Hey everyone welcome back! In this episode we will go into the history and folklore of one of the best known towns in the Hudson Valley, Sleepy Hollow. We will dive into the Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving and discuss the colonial and Indigenous history of the region. We will also cover the history of enslavement in NY and the four main cultures which create the unique cultural history of Sleepy Hollow, Leni-Lenape, Dutch, African, and English.

We will visit Philipsburg Manor https://hudsonvalley.org/historic-sites/philipsburg-manor/ a Dutch manor house, Kingsland Point Park where you can connect with the mighty Hudson River and it's deep history https://parks.westchestergov.com/kingsland-point-park The Tarrytown Historical Society is also worth a stop https://www.thehistoricalsociety.net/ . Some of the food and beverage stops I recommend are Coffee Labs https://www.coffeelabs.com/ The Cube Inn https://thecubeinn.net/ and Beekman Ale House https://www.beekmanalehouse.com/ This episode is intended to be part one of a three part series on the Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, and Irvington area culminating with a spooky folklore episode in October so watch this space!

In this episode I explore the conflict between the French, British and their respective Indigenous allies known as the French and Indian War. Scenic Lake George New York was the site of battles, massacres, and sieges between 1755 and 1757 and saw some of the bloodiest fighting of the war. These events inspired NY author James Fenimore Cooper to write the great American novel The Last of the Mohicans. After a longer than usual historical narrative (extra background was necessary for this one) I of course go into how to visit the sites, where to eat, parking, and bathrooms!

The two sites I cover are Lake George Battlefield, https://lakegeorgebattlefield.org/visitor-center/ and The Fort William Henry Museum, https://www.fwhmuseum.com/ Some restaurants I recommend are the Lakeside at the Fort William Henry Hotel, https://www.fortwilliamhenry.com/resort-overview/dining-and-nightlife/lakeside-restaurant-lounge/ and the Adirondack Brewery https://adkbrewery.com/ .

As always checkout our website for pictures and more details!

Empire State History – Your guide to all things New York History!

In this episode of the podcast I delve into the fascinating and inspiring narrative history of Eleanor Roosevelt. The first part of the episode is a mini-bio of her life and times and the latter part is a guide of how to visit the site and what you can expect to see there.

https://www.nps.gov/elro/index.htm Here's the park website to help you plan your visit. Tours are free and run hourly on the half hour. You will be visiting Eleanor's furniture factory Val-Kill where she helped to teach the rural poor carpentry and other trades. Later in life she converted the factory into her personal residence and that is the period the museum interprets.

If you are looking to eat in the area I recommend picking something up from Rossi's and having a picnic, also great Italian pastries from La Deliziosa in Poughkeepsie NY. https://www.rossideli.com/ https://www.ladeliziosany.com/ I encourage you to get out and visit Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site and learn all about Eleanor!

In Episode 2 I dive into the history of and how to visit FDR National Historic Site aka Springwood in Hyde Park NY. Springwood was the home of president Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The site also contains the visitor’s center and the Presidential Library and museum which contains a huge amount of interpretive signs about FDR and interactive exhibits.

Here’s the website to help plan your visit https://www.nps.gov/hofr/index.htm

I don’t cover everything about FDR or the Roosevelts in the episode because that is beyond the scope of this podcast but I do give a mini-biography covering what I consider the main points of his career including his term as governor of NY, the Depression, the New Deal, the presidency and of course World War Two.