancipated on July 4, 1827.
opened, allowing the area to become an important component of the 19th century industrial expansion in the United States. The canal also promoted trade with British North America
and settlement of newer states in western territories. Later in the century the New York Central Railroad
followed the "water-level route" from New York City to the Great Lakes, contributing to the industrialization of cities along its route.
Several times in the nineteenth century, Upstate New York served as a staging area and refuge for Canadian rebels against Great Britain, as well as Irish-American invaders of Canada, straining British-American relations. In 1837 and 1838, in the aftermath of the Lower Canada Rebellion
, some Québécois
rebels escaped south to the North Country, while on the Niagara Frontier
, events of the Upper Canada Rebellion
, also known as the Patriot War
, took place. In the late 1860s, some of the Fenian Raids
were launched across the Niagara Frontier; Fenians also assembled in Malone
.
Although now largely discredited, the report of the 1905-1907 Mills Commission, charged with investigating the origins of baseball
, named Cooperstown as the place where baseball
was invented in the 1830s or 1840s by Abner Doubleday
. Cooperstown is the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
In the pre-Civil War era, Upstate New York became a major center of radical abolitionist
activity and was an important nexus of the Underground Railroad
. Resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act was particularly heated in the region, as evidenced by such events as the Jerry Rescue
. The American women's rights
movement was also born in Upstate New York at this time; the first women's rights convention
was held at Seneca Falls
in 1848.
Through the nineteenth century, Upstate New York was a hotbed of religious revivalism. A number of sects, such as the Shakers
and the Oneida Community
, established themselves in Upstate New York during that time. This led evangelist Charles Grandison Finney
to coin the term the "Burned-Over District
" for the region. Because of the comparative isolation of the region, many of the sects were non-conformist, and because of their non-traditional tenets they had numerous difficulties with government and other local people. The region is considered to be the cradle of Mormonism
, as well as the Women's Suffrage
movement. The Mormon
s, Seventh-day Adventists
and Spiritualists are the only 21st century survivors of the hundreds of sects created during this time.
In the 19th century, extractive industries changed the landscape. Potash
was manufactured as the land was cleared for farming. Logging
was rampant in the Adirondacks. Iron
was mined in the Adirondacks and the North Country. By the 1870s, business leaders, concerned about the effect of deforestation on the water supply necessary to the Erie Canal, advocated for the creation of forest preserves in the Adirondacks and the Catskills. The Adirondack Park and Catskill Park were created and strengthened by a series of legislation between 1885 and 1894, when the "Forever wild" provision of the New York State Constitution was added.
, General Electric
, Kodak, Xerox
and Carrier
produced cutting edge products for business, government and consumers. The opening of the New York State Thruway
in the mid 1950s gave the region superior access to other eastern markets. This regional advantage faded as many local firms relocated operations to other states, or downsized in the face of foreign competition, similar to other areas in the American Rust Belt
.
In recent decades, with the decline of manufacturing, the area has generally suffered a net population loss. In contrast, many Amish
and Mennonite
families are recent arrivals to the area. Beginning in 1974, many Mennonite
families moved to the Penn Yan area of Yates County
from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
, seeking cheaper farmland. Recently-established Amish
communities are in St. Lawrence
, Montgomery
, Chautauqua
and Cattaraugus
counties.
Additionally, Upstate New York continues to boast low crime rates, high educational prospects, and readily affordable daily essentials, earning Syracuse, New York
, Rochester, New York
, Albany, New York
, Schenectady, New York
, and Buffalo, New York
spots in the Forbes
magazine list of top ten places to raise a family in the United States. http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/04/best-places-family-lifestyle-real-estate-cities-kids.html
Five of the six Iroquois nations have filed land claims against New York State (or have sought settlement of pending claims), based on late 18th-century treaties with the State of New York and the United States.
Often attributed to the region's semi-rural character, there is more conservatism
in culture and politics than found in the more urban downstate area, and is the power base of the state's Republican Party
. Upstate New York does however have several Democratic counties including Erie County
(Buffalo), Monroe County
(Rochester), Onondaga County
(Syracuse), Tompkins County
(Ithaca), Albany County
(Albany), Broome County
(Binghamton), Clinton
(Plattsburgh), Franklin County
(Malone), St. Lawrence County
(Massena, Potsdam, Ogdensburg) and Ulster County
(Kingston, Woodstock, New Paltz).
As a whole, Upstate New York is roughly equally divided in Federal elections between Democrats and Republicans. In 2004, John Kerry
defeated George W. Bush
by fewer than 1,500 votes (1,553,246 votes to 1,551,971) in the Upstate Region.
sites.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
.
Definition
There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York
Downstate New York
Downstate New York is a term denoting the southeastern portion of New York State, United States, in contrast to Upstate New York. The term "Downstate New York" has significantly less currency than its counterpart term "Upstate New York", and the Downstate region is often not regarded as one...
. Latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
is generally a consideration in whether or not a place is "upstate", as well as elevation and being away from sea level (hence the prefix "up", meaning both to the north and having a greater altitude). Distance from New York City is also a consideration. Complicating any definition is the usage of the word "upstate" (in lowercase) as a direction, rather than as the name of a region.
One usage of the term "Upstate" excludes only New York City and Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. Another usage locates the Upstate/Downstate boundary farther north at the point at which New York City's suburbs segue into its exurbs
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
. This line would place most, but not all, of Westchester and Rockland counties south of the boundary, putting the northwestern edge of Rockland as well as the northernmost quarter of Westchester (such as Peekskill) in Upstate New York. Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam counties are the northernmost counties of the state of New York that are within the New York metropolitan area
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
, with Putnam
Putnam County, New York
Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the lower Hudson River Valley. Putnam county formed in 1812, when it detached from Dutchess County. , the population was 99,710. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. The county seat is the hamlet of Carmel...
being the northernmost of all. This was the definition used (unsuccessfully) by the plaintiff
Plaintiff
A plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
s in the Federal redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
case of Rodriguez v. Pataki.
One traditional, political definition of Upstate is "north of Bear Mountain
Bear Mountain State Park
Bear Mountain State Park is located on the west side of the Hudson River in Orange and Rockland counties of New York. The park offers biking, hiking, boating, picnicking, swimming, cross-country skiing, cross-country running, sledding and ice skating...
," hence the "Bear Mountain Compact
Bear Mountain Compact
The Bear Mountain Compact is an unofficial agreement among members of the New York State legislature in which they agree to keep whatever happens in the state capital in Albany, such as extramarital affairs and other embarrassing behavior, secret...
" describing where "open secrets stay secret." Bear Mountain is in Orange County, New York
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
.
Another view places the boundary even farther north. Orange, Dutchess, and Ulster counties, even farther "upstate" (lower case) are part of the New York-Newark-Bridgeport, New York-New Jersey-Connecticut-Pennsylvania Combined Statistical Area (CSA), and also sometimes not identified as being part of Upstate (uppercase). Because most New York City bedroom communities in Dutchess and Orange counties are situated in the southern part of those counties and the New York City's suburban public transportation system extends some distance north, the Upstate/Downstate boundary can be defined roughly by a border extended from Wassaic
Wassaic, New York
Wassaic is a hamlet in the Town of Amenia, Dutchess County, New York in the United States.Wassaic is located in southeast New York State and surrounded by the East and West Mountains and along the Tenmile River....
(in Dutchess County
Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2010 census lists the population as 297,488...
, where Metro-North's Harlem Line
Harlem Line (Metro-North)
Metro-North's Harlem Line, originally chartered as the New York & Harlem Railroad, is an 82-mile commuter rail line running north from New York City into eastern Dutchess County...
ends) across to Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie (city), New York
Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
, down to Newburgh
Newburgh (city), New York
Newburgh is a city located in Orange County, New York, United States, north of New York City, and south of Albany, on the Hudson River. Newburgh is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown metropolitan area, which includes all of Dutchess and Orange counties. The Newburgh area was...
and then across to Middletown
Middletown, Orange County, New York
Middletown is a city in Orange County, New York, United States. It lies in New York's Hudson Valley region, near the Wallkill River and the foothills of the Shawangunk Mountains. Middletown is situated between Port Jervis and Newburgh, New York. The city's population was 25,388 at the 2000 census...
and Port Jervis
Port Jervis, New York
Port Jervis is a city on the Delaware River in western Orange County, New York, with a population of 8,860 at the 2000 census. The communities of Deerpark, Huguenot, Sparrowbush, and Greenville are adjacent to Port Jervis, and the towns of Montague, New Jersey and Matamoras, Pennsylvania face the...
in Orange County. This definition of Upstate New York roughly corresponds with the area north of Interstate 84
Interstate 84 (east)
Interstate 84 is an Interstate Highway extending from Dunmore, Pennsylvania at an interchange with Interstate 81 to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, at an interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike . I-84 has mile-log junction numbering in Pennsylvania; otherwise, exit numbers are roughly sequential...
. This imaginary line also demarcates the northernmost reach of high housing prices associated with the Downstate region in contrast to the relatively low housing costs found farther Upstate. It also roughly corresponds to the demarcation line between area code 914
Area code 914
Area code 914 is a telephone area code within New York state. 914's boundaries are the same as Westchester County. It was one of the original area codes established in October 1947....
(which covers most of the northern suburbs of New York City) and area code 845
Area code 845
Area code 845 is a telephone area code which serves the Hudson Valley counties of Rockland, Putnam, Orange, most of Dutchess, Ulster, and Sullivan, plus parts of Delaware, Greene, and Columbia counties...
(which covers the area immediately beyond that).
Particularly within Upstate New York, the demarcation of "Upstate" is often much farther north. For instance, many communities clearly beyond the New York City commuter orbit are part of New York City's media market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
, which includes Dutchess, Ulster and Sullivan counties (i.e. the aforementioned area code 845), and thus do not get local television (via cable) from Albany or Binghamton TV stations. Many upstate residents note that the state capital of Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, being mostly dominated by New York City-area politicians, has more in common with downstate than upstate, and imply that everything in between, including the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
region and occasionally the Catskill Mountains
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
, can be considered downstate. Geographically, Albany is also the point where the New York Thruway turns to the west and drivers continuing north on I-87 cash out of the toll system and continue on the toll-free Adirondack Northway. Columnist Liz Benjamin
Elizabeth Benjamin (journalist)
Elizabeth Benjamin is a reporter for NY1 and Your News Now, serving as the editor-in-chief of "State of Politics," a blog covering the politics of the state of New York, and as the host of the daily political news and interview show . She has been employed with YNN and NY1 since April 2011...
(a Hudson Valley native who self-identifies as an upstater) is quoted as saying "I know there’s considerable disagreement over where, exactly, the upstate/downstate divide is located. Some would say it starts at the Capital Region and what’s to the south is more in line with NYC than Western New York
Western New York
Western New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...
and the North Country." For example, Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News is the primary newspaper of the Buffalo – Niagara Falls metropolitan area, and the area's only daily newspaper. It is the only newspaper owned by Berkshire Hathaway.-History:...
columnist Donn Esmonde (in defending Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Bouvier Kennedy is an American author and attorney. She is a member of the influential Kennedy family and the only surviving child of U.S. President John F...
's abortive Senate run) criticized Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten Elizabeth Rutnik Gillibrand is an attorney and the junior United States Senator from the state of New York and a member of the Democratic Party...
's upstate credentials by saying "In the end... [w]e get a [so-called] 'upstate' senator whose Hudson Valley base is equidistant from New York City and Albany, the state’s power centers." Charles Schumer
Charles Schumer
Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer is the senior United States Senator from New York and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected in 1998, he defeated three-term Republican incumbent Al D'Amato by a margin of 55%–44%. He was easily re-elected in 2004 by a margin of 71%–24% and in 2010 by a...
once famously stated "To me, the West begins across the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
." Politics aside, the term "Upstate" is occasionally used (somewhat ambiguously) to refer to Northern New York
North Country, New York
The North Country is a region of the U.S. state of New York that encompasses the state's extreme northern frontier, bordering Lake Ontario on the west, the Saint Lawrence River and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec on the north and northwest, and Lake Champlain and Vermont on the east...
, including the Adirondack Mountains
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains are a mountain range located in the northeastern part of New York, that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties....
, as opposed to other areas of traditional Upstate such as Western New York
Western New York
Western New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...
and Central New York
Central New York
Central New York is a term used to broadly describe the central region of New York State, roughly including the following counties and cities:...
. In this sense, anything north of the Mohawk River can be considered "Upstate".
In some parts of the New York metropolitan area the term "Upperstate New York" is used to differentiate the close-in suburbs from the northern and western parts of the state. In some regions the term "Upperstate" refers to the suburbs and "Upstate" refers to the northern and western regions, and in other regions the terms are reversed.
Residents of Upstate New York often prefer to identify with a more specific region, such as "Western New York" or "Central New York". Some residents of Western New York object to their area being called "Upstate", though a number of businesses and institutions in the area have "Upstate" as part of their name.
New York City is dependent on upstate for a variety of services; it is the source of the city's water supply via the Delaware Aqueduct
Delaware Aqueduct
The Delaware Aqueduct is the newest of the New York City aqueducts. It takes water from the Rondout Reservoir through the Chelsea Pump Station, the West Branch Reservoir, and the Kensico Reservoir, ending at the Hillview Reservoir in Yonkers, New York....
and the Catskill Aqueduct
Catskill Aqueduct
The Catskill Aqueduct, part of the New York City water supply system, brings water from the Catskill Mountains to Yonkers where it connects to other parts of the system.-History:Construction commenced in 1907...
; much of the city's electric power supply comes from state owned hydroelectric plants at Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
and the St. Lawrence River such as the Robert Moses
Robert Moses
Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
power station; and most of the state's prisons are upstate; hence the popular term "being sent up the river" (however, the term originally referred to Sing Sing
Sing Sing
Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services in the town of Ossining, New York...
, which is "up the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
" from New York City, but being in Ossining
Ossining (town), New York
Ossining is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 37,674 at the 2010 census. It contains two villages, the Village of Ossining and part of Briarcliff Manor, the rest of which is located in the Town of Mount Pleasant....
in Westchester County is still in the "downstate" region). Conversely, the operation of state facilities providing these services is an important part of the upstate economy.
Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
is never considered upstate, as each of its four counties extends farther south than Manhattan, two are part of New York City, and the island has no direct physical (land or bridge) connection to any part of New York north of New York City.
Institutions with "Upstate" as part of their name include the State University of New York Upstate Medical University
State University of New York Upstate Medical University
The State University of New York Upstate Medical University is a State University of New York university of health sciences in the University Hill district of Syracuse, New York, USA. SUNY Upstate is an upper-division transfer and graduate college with degree programs within the College of...
in Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, the Upstate New York Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation
Arthritis Foundation
The Arthritis Foundation is the largest national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to the prevention, control and cure of arthritis, the leading cause of disability in the United States....
serving 31 of New York's 62 counties, and the VA Healthcare Network Upstate New York, which includes all of New York State northward and westward from Kingston, New York
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
in Ulster County
Ulster County, New York
Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...
.
Other organizations in New York with "Upstate" in their name include the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association, the Upstate Correctional Facility
Upstate Correctional Facility
Upstate Correctional Facility is a maximum security state prison in Franklin County, New York, USA. The prison is in the Town of Malone.Upstate C.F. is located near Franklin Correctional Facility and Bare Hill Correctional Facility, both medium security prisons. All three prisons, along with other...
, the Upstate New York Club Hockey League
Upstate New York Club Hockey League
The Upstate New York Club Hockey League is a non-affiliated club hockey league comprising smaller colleges and universities in Upstate New York.-League history:The league was formed in 2006 by Andrew Musto. Mr...
, the Upstate New York Synod
Upstate New York Synod
Upstate New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is led by bishop Marie C. Jerge, and is a Companion Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe, a partner synod with the Central/Southern Illinois Synod, and a Reconciling in Christ Synod....
, and the Upstate Citizens for Equality
Upstate Citizens for Equality
The Upstate Citizens for Equality is a group based in Verona, New York that opposes the Indian Land Claim and what they see as flawed Federal Indian Policy. UCE currently has three chapters with a combined membership of around 10,000.-Legal actions:...
.
The term Upstate America is also occasionally used instead of "Upstate New York" to emphasize the differences between upstate and downstate New York, sometimes in comparison to other similar states in the northern tier of the United States.
Culture
The region is culturally and economically distinct from the New York City area, though the Hudson Valley counties of PutnamPutnam County, New York
Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the lower Hudson River Valley. Putnam county formed in 1812, when it detached from Dutchess County. , the population was 99,710. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. The county seat is the hamlet of Carmel...
, Orange
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
, Dutchess
Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2010 census lists the population as 297,488...
, and Ulster
Ulster County, New York
Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...
are increasingly peripheral sections of the New York City metro area. The northern upstate area consists of a handful of small and medium-sized cities, with surrounding suburbs, amidst vast rural areas. Dutchess, Ulster, and Putnam are in fact on the border of the New York Upstate. They are a part of the New York Metro area.
Western New York
Western New York
Western New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...
has many cultural and economic ties to the other Great Lakes states
Great Lakes region (North America)
The Great Lakes region of North America, occasionally known as the Third Coast or the Fresh Coast , includes the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as well as the Canadian province of Ontario...
as well as Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
, while the Capital District
Capital District
New York's Capital District, also known as the Capital Region, is a region in upstate New York that generally refers to the four counties surrounding Albany, the capital of the state: Albany County, Schenectady County, Rensselaer County, and Saratoga County...
, the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
, the Mohawk Valley
Mohawk Valley
The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains....
and the Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh (city), New York
Plattsburgh is a city in and county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States. The population was 19,989 at the 2010 census. The population of the unincorporated areas within the Town of Plattsburgh was 11,870 as of the 2010 census; making the population for the immediate, urban Plattsburgh,...
area have ties to New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. The North Country, the extreme northern portion of the state, also has strong cultural, economic, linguistic and familial ties to Quebec and Eastern Ontario. Thus, Plattsburgh has close ties to its neighbors in the Montreal area as well as Vermont.
Linguistically, from Western New York to as far east as Utica
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
is part of the Inland North
Inland Northern American English
The Inland North dialect of American English is spoken in a region that includes most of the cities along the Erie Canal and on the U.S. side of Great Lakes region, reaching approximately from Utica, New York to Green Bay, Wisconsin, as well as a corridor extending down across central Illinois from...
region of American English dialectology, a region which includes Midwestern cities as far west as Chicago and Milwaukee. The Hudson and lower Mohawk Valley has more in common dialectologically with western New England and New York City. The boundary between the use of the words pop and soda to refer to soft drinks
Soft drink naming conventions
Soft drinks are called by many names in different places of the world.- South Africa :Soft drinks in South Africa are called cool drinks generically, although lemonade follows the same conventions as Australia.- Argentina :...
, however, falls farther west than the edge of the Inland North, running just to the east of the city of Rochester: Buffalo and Rochester use pop, like the rest of the Inland North to the west, whereas Syracuse uses soda, like New England and New York City. In Ithaca and Elmira, the border is less clear, with some people having grown up with pop and some with soda, however current trends see Ithaca, at least, turning to mostly "soda".
Foodways indigenous to regions of Upstate New York include Plattsburgh's "Michigan" hot dog
Michigan hot dog
A Michigan hot dog, or "Michigan", is a steamed hot dog on a steamed bun topped with a meaty sauce, generally referred to as "Michigan Sauce". The chili may or may not be tomato-based, depending on where the Michigan is purchased. Michigans can be served with or without chopped onions...
, a variety of Coney Island hot dog
Coney Island hot dog
Coney Island hot dog refers to a natural casing beef hot dog, topped with an all-meat beanless chili, and diced or chopped white onions with one or two strips of yellow mustard. The variety is a fixture in Jackson, Flint, Detroit, and southeastern Michigan...
; the white hot dog
Hot dog
A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
of central and western New York that is known variously as the "White Hot" or "Coney" ; the "Spiedie
Spiedie
The spiedie is a dish local to Greater Binghamton in the Southern Tier of New York State, and somewhat more broadly known and enjoyed throughout Central New York state. Spiedie consists of cubes of chicken, pork, lamb, veal, venison or beef...
" of the Binghamton
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
area, Central New York's salt potatoes
Salt potatoes
Salt potatoes are a regional dish of Syracuse, New York, typically served in the summer when the young potatoes are first harvested. They are a staple food at fairs and barbecues...
, Utica's
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
Tomato Pie
Tomato pie
Tomato pie is commonly regarded as unique to Italian-American populations. Unlike typical New York-style pizza, which is closely related to Neapolitan pizza, tomato pie is derived heavily from Sicilian pizza, and as such can be found in predominantly Sicilian-American communities.The basic recipe...
, and Chicken riggies
Chicken riggies
Chicken Riggies or Utica Riggies is an Italian-American pasta dish native to the Utica-Rome area of New York State. It is a pasta-based dish usually consisting of chicken, rigatoni and hot or sweet peppers in a spicy cream and tomato sauce, although many variations exist.-Beginnings:The origins of...
, Rochester's
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
Garbage plate, Buffalo's kummelweck
Kummelweck
A beef on weck sandwich is a variety of steak sandwich found primarily in Western New York. It is made with roast beef on a kummelweck roll. The meat on the sandwich is traditionally served rare, thin cut, with the top bun getting a dip au jus...
and perhaps most famously, Buffalo wings
Buffalo wings
A Buffalo wing, hot wing or wing is a chicken wing section that is traditionally fried unbreaded and then coated in sauce...
. Calvin Trillin
Calvin Trillin
Calvin Marshall Trillin is an American journalist, humorist, food writer, poet, memoirist and novelist.-Biography:Trillin attended public schools in Kansas City and went on to Yale University, where he served as chairman of the Yale Daily News and was a member of Scroll and Key before graduating...
chronicled the origin of Buffalo wings in the August 25, 1980 issue of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. Although the potato chip
Potato chip
Potato chips are thin slices of potato that are deep fried...
was invented in Saratoga Springs, it has achieved such universal popularity that it is no longer identified with the region. Winemaking is a growing industry in the Finger Lakes
Finger Lakes AVA
The Finger Lakes AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Upstate New York, south of Lake Ontario. The Finger Lakes encompass eleven glacial lakes, but the area around Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, and Cayuga Lakes contain the vast majority of vineyard plantings in the AVA...
. And in the center of that region Ithaca
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
is known for the Bo Burger, a cheeseburger with a fried egg on top.
Two of the most important rock festival
Rock festival
A rock festival, or a rock fest, is a large-scale rock music concert, featuring multiple acts.The first rock festivals were put on in the late 1960s and were important socio-cultural milestones. In the 1980s a minor resurgence of festivals occurred with charity as the goal.Today, they are often...
s of the 20th century were held in Upstate New York. In 1969 the Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
was held in Bethel, New York
Bethel, New York
Bethel is a town in Sullivan County, New York, USA. The population has been estimated at 4,532 in 2007.The town received worldwide fame after it became the host of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, which was originally planned for Wallkill, New York, but was relocated to Bethel after Wallkill withdrew.-...
, while in 1973 another multiday festival
Summer Jam at Watkins Glen
The Summer Jam at Watkins Glen was a 1973 rock festival which once received the Guinness Book of World Records entry for "Largest audience at a pop festival." An estimated 600,000 rock fans came to the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Raceway outside of Watkins Glen, New York on July 28, 1973, to see The...
was held at the Watkins Glen International Raceway.
Some literary, documentary and cinematic depictions of upstate present a sense of small town, simple lifetyles, such as It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
, set in a small upstate town in the 1940s. A Home Box Office
Home Box Office
HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...
miniseries is planned that will dramatize a New York magazine article on natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
drillers coming to the region. Richard Russo
Richard Russo
Richard Russo is an American novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and teacher.-Early life and education:Russo was born in Johnstown, New York, and raised in nearby Gloversville...
, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
, is writing a script for the project.
Racial and ancestral makeup
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
region are heavily Irish American. The North Country
North Country, New York
The North Country is a region of the U.S. state of New York that encompasses the state's extreme northern frontier, bordering Lake Ontario on the west, the Saint Lawrence River and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec on the north and northwest, and Lake Champlain and Vermont on the east...
is heavily French Canadian. Italian Americans are the largest ethnic group in Oneida County
Oneida County, New York
Oneida County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 234,878. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, an Iroquoian tribe that formerly occupied the region....
, Broome County
Broome County, New York
Broome County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 200,600. It was named in honor of John Broome, who was lieutenant governor in 1806 when Broome County was established. Its county seat is Binghamton, which is also its major city. The current...
, and Schenectady
Schenectady County, New York
Schenectady County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 154,727. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Schenectady. The name is from a Mohawk Indian word meaning "on the other side of the...
, while German ancestry is most common across western New York. Persons of Polish, Irish, German, and Italian ancestry are predominant in the cities of Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
and Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
and their close suburbs.
There is also a significant presence of the indigenous Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
American Indians in the region, who mostly congregate on several reservations: the Seneca nation
Seneca nation
The Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in...
and Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians
Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians
The Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians maintained the traditional form of government by Seneca chiefs and clan mothers after the Alleghany and Cattaraugus Reservations broke away and formed the Seneca Nation of Indians in 1848...
in Western New York
Western New York
Western New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...
, the Onondaga nation south of Syracuse, the Oneida nation of Oneida County and the Mohawk nation
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
in St. Lawrence County
St. Lawrence County, New York
St. Lawrence County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 111,944. The county seat is Canton. The county is named for the Saint Lawrence River, which in turn was named for the Catholic saint on whose Feast day the river was discovered by...
. Members of Iroquois nations also live in the cities of Upstate New York.
Geography
The headwaters of the DelawareDelaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
, Susquehanna
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
, Hudson
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, and Allegheny
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River is a principal tributary of the Ohio River; it is located in the Eastern United States. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
rivers are located in the region. The region is characterized by the major mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
ranges, large lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s, and extensive forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s.
The Allegheny Plateau
Allegheny Plateau
The Allegheny Plateau is a large dissected plateau area in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio...
extends into west and central New York from the south. The Catskill Mountains
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
lie in the southeastern part of the state, closer to New York City. The Catskills and the Allegheny Plateau are both part of the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
. The northernmost part of the state contains the Adirondack Mountains
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains are a mountain range located in the northeastern part of New York, that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties....
, which are sometimes considered part of the Appalachians but are geologically separate, a southern extension of the Canadian Shield
Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...
.
In the more mountainous eastern part of Upstate New York, the valleys of the Hudson River and the Mohawk River
Mohawk River
The Mohawk River is a river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital District, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
were historically important travel corridors and remain so today. Western New York in the vicinity of Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
is very flat, as it was once the bottom of a glacial lake. The only "hills" in Niagara County
Niagara County, New York
Niagara County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 216,469. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word Onguiaahra; meaning the strait or thunder of waters. It is the location of Niagara Falls and Fort Niagara, and...
are the Niagara Escarpment
Niagara Escarpment
The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in the United States and Canada that runs westward from New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois...
, which formed the Falls.
Upstate has a long shared border with Canadian province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
divided by water; including the Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
, Niagara River
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
, Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
and the St. Lawrence River. It shares a land border with the province of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
in the northernmost part of the state.
The sizes of upstate counties and towns are generally larger in area and smaller in population, compared with the downstate region, although there are exceptions. The state's smallest county in population (Hamilton County
Hamilton County, New York
Hamilton County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is named after Alexander Hamilton, the only member of the New York State delegation who signed the United States Constitution in 1787 and later the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. Its county seat is Lake Pleasant...
) and largest county in area (St. Lawrence County
St. Lawrence County, New York
St. Lawrence County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 111,944. The county seat is Canton. The county is named for the Saint Lawrence River, which in turn was named for the Catholic saint on whose Feast day the river was discovered by...
on the state's northern border) are both in Upstate New York, while the largest in population (Kings County) and smallest in area (New York County
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
) are both part of New York City.
Upstate New York is well known for its cold and snowy winters, particularly in comparison to the more temperate climate of downstate New York. The snowy reputation is especially true for the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Oswego and Syracuse, and is largely due to lake-effect snow from Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The villages of Old Forge
Old Forge, New York
Old Forge is a hamlet on New York State Route 28 in the town of Webb in Herkimer County, New York. Old Forge was formerly a village that dissolved its incorporation, but remains the principal community in the region. Old Forge forms an extensive business district, primarily directed at tourism...
and Saranac Lake
Saranac Lake, New York
Saranac Lake is a village located in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406. The village is named after Upper, Middle, and Lower Saranac Lakes, which are nearby....
, both in the Adirondacks, often vie on winter nights with places like International Falls, Minnesota
International Falls, Minnesota
International Falls is a city in and the county seat of Koochiching County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 6,424 at the 2010 census....
and Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
for the coldest spot in the nation.
Many of the features of the upstate landscape, such as the Finger Lakes
Finger Lakes
The Finger Lakes are a pattern of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York in the United States. They are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are long and thin , each oriented roughly on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, are among the deepest in...
and the drumlin
Drumlin
A drumlin, from the Irish word droimnín , first recorded in 1833, is an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated till or ground moraine.-Drumlin formation:...
s that dot the region, are the result of glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s during the Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
.
Early history
Before the arrival of European settlement, the area was inhabited by a mixture of IroquoisIroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
-speaking people (mainly west of the Hudson) and Algonquian
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
-speaking people (mainly east of the Hudson). The conflict between the two peoples was an important historical force in the days of the early European colonization. The Haudenosaunee
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
or Iroquois confederacy of the Five (later Six) Nations was a powerful force in its home territory, having successfully eliminated the tribes of Neutral Indians
Neutral Nation
The Neutrals, also known as the Attawandaron, were an Iroquoian nation of North American native people who lived near the shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.-Territory:...
, Wenrohronon
Wenrohronon
The Wenrohronon or Wenro were a little-known indigenous people of North America originally from western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania. They appear to have inhabited the upper Allegheny River valley, between the territories of the Seneca and the Neutrals...
and the Erie Indians
Erie (tribe)
The Erie were an Native American people historically living on the south shore of Lake Erie. An Iroquoian group, they lived in what is now western New York, northwestern Pennsylvania, and northern Ohio...
in Western New York
Western New York
Western New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...
during the Beaver Wars
Beaver Wars
The Beaver Wars, also sometimes called the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars, commonly refers to a series of conflicts fought in the mid-17th century in eastern North America...
. (Survivors were mostly assimilated into the Seneca nation
Seneca nation
The Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in...
; others are believed to have escaped to South Carolina.) The Iroquois nations' territory extended from the Mohawk River Valley to the western part of the state. From this home base they also controlled at various times large swaths of additional territory throughout what is now the northeastern United States. The Guswhenta (Two Row Wampum Treaty)
Guswhenta (Two Row Wampum Treaty)
The Two Row Wampum treaty, also known as Guswhenta or Kaswehnta, is an agreement made between representatives of the Five Nations of the Iroquois and representatives of the Dutch government in 1613 in what is now upstate New York...
, made with the Dutch government in 1613, codified relations between the Haudenosaunee and European colonizers, and formed the basis of subsequent treaties.
The region was important beginning in the very early days of both the French Colonization
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
colonization. Much of the fur trade of the New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
colony was located in the upper Hudson Valley. In the seventeenth century, the French established trading posts as far south as the shores of Onondaga Lake
Onondaga Lake
Onondaga Lake is a lake in Central New York located northwest of Syracuse, New York. The southeastern end of the lake and the southwestern shore abut industrial areas and expressways; the northeastern shore and northwestern end border a series of parks and museums. Although it is near the Finger...
, although Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
had alienated the Haudenosaunee during military forays from Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. The area was the scene of much of the fighting in the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, events which were depicted in the work of James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...
.
In the 1640s, three French Jesuit missionaries to New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
(now Canada)—St. René Goupil
René Goupil
René Goupil was a French missionary and one of the first North American martyrs of the Roman Catholic Church....
, St. Isaac Jogues
Isaac Jogues
Isaac Jogues was a Jesuit priest, missionary, and martyr who traveled and worked among the native populations in North America. He gave the original European name to Lake George, calling it Lac du Saint Sacrement, Lake of the Blessed Sacrament. In 1646, Jogues was martyred by the Mohawks near ...
, and St. Jean de Lalande
Jean de Lalande
Saint Jean de Lalande was a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons and one of the eight North American Martyrs....
—were killed by the Iroquois in Auriesville
Auriesville, New York
Auriesville is a hamlet in the northeastern part of the town of Glen in Montgomery County, New York, United States, along the south bank of the Mohawk River. It lies about forty miles west of Albany, the state capital. A Jesuit cemetery is located there....
(then known as Ossernenon). They are considered the first three U.S. saints.
American Revolution
The region was strategically important in the American RevolutionAmerican Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, and was the scene of several important battles, including the Battle of Saratoga
Battle of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga conclusively decided the fate of British General John Burgoyne's army in the American War of Independence and are generally regarded as a turning point in the war. The battles were fought eighteen days apart on the same ground, south of Saratoga, New York...
, which is considered to have been a significant turning point in the war. While New York City remained in the hands of the British during most of the war, the upstate region was eventually dominated by the Colonial forces. In 1779, the Sullivan Expedition
Sullivan Expedition
The Sullivan Expedition, also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, was an American campaign led by Major General John Sullivan and Brigadier General James Clinton against Loyalists and the four nations of the Iroquois who had sided with the British in the American Revolutionary War.The...
, a campaign ordered by Gen. George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, drove thousands of the Haudenosaunee from their villages, farms and lands in the region.
Post-Revolutionary Period
Following the American Revolution, the United States signed a federal treaty, the Treaty of CanandaiguaTreaty of Canandaigua
The Treaty of Canandaigua is a treaty signed after the American Revolutionary War between the Grand Council of the Six Nations and President George Washington representing the United States of America....
, with the Haudenosaunee, affirming their land rights in what later became Central and Western New York. Nevertheless, State officials and private land agents continued to work to extinguish Indian title to these lands via non-Federally-sanctioned treaties, such as the Treaty of Big Tree
Treaty of Big Tree
Treaty of Big Tree was a formal treaty, held from August 20, 1797 until September 16, 1797, between the Seneca nation and the United States of America. The delegates for both parties met at the residence of William Wadsworth, an early pioneer of the area and Captain of the local militia, in what is...
http://www.oswego.edu/library2/archives/digitized_collections/granger/bigtree.html, through the early 19th century.
Many of the settlers of Central and Western New York came from the New England States. The Central New York Military Tract
Central New York Military Tract
The Military Tract of Central New York, also called the New Military Tract, consisted of nearly two million acres of bounty land set aside to compensate New York’s soldiers after their participation in the Revolutionary War....
, where many of the townships were given the names of classical military and literary figures by Robert Harpur
Robert Harpur
Robert Harpur was an American teacher, politician, pioneer, and landowner who settled in the Binghamton, New York area.-Life:...
, was established to grant land to Revolutionary War veterans.
Battles with British were fought during the war of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
(1812–1815), on land, including the Battle of Plattsburgh, and in the Great Lakes (Ontario and Erie) and St. Lawrence shorelines, including the Battle of Sackets Harbor.
Both before and after the Revolution, boundary disputes with Massachusetts, Vermont and Great Britain, and subsequent surveying errors, complicated American settlement. The Province of New York granted lands to settlers in what is now Vermont at the same time that New Hampshire made grants of the same lands. When Vermont declared independence in 1777, the new Republic of Vermont recognized the New Hampshire grants over those of New York. New Yorkers who lost land in Vermont came to be known as the "Vermont Sufferers" and were granted new lands in 1788 in the Town of Bainbridge, New York
Bainbridge (town), New York
Bainbridge is a town in Chenango County, New York, United States. The population was 3,401 at the 2000 census.The Town of Bainbridge has a village of Bainbridge located within it...
.
The dispute with Massachusetts over lands to the west of Massachusetts was settled in the 1786 Treaty of Hartford
Treaty of Hartford
The term Treaty of Hartford applies to three historic agreements negotiated at Hartford, Connecticut. The 1638 treaty divided the spoils of the Pequot War. The 1650 treaty defined a border between the Dutch Nieuw Amsterdam and English settlers in Connecticut...
by dividing the rights to the land. The treaty granted sovereignty to the State of New York, but granted to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts the "pre-emptive" right to seek title to the land from the Haudenosaunee. The eastern boundary of the Massachusetts lands was thus known as the Preemption Line
Preemption Line
The Preemption Line divides the Indian lands of western New York State awarded to New York from those awarded to Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the Treaty of Hartford of 1786...
. This line runs from the Pennsylvania line due north to Lake Ontario, passing through Seneca Lake. The line was surveyed a second time due to initial errors. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sold this land in large tracts, including the Phelps and Gorham Purchase
Phelps and Gorham Purchase
The Phelps and Gorham Purchase was the purchase in 1788 of the pre-emptive right to some 6,000,000 acres of land in western New York State for $1,000,000 . This was all land in western New York west of Seneca Lake between Lake Ontario and the Pennsylvania border...
and the Holland Purchase
Holland Purchase
The Holland Purchase was a large tract of land in what is now the western portion of the U.S. state of New York. It consisted of about 3,250,000 acres of land from a line approximately 12 miles to the west of the Genesee River to the present western border and boundary of New York State.The land...
.
The Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1783)
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on the one hand and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements; for details of...
that ended the American Revolution established the 45th Parallel as the border with Quebec. This line was surveyed and after the War of 1812, the US Government began to construct Fort Montgomery
Fort Montgomery (Lake Champlain)
Fort Montgomery on Lake Champlain refers to the second of two American forts built at the northernmost point on the lake: a first, unnamed fort built on the same site in 1816 and Fort Montgomery built in 1844....
just south of the border at Rouses Point on Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
. Subsequently it was discovered that at that point, the actual 45th parallel was three-quarters of a mile south of the surveyed line, putting the Fort, which became known as "Fort Blunder," in Canada. This was not resolved until 1842 with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty
Webster-Ashburton Treaty
The Webster–Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, was a treaty resolving several border issues between the United States and the British North American colonies...
, in which Great Britain and the United States decided to leave the border on the meandering line as surveyed.
Slavery
History of slavery in New York
Slavery in New York was instituted when the New Amsterdam fur trading-post developed into a farming colony in the 17th century; the first African slaves were imported by the Dutch West Indies Company to New Amsterdam in 1626...
existed in New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
and the Province of New York
Province of New York
The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...
. New York was in the 1690s the largest importer of slaves among the American colonies. Slavery did not end with the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, although John Jay
John Jay
John Jay was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, a Founding Father of the United States, and the first Chief Justice of the United States ....
introduced an emancipation bill in to the State Assembly as early as 1777. Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth was the self-given name, from 1843 onward, of Isabella Baumfree, an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son, she...
was held as a slave in the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
from the time she was born in 1797 until she escaped in 1826. Through efforts of the New York Manumission Society
New York Manumission Society
The New York Manumission Society was an early American organization founded in 1785 to promote the abolition of the slavery of African descendants within the state of New York. The organization was made up entirely of white men, most of whom were wealthy and held influential positions in society...
and others, New York began to adopt a policy of gradual emancipation in 1799. The law passed in 1817 that would finally emancipate slaves did not take effect for ten years, giving slaveowners an entire decade to sell their slaves away to other states. When the law finally took effect, the last 2,800 slaves in New York State were emancipated on July 4, 1827.
19th century
By 1825, the Erie CanalErie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
opened, allowing the area to become an important component of the 19th century industrial expansion in the United States. The canal also promoted trade with British North America
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
and settlement of newer states in western territories. Later in the century the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
followed the "water-level route" from New York City to the Great Lakes, contributing to the industrialization of cities along its route.
Several times in the nineteenth century, Upstate New York served as a staging area and refuge for Canadian rebels against Great Britain, as well as Irish-American invaders of Canada, straining British-American relations. In 1837 and 1838, in the aftermath of the Lower Canada Rebellion
Lower Canada Rebellion
The Lower Canada Rebellion , commonly referred to as the Patriots' War by Quebeckers, is the name given to the armed conflict between the rebels of Lower Canada and the British colonial power of that province...
, some Québécois
French-speaking Quebecer
French-speaking Quebecers are francophone residents of the Canadian province of Quebec....
rebels escaped south to the North Country, while on the Niagara Frontier
Niagara Frontier
The Niagara Frontier refers to the stretch of land south of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie and extending westward to Cleveland, Ohio. The term dates to the War of 1812. This only includes the land east of the Niagara River and south of Lake Erie within the United States...
, events of the Upper Canada Rebellion
Upper Canada Rebellion
The Upper Canada Rebellion was, along with the Lower Canada Rebellion in Lower Canada, a rebellion against the British colonial government in 1837 and 1838. Collectively they are also known as the Rebellions of 1837.-Issues:...
, also known as the Patriot War
Patriot War
The Battle of Windsor was a short-lived campaign in the eastern Michigan area of the United States and the Windsor area of Upper Canada. A group of men on both sides of the border, calling themselves "Patriots", formed small militias in 1837 with the intention of seizing the Southern Ontario...
, took place. In the late 1860s, some of the Fenian Raids
Fenian raids
Between 1866 and 1871, the Fenian raids of the Fenian Brotherhood who were based in the United States; on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada, were fought to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland. They divided many Catholic Irish-Canadians, many of whom were...
were launched across the Niagara Frontier; Fenians also assembled in Malone
Malone (village), New York
-Notable natives:Notable natives include:*William Almon Wheeler served as Vice President of the United States under Rutherford Hayes. Is buried at Morningside Cemetery in Malone....
.
Although now largely discredited, the report of the 1905-1907 Mills Commission, charged with investigating the origins of baseball
Origins of baseball
The question of the origins of baseball has been the subject of debate and controversy for more than a century. Baseball and the other modern bat, ball and running games, cricket and rounders, were developed from earlier folk games....
, named Cooperstown as the place where baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
was invented in the 1830s or 1840s by Abner Doubleday
Abner Doubleday
Abner Doubleday was a career United States Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War. He fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, the opening battle of the war, and had a pivotal role in the early fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg. Gettysburg was his finest hour, but his...
. Cooperstown is the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
In the pre-Civil War era, Upstate New York became a major center of radical abolitionist
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
activity and was an important nexus of the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
. Resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act was particularly heated in the region, as evidenced by such events as the Jerry Rescue
Jerry Rescue
The Jerry Rescue, on October 1, 1851, involved the daring, public rescue of a fugitive slave who had been arrested the same day, in Syracuse, New York, during the anti-slavery Liberty Party's state convention...
. The American women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
movement was also born in Upstate New York at this time; the first women's rights convention
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was an early and influential women's rights convention held in Seneca Falls, New York, July 19–20, 1848. It was organized by local New York women upon the occasion of a visit by Boston-based Lucretia Mott, a Quaker famous for her speaking ability, a skill rarely...
was held at Seneca Falls
Seneca Falls (village), New York
Seneca Falls is a village in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 6,861 at the 2000 census. The village is in the Town of Seneca Falls, east of Geneva, New York. On March 16, 2010, village residents voted to dissolve the village, a move that would take effect at the end of 2011...
in 1848.
Through the nineteenth century, Upstate New York was a hotbed of religious revivalism. A number of sects, such as the Shakers
Shakers
The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, known as the Shakers, is a religious sect originally thought to be a development of the Religious Society of Friends...
and the Oneida Community
Oneida Community
The Oneida Community was a religious commune founded by John Humphrey Noyes in 1848 in Oneida, New York. The community believed that Jesus had already returned in the year 70 AD, making it possible for them to bring about Jesus's millennial kingdom themselves, and be free of sin and perfect in this...
, established themselves in Upstate New York during that time. This led evangelist Charles Grandison Finney
Charles Grandison Finney
Charles Grandison Finney was a leader in the Second Great Awakening. He has been called The Father of Modern Revivalism. Finney was best known as an innovative revivalist, an opponent of Old School Presbyterian theology, an advocate of Christian perfectionism, a pioneer in social reforms in favor...
to coin the term the "Burned-Over District
Burned-over district
"Burned-over district" refers to the religious scene in western and central region of New York, in the early 19th century, where religious revivals and Pentecostal movements of the Second Great Awakening took place....
" for the region. Because of the comparative isolation of the region, many of the sects were non-conformist, and because of their non-traditional tenets they had numerous difficulties with government and other local people. The region is considered to be the cradle of Mormonism
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
, as well as the Women's Suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
movement. The Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
s, Seventh-day Adventists
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
and Spiritualists are the only 21st century survivors of the hundreds of sects created during this time.
In the 19th century, extractive industries changed the landscape. Potash
Potash
Potash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era...
was manufactured as the land was cleared for farming. Logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
was rampant in the Adirondacks. Iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
was mined in the Adirondacks and the North Country. By the 1870s, business leaders, concerned about the effect of deforestation on the water supply necessary to the Erie Canal, advocated for the creation of forest preserves in the Adirondacks and the Catskills. The Adirondack Park and Catskill Park were created and strengthened by a series of legislation between 1885 and 1894, when the "Forever wild" provision of the New York State Constitution was added.
20th Century
During the era immediately following World War II, Upstate reached what was probably its peak influence in the national economy. Major local corporations such as IBMIBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
, Kodak, Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
and Carrier
Carrier Corporation
The Carrier Corporation is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and distributors of heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, and a global leader in the commercial refrigeration and food service equipment industry...
produced cutting edge products for business, government and consumers. The opening of the New York State Thruway
New York State Thruway
The New York State Thruway is a system of limited-access highways located within the state of New York in the United States. The system, known officially as the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway for former New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, is operated by the New York State Thruway Authority and...
in the mid 1950s gave the region superior access to other eastern markets. This regional advantage faded as many local firms relocated operations to other states, or downsized in the face of foreign competition, similar to other areas in the American Rust Belt
Rust Belt
The Rust Belt is a term that gained currency in the 1980s as the informal description of an area straddling the Midwestern and Northeastern United States, in which local economies traditionally garnered an increased manufacturing sector to add jobs and corporate profits...
.
In recent decades, with the decline of manufacturing, the area has generally suffered a net population loss. In contrast, many Amish
Amish
The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...
and Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
families are recent arrivals to the area. Beginning in 1974, many Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
families moved to the Penn Yan area of Yates County
Yates County, New York
Yates County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 25,348. The county seat is Penn Yan. The name is in honor of Joseph C. Yates, who as Governor of New York signed the act establishing the county....
from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...
, seeking cheaper farmland. Recently-established Amish
Amish
The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...
communities are in St. Lawrence
St. Lawrence County, New York
St. Lawrence County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 111,944. The county seat is Canton. The county is named for the Saint Lawrence River, which in turn was named for the Catholic saint on whose Feast day the river was discovered by...
, Montgomery
Montgomery County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 49,708 people, 20,038 households, and 13,104 families residing in the county. The population density was 123 people per square mile . There were 22,522 housing units at an average density of 56 per square mile...
, Chautauqua
Chautauqua County, New York
-Major highways:* Interstate 86/New York State Route 17 * Interstate 90 * U.S. Route 20* U.S. Route 62* New York State Route 5* New York State Route 39* New York State Route 60* New York State Route 394...
and Cattaraugus
Cattaraugus County, New York
Cattaraugus County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 80,317. The county seat is Little Valley.-History:...
counties.
Additionally, Upstate New York continues to boast low crime rates, high educational prospects, and readily affordable daily essentials, earning Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, Schenectady, New York
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
, and Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
spots in the Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine list of top ten places to raise a family in the United States. http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/04/best-places-family-lifestyle-real-estate-cities-kids.html
Five of the six Iroquois nations have filed land claims against New York State (or have sought settlement of pending claims), based on late 18th-century treaties with the State of New York and the United States.
Politics
Main Article: Politics of Upstate New YorkPolitics of Upstate New York
The prevailing political ethos of the residents of Upstate New York varies from that of their Downstate fellows.-Voting patterns:Often attributed to the region's semi-rural character, there is more conservatism in culture and politics than found in the more urban downstate area, and is the power...
Often attributed to the region's semi-rural character, there is more conservatism
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
in culture and politics than found in the more urban downstate area, and is the power base of the state's Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. Upstate New York does however have several Democratic counties including Erie County
Erie County, New York
Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 919,040. The county seat is Buffalo. The county's name comes from Lake Erie, which in turn comes from the Erie tribe of American Indians who lived south and east of the lake before 1654.Erie...
(Buffalo), Monroe County
Monroe County, New York
Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 744,344. It is named after James Monroe, fifth President of the United States of America. Its county seat is the city of Rochester....
(Rochester), Onondaga County
Onondaga County, New York
Onondaga County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 467,026. The county seat is Syracuse.Onondaga County is part of the Syracuse, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area....
(Syracuse), Tompkins County
Tompkins County, New York
Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and comprises the whole of the Ithaca metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,564. The county seat is Ithaca, and the county is home to Cornell University, Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community...
(Ithaca), Albany County
Albany County, New York
Albany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is from the title of the Duke of York and Albany, who became James II of England . As of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204...
(Albany), Broome County
Broome County, New York
Broome County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 200,600. It was named in honor of John Broome, who was lieutenant governor in 1806 when Broome County was established. Its county seat is Binghamton, which is also its major city. The current...
(Binghamton), Clinton
Clinton County, New York
Clinton County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 82,128. Its name is in honor of the first Governor of New York as a state, George Clinton. Its county seat is Plattsburgh.-History:...
(Plattsburgh), Franklin County
Franklin County, New York
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 51,599. It is named in honor of American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin...
(Malone), St. Lawrence County
St. Lawrence County, New York
St. Lawrence County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 111,944. The county seat is Canton. The county is named for the Saint Lawrence River, which in turn was named for the Catholic saint on whose Feast day the river was discovered by...
(Massena, Potsdam, Ogdensburg) and Ulster County
Ulster County, New York
Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...
(Kingston, Woodstock, New Paltz).
As a whole, Upstate New York is roughly equally divided in Federal elections between Democrats and Republicans. In 2004, John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
defeated George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
by fewer than 1,500 votes (1,553,246 votes to 1,551,971) in the Upstate Region.
People, events and ideas
Diseases
- White nose syndromeWhite nose syndromeWhite nose syndrome is a poorly understood disease associated with the deaths of more than a million bats. The condition, named for a distinctive fungal growth around the muzzles and on the wings of many affected animals, was first identified in a cave in Schoharie County, New York, USA, in...
(WNS) is a poorly understood malady associated with the deaths of hundreds of thousands of batBatBats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s. The condition was first identified in several caves near AlbanyAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
in February 2006.
Endangered species
- the Karner BlueKarner BlueThe Karner Blue, Lycaeides melissa samuelis, is a small, blue butterfly found in small areas of New Jersey, the Great Lakes region, southern New Hampshire, and the Capital District region of New York. The butterfly, whose lifecycle depends on the wild blue lupine flower , is classified as an...
butterfly, identified by the novelist and lepidopterist Vladimir NabokovVladimir NabokovVladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
near the former Pine BushPine Bush, New YorkPine Bush is a hamlet located in the Town of Crawford, and Shawangunk, New York, in Orange/Ulster Counties, New York, U.S., roughly coterminous with the 12566 ZIP code and 744 telephone exchange in the 845 area code Pine Bush is a hamlet (and census-designated place) located in the Town of...
region hamlet of Karner, New York, between Albany and Schenectady. - the Chittenango ovate amber snailChittenango ovate amber snailThe Chittenango ovate amber snail, scientific name Novisuccinea chittenangoensis, is a species of small air-breathing land snail in the family Succineidae, the amber snails. This species was discovered in 1905, and was reported three years later as a subspecies of the oval ambersnail, Succinea ovalis...
is a speciesSpeciesIn biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of air-breathing land snailSnailSnail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
, a terrestrialTerrestrial animalTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
gastropod mollusk in the family SuccineidaeSuccineidaeSuccineidae are a family of small to medium-sized, air-breathing, land snails , terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. They are commonly called amber snails because their thin fragile shells are translucent and amber-colored...
, the amber snails. It is endemic to the Chittenango area. The only verified extant colony of the snail is at Chittenango Falls State ParkChittenango Falls State ParkChittenango Falls State Park is located in Madison County, New York east of Cazenovia Lake. The 167 foot waterfall cascades over roughly 400 million year old bedrock, flowing beneath a wooden bridge spanning the meandering Chittenango Creek. The park offers a variety of activities:The park offers...
.
Invasive species
- The Emerald Ash BorerEmerald ash borerThe emerald ash borer is a green beetle native to Asia.In North America the borer is an invasive species, highly destructive to ash trees in its introduced range. The potential damage of this insect rivals that of Chestnut blight and Dutch Elm Disease...
http://nyis.info/insects/emeraldashborer.aspx - The LampreyLampreyLampreys are a family of jawless fish, whose adults are characterized by a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth. Translated from an admixture of Latin and Greek, lamprey means stone lickers...
- The Zebra MusselZebra musselThe zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, is a small freshwater mussel. This species was originally native to the lakes of southeast Russia being first described in 1769 by a German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in the Ural, Volga and Dnieper rivers. They are still found nearby, as Pontic and Caspian...
- The Spiny Water Flea
- The Euraisian Water Milfoil
- The Asian Clam
- Common Reed Grass
Issues
- Acid rainAcid rainAcid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions . It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen...
, caused in Upstate New York by Midwestern coal-fired power plants http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8418.html - Proposed natural gas exploration in the Marcellus Shale formation
Superfund sites
Upstate New York has many SuperfundSuperfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...
sites.
- the Hudson RiverHudson RiverThe Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, contaminated with PCBs at Hudson FallsHudson Falls, New YorkHudson Falls is a village located in Washington County, New York, USA. The village is in the southwest part of the town of Kingsbury, on US Route 4. Hudson Falls is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 6,927...
and Fort EdwardFort Edward (town), New YorkFort Edward is a town in and the county seat of Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 5,892 at the 2000 census.... - Love CanalLove CanalLove Canal was a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, located in the white collar LaSalle section of the city. It officially covers 36 square blocks in the far southeastern corner of the city, along 99th Street and Read Avenue...
, a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New YorkNiagara Falls, New YorkNiagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 50,193, down from the 55,593 recorded in the 2000 census. It is across the Niagara River from Niagara Falls, Ontario , both named after the famed Niagara Falls which they...
which became the subject of national attention and controversy following the discovery of toxic waste buried beneath the neighborhood - Onondaga LakeOnondaga LakeOnondaga Lake is a lake in Central New York located northwest of Syracuse, New York. The southeastern end of the lake and the southwestern shore abut industrial areas and expressways; the northeastern shore and northwestern end border a series of parks and museums. Although it is near the Finger...
, one of the most polluted bodies of water in the world
Historic events
- Hurricane AgnesHurricane AgnesHurricane Agnes was the first tropical storm and first hurricane of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season. A rare June hurricane, it made landfall on the Florida Panhandle before moving northeastward and ravaging the Mid-Atlantic region as a tropical storm...
, 1972 - Attica Prison riot, 1971
- Hurricane IreneHurricane Irene (2011)Hurricane Irene was a large and powerful Atlantic hurricane that left extensive flood and wind damage along its path through the Caribbean, the United States East Coast and as far north as Atlantic Canada in 2011...
, 2011 - The first execution via the electric chairElectric chairExecution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
, in Auburn PrisonAuburn PrisonAuburn Correctional Facility is a state prison located on State Street in Auburn, New York, built on land that was once a Cayuga Indian Village. It is classified as a maximum security facility....
in 1890 - The Jerry RescueJerry RescueThe Jerry Rescue, on October 1, 1851, involved the daring, public rescue of a fugitive slave who had been arrested the same day, in Syracuse, New York, during the anti-slavery Liberty Party's state convention...
- The 1901 assassination of President William McKinleyWilliam McKinley assassinationThe assassination of William McKinley occurred on September 6, 1901, inside the Temple of Music located on the grounds of the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York...
in Buffalo, prompting his Vice-President Teddy Roosevelt to travel to Buffalo twice: first, after learning of McKinley's shooting, from Isle La Motte, Vermont in Lake Champlain; then, having left Buffalo as McKinley was appearing to recover, from an Adirondack hunting trip upon learning of McKinley's death, to be sworn in as McKinley's successor. Anarchist Leon CzolgoszLeon CzolgoszLeon Czolgosz was the assassin of U.S. President William McKinley.In the last few years of his life, he claimed to have been heavily influenced by anarchists such as Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman.- Early life :...
, McKinley's assassin, was subsequently electrocuted in Auburn PrisonAuburn PrisonAuburn Correctional Facility is a state prison located on State Street in Auburn, New York, built on land that was once a Cayuga Indian Village. It is classified as a maximum security facility....
. - The Northeast Blackout of 1965Northeast Blackout of 1965The Northeast blackout of 1965 was a significant disruption in the supply of electricity on November 9, 1965, affecting Ontario, Canada and Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, New York, and New Jersey in the United States...
- The Northeast Blackout of 2003Northeast Blackout of 2003The Northeast blackout of 2003 was a widespread power outage that occurred throughout parts of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Ontario, Canada on Thursday, August 14, 2003, just before 4:10 p.m....
- The 1848 Seneca Falls ConventionSeneca Falls ConventionThe Seneca Falls Convention was an early and influential women's rights convention held in Seneca Falls, New York, July 19–20, 1848. It was organized by local New York women upon the occasion of a visit by Boston-based Lucretia Mott, a Quaker famous for her speaking ability, a skill rarely...
, the first women's rightsWomen's rightsWomen's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
convention held in the United States - The Battle of SaratogaBattle of SaratogaThe Battles of Saratoga conclusively decided the fate of British General John Burgoyne's army in the American War of Independence and are generally regarded as a turning point in the war. The battles were fought eighteen days apart on the same ground, south of Saratoga, New York...
, turning point of the American Revolutionary War. - The Binghamton shootingsBinghamton shootingsThe Binghamton shootings took place on Friday, April 3, 2009, at the American Civic Association immigration center in Binghamton, New York, United States. At approximately 10:30 a.m. EDT, a naturalized immigrant Jiverly Antares Wong entered the facility and shot numerous people inside...
- Continental Airlines Flight 3407
- the AngolaAngola, New YorkAngola is a village in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 2,266 at the 2000 census. The name is reportedly derived from the South-central African country of Angola...
Horror train wreck, 1867 http://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/wkbkch02.Html - the Cherry Valley massacreCherry Valley massacreThe Cherry Valley Massacre was an attack by British and Seneca forces on a fort and the village of Cherry Valley in eastern New York on the cold, snowy and rainy morning of November 11, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It has been described as one of the most horrific frontier...
, 1778 - The collapse of the New York State ThruwayNew York State ThruwayThe New York State Thruway is a system of limited-access highways located within the state of New York in the United States. The system, known officially as the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway for former New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, is operated by the New York State Thruway Authority and...
Bridge over Schoharie CreekSchoharie CreekSchoharie Creek in New York, USA flows north from the foot of Indian Head Mountain in the Catskill Mountains through the Schoharie Valley to the Mohawk River. It is twice impounded north of Prattsville to create New York City's Schoharie Reservoir and the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project.Two notable...
, 1987 http://www.eng.uab.edu/cee/faculty/ndelatte/case_studies_project/Schoharie.htm - the Split RockSplit Rock, New YorkSplit Rock is a hamlet in the Town of Onondaga in Onondaga County, New York. Today more a historic place than a community, Split Rock is a site of great interest to industrial archeology. The Solvay Process Company developed quarry operations here, delivering limestone used for the Solvay process...
Explosion, 1918 - the Sullivan Campaign, 1779
- The Morgan AffairWilliam Morgan (anti-Mason)William Morgan was a resident of Batavia, New York, whose disappearance and presumed murder in 1826 ignited a powerful movement against the Freemasons, a secret fraternal society that had become influential in the United States...
Journalists
- Gordon AckermanGordon AckermanGordon Ackerman is an American journalist, writer and photographer. He was born in Albany, N.Y. His father, Earl Ackerman, was CEO of a feed manufacturing and grain brokerage firm...
- Samuel Hopkins AdamsSamuel Hopkins AdamsSamuel Hopkins Adams was an American writer, best known for his investigative journalism.-Biography:Adams was born in Dunkirk, New York...
, muckraker, born in Dunkirk - Wolf BlitzerWolf BlitzerWolf Isaac Blitzer is an American journalist who has been a CNN reporter since 1990. Blitzer is currently the host of the newscast The Situation Room and was the host of the Sunday talk show Late Edition until it was discontinued on January 11, 2009...
was raised in BuffaloBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the... - Amy DickinsonAmy DickinsonAmy Dickinson is an American newspaper columnist who writes the syndicated advice column, Ask Amy....
, Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
advice columnist, who grew up on a dairy farm in FreevilleFreeville, New YorkFreeville is a village in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 505 at the 2000 census.The Village of Freeville is in the Town of Dryden and is east of Ithaca.-History:Dryden was in the former Central New York Military Tract.... - Frederick DouglassFrederick DouglassFrederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
(1818–1895), editor and publisher of abolitionist newspapers: The North StarNorth Star (newspaper)The North Star was an anti-slavery newspaper. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass published the North Star until June 1851, when Douglass and Gerrit Smith agreed to merge the North Star with the Liberty Party Paper to form Frederick Douglass's Paper...
, published in Rochester, Frederick Douglass Weekly, Frederick Douglass' Paper, Douglass' Monthly and New National Era. - Ira Joe FisherIra Joe FisherIra Joe Fisher is an American meteorologist and poet. He was the weather reporter for CBS's The Saturday Early Show, a position he held from 1999 until 2006...
, author and weatherman, who was born and raised in Little ValleyLittle Valley (village), New YorkLittle Valley is a village in Cattaraugus County, New York, USA. The population was 1,130 at the 2000 census.The Village of Little Valley is in the northwest corner of the Town of Little Valley.... - Verlyn KlinkenborgVerlyn KlinkenborgVerlyn Klinkenborg is an American non-fiction author. Since 1997, he has been a member of the editorial board of The New York Times. His books include The Rural Life, Making Hay, The Last Fine Time, and Timothy; or, Notes of an Abject Reptile...
, member of the New York Times editorial board; writer and farmer - Francis MallisonFrancis MallisonFrancis Avery Mallison was an American journalist, editor and public servant. A longtime reporter for the Brooklyn Eagle, known under his pen name Francis O'Pake, he and then city editor Joseph Howard, Jr...
of RomeRome, New YorkRome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States. It is located in north-central or "upstate" New York. The population was 44,797 at the 2010 census. It is in New York's 24th congressional district. In 1758, British forces began construction of Fort Stanwix at this strategic location, but...
. Journalist, editor and public servant. Editor of the Rome Sentinel, reporter for the Brooklyn Eagle. He and editor Joseph Howard, Jr. organized the "Great Civil War Gold Hoax", for which he was held as a prisoner of war. - Henry Jarvis RaymondHenry Jarvis RaymondHenry Jarvis Raymond was an American journalist and politician and founder of The New York Times.-Early life and ancestors:...
, born in LimaLima (village), New YorkLima is a village in Livingston County, New York, USA. The population was 2,459 at the 2000 census.The Village of Lima is in the Town of Lima and is nineteen miles south of the city of Rochester, NY.- History :...
, was the founder of the New York Times. He was the newspaper's editor until his death. - Andy Rooney
- Tim RussertTim RussertTimothy John "Tim" Russert was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's Meet the Press. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Washington bureau chief and also hosted the eponymous CNBC/MSNBC weekend interview...
, late host of NBC's Meet the PressMeet the PressMeet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...
, born and raised in BuffaloBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the... - Dorothy ThompsonDorothy ThompsonDorothy Thompson was an American journalist and radio broadcaster, who in 1939 was recognized by Time magazine as the second most influential women in America next to Eleanor Roosevelt...
, born in LancasterLancaster (town), New YorkLancaster is a town in Erie County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the town population has 39,019 residents.The Town of Lancaster has a village also called Lancaster. The Town and Village are currently exploring consolidation of governmental functions. Both town and village are east of... - James Watson WebbJames Watson WebbGeneral James Watson Webb was a United States diplomat, newspaper publisher and a New York politician in the Whig and Republican parties.-Biography:...
, born in ClaverackClaverack, New YorkClaverack is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 6,401 at the 2000 census. The town name is a corruption for the Dutch word for "Clover Fields" or "Clover Reach"....
and raised in CooperstownCooperstown, New YorkCooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
, was the publisher of the New York newspapers the Morning Courier and the New York Enquirer, which he consolidated as the Courier and Enquirer. He also became a United States diplomat and a New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
politician in the WhigWhig Party (United States)The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
and RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
parties. - John ZogbyJohn ZogbyJohn Zogby is an American political pollster and first senior fellow at The Catholic University of America's Life Cycle Institute. He is the founder, president and CEO of Zogby International, a polling firm known for both phone polling and interactive, Internet-based polling.-Early years:Zogby...
of UticaUtica, New YorkUtica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
, pollster and blogger
Social, political and religious movements
- AbolitionismAbolitionismAbolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
- Anti-Masonic PartyAnti-Masonic PartyThe Anti-Masonic Party was the first "third party" in the United States. It strongly opposed Freemasonry and was founded as a single-issue party aspiring to become a major party....
- The Anti-Rent WarAnti-Rent WarThe Anti-Rent War was a tenants' revolt in upstate New York during the early 19th century, beginning with the death of Stephen Van Rensselaer III in 1839....
- Ararat, City of RefugeArarat, City of RefugeArarat, was established as a city of refuge for the Jewish nation, was founded in 1825 by New York politician and playwright Mordecai Manuel Noah, who purchased most of Grand Island, a island near Buffalo, New York...
- BrothertownBrothertown IndiansThe Brothertown Indians are Native American descendants of the Pequot and Mohegan tribes in southern New England...
- The Chautauqua InstitutionChautauqua InstitutionThe Chautauqua Institution is a non-profit adult education center and summer resort located on 750 acres in Chautauqua, New York, 17 miles northwest of Jamestown in the western part of New York State...
- The Frankean SynodFrankean SynodThe Frankean Synod was a Lutheran church body in North America in the 19th century.The Synod was formed by Lutheran pastors in New York who were dissatisfied with their church's position on slavery in 1837...
- GanienkehGanienkehGanienkeh, which translates from Mohawk into Land of the Flint, is a Mohawk community located on about near Altona, New York in the far northeast corner of Upper New York State. It is a rare case of an indigenous people reclaiming land from the United States.-History:In May 1974 Traditionalist...
Territory http://www.ganienkeh.net/ - The InspirationalistsInspirationalistsThe Inspirationalists were a group of Germans, Swiss and Austrians from a number of backgrounds and soci-economic areas who settled in West Seneca, New York, after purchasing land from an Indian reservation...
- KanatsioharekeKanatsioharekeKanatsiohareke is a small Mohawk/Kanienkahaka community on the north bank of the Mohawk River, west of Fonda, New York. Located at the ancient homeland of the Kanienkehaka , it was re-established in September 1993 under the leadership of Thomas Porter, traditional Mohawk/Bear Clan and spiritual...
http://www.peace4turtleisland.org/pages/preservingtradition.htm - Latter Day Saint movementLatter Day Saint movementThe Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
- Lily DaleLily DaleLily Dale is a spiritualist community of the Modern Spiritualist movement located in Chautauqua County, New York, USA. Lily Dale became renowned for Spiritualism when members moved the home of its American founders, Kate and Margaret Fox, to the town after it was purchased in 1927.Lily Dale is a...
- The MilleritesMilleritesThe Millerites were the followers of the teachings of William Miller who, in 1833, first shared publicly his belief in the coming Second Advent of Jesus Christ in roughly the year 1843.-Origins:...
- Modern Spiritualism
- The Oneida CommunityOneida CommunityThe Oneida Community was a religious commune founded by John Humphrey Noyes in 1848 in Oneida, New York. The community believed that Jesus had already returned in the year 70 AD, making it possible for them to bring about Jesus's millennial kingdom themselves, and be free of sin and perfect in this...
- The Second Great AwakeningSecond Great AwakeningThe Second Great Awakening was a Christian revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1800, had begun to gain momentum by 1820, and was in decline by 1870. The Second Great Awakening expressed Arminian theology, by which every person could be...
- The ShakersShakersThe United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, known as the Shakers, is a religious sect originally thought to be a development of the Religious Society of Friends...
- The Universal Friends
- Women's SuffrageWomen's suffrageWomen's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
Spiritual and religious figures
- Jehudi AshmunJehudi AshmunJehudi Ashmun was a religious leader and social reformer who became involved in the American Colonization Society...
, religious leader and social reformer born in Champlain, New YorkChamplain (village), New YorkChamplain is a village in Clinton County, New York, USA. The population was 1,101 at the 2010 census. The village is named after nearby Lake Champlain.The Village of Champlain in located in the Town of Champlain and is north of Plattsburgh.-History:...
. He was an agent of the American Colonization SocietyAmerican Colonization SocietyThe American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...
which promoted the settlement of blacks at Monrovia, Liberia and was effectively governor of the colony from 1824 to 1828. - Antoinette BrownAntoinette BrownAntoinette Louisa Brown, later Antoinette Brown Blackwell , was the first woman to be ordained as a minister in the United States...
, minister, abolitionist and suffragist. Born in HenriettaHenrietta, New YorkHenrietta is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Rochester. The population was 42,581 at the 2010 census. Established in 1818, the town is named after Henrietta Laura Pulteney, Countess of Bath, daughter of Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet, a major British...
, she was the first woman to be ordained as a minister in the United States. She served a congregation in South ButlerButler, New YorkButler is a town in Wayne County, New York, United States. The population was 2,277 at the 2000 census.The Town of Butler is on the east border of the county and is west of Syracuse, New York.- History :Settlement began in 1803....
. - Avery Dulles, S.J., born in AuburnAuburn, New YorkAuburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
- Charles Grandison FinneyCharles Grandison FinneyCharles Grandison Finney was a leader in the Second Great Awakening. He has been called The Father of Modern Revivalism. Finney was best known as an innovative revivalist, an opponent of Old School Presbyterian theology, an advocate of Christian perfectionism, a pioneer in social reforms in favor...
- Harry Emerson FosdickHarry Emerson FosdickHarry Emerson Fosdick was an American clergyman. He was born in Buffalo, New York. He graduated from Colgate University in 1900, and Union Theological Seminary in 1904. While attending Colgate University he joined the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1903 at the...
, clergyman. He was born in Buffalo, and graduated from Colgate University. - David MarksDavid Marks (preacher)David Marks , born in Shandaken, Ulster County, N. Y., on Nov., 4, 1805. At age 13, he set out on foot for Providence, R. I. He walked 368 miles before arriving at Brown University. However, upon his arrival he was informed that tuition would be free, but no other funds were available for boarding...
- George Washington GaleGeorge Washington GaleGeorge Washington Gale was born in Stanford, New York and became a Presbyterian minister in western New York state. A graduate of Union College in 1814, and Princeton Theological Seminary in 1819...
- Handsome LakeHandsome LakeHandsome Lake was a Seneca religious leader of the Iroquois people. He was also half-brother to Cornplanter....
- Mother Ann Lee
- Oren LyonsOren LyonsOren R. Lyons, Jr. is a Native American Faithkeeper of the turtle clan of the Onondaga and Seneca Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Once a college lacrosse player, Lyons is now a recognized advocate of indigenous rights....
- William Miller (preacher)William Miller (preacher)William Miller was an American Baptist preacher who is credited with beginning the mid-nineteenth century North American religious movement now known as Adventism. Among his direct spiritual heirs are several major religious denominations, including Seventh-day Adventists and Advent Christians...
- Mordecai Manuel NoahMordecai Manuel NoahMordecai Manuel Noah was an American playwright, diplomat, journalist, and utopian...
- John Humphrey NoyesJohn Humphrey NoyesJohn Humphrey Noyes was an American utopian socialist. He founded the Oneida Community in 1848. He coined the term "free love".-Early activism:...
- Walter RauschenbuschWalter RauschenbuschWalter Rauschenbusch was a Christian theologian and Baptist minister. He was a key figure in the Social Gospel movement in the United States of America.-Evolution of Thought:...
, a Christian theologian, Baptist minister and a key figure in the Social GospelSocial GospelThe Social Gospel movement is a Protestant Christian intellectual movement that was most prominent in the early 20th century United States and Canada...
movement in the United States, was born in RochesterRochester, New YorkRochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. His father was a preacher who taught at the Rochester Theological Seminary. - Joseph SmithJoseph SmithJoseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father of Joseph Smith...
- Kateri TekakwithaKateri TekakwithaKateri Tekakwitha or Catherine Tekakwitha was a Mohawk-Algonquian woman from New York and an early convert to Catholicism, who has been beatified in the Roman Catholic Church.-Her life:...
- Jemima WilkinsonJemima WilkinsonJemima Wilkinson was a charismatic American evangelist who preached total sexual abstinence and the Ten Commandments to her congregation of "Universal Friends." Her family were strict Quakers, most of her views were from her upbringing in the Quaker religion.As a young woman, she was plagued by a...
Major cities
- AlbanyAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
(the state capital) - AuburnAuburn, New YorkAuburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
- BinghamtonBinghamton, New YorkBinghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
- BuffaloBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
(the second most populous city in the stateU.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, after New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
) - CortlandCortland, New YorkCortland is a city in Cortland County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 18,740. It is the county seat of Cortland County.The City of Cortland, near the west border of the county, is surrounded by the Town of Cortlandville....
- ElmiraElmira, New YorkElmira is a city in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses Chemung County, New York. The population was 29,200 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Chemung County.The City of Elmira is located in...
- Glens FallsGlens Falls, New YorkGlens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States. Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census...
- IthacaIthaca, New YorkThe city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
- JamestownJamestown, New YorkJamestown is a city in Chautauqua County, New York in the United States. The population was 31,146 at the 2010 census.The City of Jamestown is adjacent to Town of Ellicott and is at the southern tip of Chautauqua Lake...
- KingstonKingston, New YorkKingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
- MiddletownMiddletown, Orange County, New YorkMiddletown is a city in Orange County, New York, United States. It lies in New York's Hudson Valley region, near the Wallkill River and the foothills of the Shawangunk Mountains. Middletown is situated between Port Jervis and Newburgh, New York. The city's population was 25,388 at the 2000 census...
- Newburgh
- Niagara FallsNiagara Falls, New YorkNiagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 50,193, down from the 55,593 recorded in the 2000 census. It is across the Niagara River from Niagara Falls, Ontario , both named after the famed Niagara Falls which they...
- PlattsburghPlattsburgh (city), New YorkPlattsburgh is a city in and county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States. The population was 19,989 at the 2010 census. The population of the unincorporated areas within the Town of Plattsburgh was 11,870 as of the 2010 census; making the population for the immediate, urban Plattsburgh,...
- PoughkeepsiePoughkeepsie (city), New YorkPoughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
- Rochester
- RomeRome, New YorkRome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States. It is located in north-central or "upstate" New York. The population was 44,797 at the 2010 census. It is in New York's 24th congressional district. In 1758, British forces began construction of Fort Stanwix at this strategic location, but...
- Saratoga SpringsSaratoga Springs, New YorkSaratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...
- SchenectadySchenectady, New YorkSchenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
- SyracuseSyracuse, New YorkSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
- TroyTroy, New YorkTroy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
- UticaUtica, New YorkUtica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
- WatertownWatertown (city), New YorkWatertown is a city in the state of New York and the county seat of Jefferson County. It is situated approximately south of the Thousand Islands. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 27,023, an increase of 1.2% since 2000. The U.S...
Major highways
- The New York State ThruwayNew York State ThruwayThe New York State Thruway is a system of limited-access highways located within the state of New York in the United States. The system, known officially as the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway for former New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, is operated by the New York State Thruway Authority and...
- The Adirondack Northway
- The Taconic State ParkwayTaconic State ParkwayThe Taconic State Parkway , is a divided highway between Kensico Dam and Chatham, the longest parkway in the U.S. state of New York. It follows a generally northward route midway between the Hudson River and the Connecticut and Massachusetts state lines...
- Interstate 81Interstate 81Interstate 81 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island at the Canadian border, where the Thousand Islands Bridge connects it to Highway 401, the main freeway...
- Interstate 84Interstate 84 (east)Interstate 84 is an Interstate Highway extending from Dunmore, Pennsylvania at an interchange with Interstate 81 to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, at an interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike . I-84 has mile-log junction numbering in Pennsylvania; otherwise, exit numbers are roughly sequential...
- Interstate 86Interstate 86 (east)Interstate 86 is an Interstate Highway that extends for through northwestern Pennsylvania and southern New York in the United States...
, incorporating the Southern Tier Expressway and the Quickway - Interstate 87Interstate 87Interstate 87 is a Interstate Highway located entirely within New York State in the United States of America. I-87 is the longest intrastate Interstate highway in the Interstate Highway System. Its southern end is at the Bronx approaches of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge in New York City...
- Interstate 88Interstate 88 (east)Interstate 88 is an intrastate Interstate Highway entirely within the U.S. state of New York. Its western end is at Interstate 81 in Binghamton and its eastern end is at Interstate 90 in Schenectady. It serves as an important connector route from Albany to Binghamton, Elmira , and...
- Interstate 90Interstate 90Interstate 90 is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It is the northernmost coast-to-coast interstate, and parallels US 20 for the most part. Its western terminus is in Seattle, at Edgar Martinez Drive S. near Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, and its eastern terminus is in...
Major tourist attractions and destinations
- Adirondack MountainsAdirondack MountainsThe Adirondack Mountains are a mountain range located in the northeastern part of New York, that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties....
- Ausable ChasmAusable ChasmAusable Chasm is a sandstone gorge tourist attraction located near Keeseville, New York. The Ausable River runs through it, which then empties into Lake Champlain....
- Baseball Hall of Fame (in CooperstownCooperstown, New YorkCooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
) - Catskill MountainsCatskill MountainsThe Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
- Corning Museum of GlassCorning Museum of GlassThe Corning Museum of Glass, in Corning, New York, explores every facet of glass, including art, history, culture, science and technology, craft, and design....
- Darien Lake
- Erie CanalErie CanalThe Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
- Farmers' MuseumFarmers' MuseumThe Farmers' Museum is located in Cooperstown, New York, and is probably the second-best-known attraction in the town, after the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum....
(in CooperstownCooperstown, New YorkCooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
) - Finger LakesFinger LakesThe Finger Lakes are a pattern of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York in the United States. They are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are long and thin , each oriented roughly on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, are among the deepest in...
- Fort NiagaraFort NiagaraFort Niagara is a fortification originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, New York, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.-Origin:...
- Fort OntarioFort OntarioFort Ontario is a historic fort situated by the City of Oswego, in Oswego County, New York in the United States of America. It is owned by the state of New York and operated as a museum known as Fort Ontario State Historic Site....
- Fort TiconderogaFort TiconderogaFort Ticonderoga, formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century fort built by the Canadians and the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in upstate New York in the United States...
- Fort StanwixFort StanwixFort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction was started on August 26, 1758, by British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The fort guarded a portage known as the Oneida Carrying Place during the French and Indian War...
- The Great Escape & Splashwater KingdomThe Great Escape & Splashwater KingdomThe Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom is an amusement and waterpark located in Queensbury, New York. It is advertised as being located in Lake George, New York...
- Howe CavernsHowe CavernsHowe Caverns is a cave in Howes Cave, Schoharie County, New York.-Geology:Geologists believe that the formation of the cave, which lies below ground, began several million years ago...
- International Boxing Hall of FameInternational Boxing Hall of FameThe modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
(in CanastotaCanastota, New YorkCanastota is a village located inside the Town of Lenox in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 4,425 at the 2000 census.The Village of Canastota is in the south part of the Town of Lenox.- History :...
) - Lake GeorgeLake George (New York)Lake George, nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes, is a long, narrow oligotrophic lake draining northwards into Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River Drainage basin located at the southeast base of the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York, U.S.A.. It lies within the upper region of the...
- Lake Placid, NY
- Letchworth State ParkLetchworth State ParkLetchworth State Park is a New York state park located 35 miles southwest of Rochester and 60 miles southeast of Buffalo in Livingston and Wyoming counties. The park is roughly 17 miles long, covering of land along the Genesee River...
- Niagara FallsNiagara FallsThe Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
- Saratoga Race CourseSaratoga Race CourseSaratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...
- Seabreeze Amusement ParkSeabreeze Amusement ParkSeabreeze Amusement Park, known locally as Seabreeze, is an historic amusement park in Irondequoit, a suburb of Rochester, New York, United States.Seabreeze is in northeast Irondequoit, where Irondequoit Bay empties into Lake Ontario...
- Soccer Hall of Fame (in OneontaOneonta, New YorkOneonta is a city in southern Otsego County, New York, USA. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, had a population of 13,901. Its nickname is "City of the Hills." While the word "oneonta" is of undetermined origin, it is popularly believed to mean "place of open rocks" in the Iroquois language...
) - Sylvan BeachSylvan Beach, New YorkSylvan Beach is a village in Oneida County, New York, USA. The population was 1,071 at the 2000 census.The Village of Sylvan Beach is in the western end of the Town of Vienna.Verona Beach State Park is south of the village on Route 13.- History :...
- SyracuseSyracuse, New YorkSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
- Thousand IslandsThousand IslandsThe Thousand Islands is the name of an archipelago of islands that straddle the Canada-U.S. border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about downstream from Kingston, Ontario. The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario, the...
- Turning Stone Resort & Casino (in VeronaVerona, New YorkVerona is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 6,425 at the 2000 census. The source of the town name is unknown, though it's possibly named after Verona, Italy....
)
Major universities and colleges
- PublicPublic universityA public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
- State University of New YorkState University of New YorkThe State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
(SUNY)- SUNY AlfredAlfred State CollegeAlfred State College is a State University of New York College of Technology located in Alfred, New York in Allegany County. This college, formerly the Agricultural and Technical College at Alfred, now grants baccalaureate degrees in 18 areas, associate degrees in nearly 60 areas, as well as a...
- SUNY AlbanyUniversity at Albany, The State University of New YorkThe State University of New York at Albany, also known as University at Albany, State University of New York, SUNY Albany or simply UAlbany, is a public university located in Albany, Guilderland, and East Greenbush, New York, United States; is the senior campus of the State University of New York ...
- SUNY Binghamton
- SUNY BrockportState University of New York at BrockportThe College at Brockport: State University of New York, also known as SUNY Brockport, Brockport State, College at Brockport, or the State University of New York at Brockport, is a four-year liberal arts college located in Brockport, Monroe County, New York, United States, near Rochester...
- SUNY University at BuffaloUniversity at Buffalo, The State University of New YorkUniversity at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...
- SUNY College at BuffaloBuffalo State CollegeThe State University of New York College at Buffalo, referred to as Buffalo State College, often referred to colloquially as Buff State, is a public, liberal arts college in Buffalo, New York, United States and is part of the State University of New York. Buffalo State was founded in 1871 as the...
- SUNY CobleskillState University of New York at CobleskillThe State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskillis an accredited polytechnic college that is primarily baccalaureate and residential. SUNY Cobleskill is one of few institutions in the United States where an undergraduate student may also choose to earn an...
- SUNY CortlandState University of New York at CortlandThe State University of New York College at Cortland, also officially called SUNY Cortland or informally known as Cortland State, is a coeducational university located in Cortland, New York...
- Empire State CollegeEmpire State CollegeEmpire State College, one of the thirteen arts and science colleges of the State University of New York, is a multi-site institution offering associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. It is primarily oriented towards the adult learner...
- SUNY ESF
- SUNY FredoniaState University of New York at FredoniaThe State University of New York at Fredonia is a four-year liberal arts college located in Fredonia, New York, United States; it is a constituent college of the State University of New York...
- SUNY GeneseoState University of New York at GeneseoThe State University of New York at Geneseo—also known as SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo State, or, colloquially, Geneseo—is located in Geneseo, Livingston County, New York, United States. It is a University College of the State University of New York...
- SUNY Institute of TechnologyState University of New York Institute of TechnologyThe State University of New York Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome is a campus of the State University of New York located just north of Utica in the town of Marcy. Established by the SUNY Board of Trustees on June 14, 1966, SUNYIT is the State of New York's public institute of technology....
in Utica/Rome - SUNY New PaltzState University of New York at New PaltzThe State University of New York at New Paltz, known as SUNY New Paltz for short, is a public university in New Paltz, New York. It was founded in 1828 as the School for teaching of classics. In 1885, the New Paltz Normal and Training School was established as a school to prepare teachers for the...
- SUNY OneontaState University of New York at OneontaThe State University of New York College at Oneonta is a four-year liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York, United States, with approximately 5,800 students. The College offers many bachelor's degrees and a number of graduate degrees...
- SUNY OswegoState University of New York at OswegoState University of New York at Oswego, also known as SUNY Oswego and Oswego State, is a public university in the City of Oswego and Town of Oswego, New York, on the shore of Lake Ontario...
- SUNY PlattsburghState University of New York at PlattsburghThe State University of New York at Plattsburgh is a four-year, public liberal arts college in Plattsburgh, New York. The college was founded in 1889 and opened in 1890. The college is currently part of the State University of New York system and is accredited by the Middle States Association of...
- SUNY PotsdamState University of New York at PotsdamThe State University of New York at Potsdam, also known as SUNY Potsdam, or, colloquially, Potsdam, is a public university located in the Village of Potsdam in St. Lawrence County, New York. Founded in 1816, it is among the 50 oldest colleges in the United States...
- SUNY Upstate Medical UniversityState University of New York Upstate Medical UniversityThe State University of New York Upstate Medical University is a State University of New York university of health sciences in the University Hill district of Syracuse, New York, USA. SUNY Upstate is an upper-division transfer and graduate college with degree programs within the College of...
- SUNY Alfred
- United States Military Academy at West Point
- State University of New York
- Private
- Alfred UniversityAlfred UniversityAlfred University is a small, comprehensive university in the Village of Alfred in Western New York, USA, an hour and a half south of Rochester and two hours southeast of Buffalo. Alfred has an undergraduate population of around 2,000, and approximately 300 graduate students...
- Bard CollegeBard CollegeBard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
- Canisius CollegeCanisius CollegeCanisius College is a private Roman Catholic college in Buffalo, New York, United States. The college was founded in 1870 by members of the Society of Jesus from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. The college is one of 28 institutions in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and...
- Clarkson UniversityClarkson University-The Clarkson School:The Clarkson School, a special division of Clarkson University, was founded in 1978 as a unique educational opportunity. The School offers students an early entrance opportunity into college, replacing the typical senior year of high school with a year of college...
- The College of Saint RoseThe College of Saint RoseThe College of Saint Rose is a private, independent, coeducational college in Albany, New York, founded in 1920 by the Sisters of Saint Joseph. The College enrolls a total of approximately 5,000 students ....
- Colgate UniversityColgate UniversityColgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
- Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
- D'Youville CollegeD'Youville CollegeD'Youville College is a private, coeducational college, independent but with a Roman Catholic tradition. It is located on the West Side of Buffalo, New York, a few blocks from the international Peace Bridge, and has students from around the world...
- Elmira CollegeElmira CollegeElmira College is a coeducational private liberal arts college located in Elmira, in New York State's Southern Tier region.The college is noted as the oldest college still in existence which granted degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men...
- Hamilton College
- Hartwick CollegeHartwick CollegeHartwick College is a non-denominational, private, four-year liberal arts and sciences college located in Oneonta, New York, in the United States. The institution was founded as Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick, and is now known as Hartwick College...
- Hobart and William Smith CollegesHobart and William Smith CollegesHobart and William Smith Colleges, located in Geneva, New York, are together a liberal arts college offering Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Teaching degrees. In athletics, however, the two schools compete with separate teams, known as the Hobart Statesmen and the...
- Houghton CollegeHoughton CollegeHoughton College is a Christian liberal arts college affiliated with the Wesleyan Church. The college is a member of both the Christian College Consortium and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities...
- Ithaca CollegeIthaca CollegeIthaca College is a private college located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. The school was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music. The college has a strong liberal arts core, but also offers several pre-professional programs and some graduate programs. The college is...
- Keuka CollegeKeuka CollegeFounded in 1890 and located on the shores of Keuka Lake in New York State’s Finger Lakes region, Keuka College is an independent, four-year, residential, coeducational college that places emphasis on career and pre-professional education....
- Le Moyne CollegeLe Moyne CollegeLe Moyne College, named after Simon Le Moyne, is a private, Jesuit college enrolling over 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1946, Le Moyne is the first Jesuit college to be founded as a co-educational institution...
- Marist CollegeMarist CollegeMarist College is a private liberal arts college on the east bank of the Hudson River near Poughkeepsie, New York. The site was established in 1905 by Marist Brothers, and the college was chartered in 1929...
- Mount Saint Mary CollegeMount Saint Mary CollegeMount Saint Mary College is a private, co-educational, four-year liberal arts college, located in Newburgh in the mid-Hudson Valley region of New York State...
- Nazareth CollegeNazareth College (New York)Nazareth College of Rochester, NY, is a private liberal arts college in Pittsford, New York, a suburb of Rochester.-History:Nazareth was founded in 1924 by the Sisters of St. Joseph. The first class, comprising 25 young women, began their studies in a large mansion on Lake Avenue in Rochester, New...
- Niagara UniversityNiagara UniversityNiagara University is a Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition, located in the Town of Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. Originally founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1856 as Our Lady of Angels Seminary, it became Niagara University in 1883. The University is still run by...
- Paul Smith's CollegePaul Smith's CollegePaul Smith's College is a private college and is the only four year institution of higher education located within the boundary of the Adirondack State Park in Upstate New York...
- Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteStephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
- Roberts Wesleyan CollegeRoberts Wesleyan CollegeRoberts Wesleyan College is a Christian liberal arts college located in North Chili, New York. It is the first educational institution established for Free Methodists in North America...
- University of RochesterUniversity of RochesterThe University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
- Rochester Institute of TechnologyRochester Institute of TechnologyThe Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...
- Russell Sage CollegeRussell Sage CollegeRussell Sage College is a women's college located in Troy, New York, approximately north of New York City in the Capital District. It is one of the three colleges that make up The Sage Colleges...
- St. Bonaventure UniversitySt. Bonaventure UniversitySt. Bonaventure University is a private, Franciscan Catholic university, located in Allegany, Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. It has roughly 2,400 undergraduate and graduate students....
- St John Fisher College
- St. Lawrence UniversitySt. Lawrence UniversitySt. Lawrence University is a four-year liberal arts college located in the village of Canton in Saint Lawrence County, New York, United States. It has roughly 2300 undergraduate and 100 graduate students, about equally split between male and female....
- Skidmore CollegeSkidmore CollegeSkidmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. The college is located in the town of Saratoga Springs, New York State....
- Siena CollegeSiena CollegeSiena College is an independent Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Loudonville, in the town of Colonie, New York, United States. Siena is a four-year, coeducational, independent college in the Franciscan tradition, founded by the Franciscan Friars in 1937. It has 3,000 full-time students and...
- Syracuse UniversitySyracuse UniversitySyracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
- Union CollegeUnion CollegeUnion College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...
- Utica CollegeUtica CollegeUtica College is a private university located in Utica, New York. The history of the college dates back to the 1930s when Syracuse University began offering extension courses in the Utica area. Syracuse University established Utica College as a four-year institution in 1946, and in 1995, UC ...
- Vassar CollegeVassar CollegeVassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
- Wells CollegeWells CollegeWells College is a private coeducational liberal arts college located in Aurora, Cayuga County, New York, on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake. Initially an all-women's institution, Wells became a co-ed college in Fall 2005....
- Alfred University
Subregions
- Adirondack MountainsAdirondack MountainsThe Adirondack Mountains are a mountain range located in the northeastern part of New York, that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties....
- Capital DistrictCapital DistrictNew York's Capital District, also known as the Capital Region, is a region in upstate New York that generally refers to the four counties surrounding Albany, the capital of the state: Albany County, Schenectady County, Rensselaer County, and Saratoga County...
(AlbanyAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
and the surrounding area) - Catskill MountainsCatskill MountainsThe Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
- Central-Leatherstocking Region (includes CooperstownCooperstown, New YorkCooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
) - Central New YorkCentral New YorkCentral New York is a term used to broadly describe the central region of New York State, roughly including the following counties and cities:...
(SyracuseSyracuse, New YorkSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
and the surrounding area) - Finger LakesFinger LakesThe Finger Lakes are a pattern of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York in the United States. They are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are long and thin , each oriented roughly on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, are among the deepest in...
(between RochesterRochester, New YorkRochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
and SyracuseSyracuse, New YorkSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
) - The Holland Purchase
- Hudson ValleyHudson ValleyThe Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
(except Rockland CountyRockland County, New YorkRockland County is a suburban county 15 miles to the northwest of Manhattan and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area, in the U.S. state of New York. It is the southernmost county in New York west of the Hudson River, and the smallest county in New York outside of New York City. The...
and Westchester CountyWestchester County, New YorkWestchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
, though in general increasingly part of the New York metro area culturally)