New York State Archives

10/21/2026

A man operates an apple parer at Old Fort in Schoharie, New York. A slice of old-fashioned apple ingenuity for National Apple Day! 🍎

https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/Detail/objects/3450

10/21/2026

How do you like them apples? 🍎 This huge pile of apples sits beside an evaporator building in Niagara County, circa 1911. Before refrigerated shipping became widespread, these historic agricultural buildings were used to peel, slice, and dry apples for preservation and sale. After World War I, the rise of modern refrigeration helped bring the commercial apple-drying industry to an end.

https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/Detail/objects/530

10/21/2026

Seats are still available for NYS Archives webinar, “Digital Imaging,” held on November 5 at 10 AM. Register online today!

Registration for this webinar will close at 4 PM on the business day prior to the session. All webinars are recorded for future viewing.

10/17/2026

: On October 17, 1777, British Lt. General John Burgoyne surrendered to Major General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, a pivotal moment in the Revolutionary War.

Standing 155 feet tall, the Saratoga Monument commemorates the American victory at the Battles of Saratoga. The monument’s cornerstone was laid on the 100th anniversary of the battle in 1877, and its capstone was placed five years later.

https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/Detail/objects/7246

10/16/2026

The historic Senate House was originally built in 1676 and merged traditional Dutch and English styles. Originally the house of the merchant Abraham Van Gaasbeek, it became the meeting place for the first New York State Senate in 1777.

British soldiers set it ablaze on October 16 of that year—along with most of the surrounding capital city of Kingston—but shortly thereafter it was rebuilt. The state acquired the property in 1887 and, in 1927, built a museum nearby to display the growing historical collection.

10/15/2026

Feeling grouchy? You’re in good company! Celebrate National Grouch Day with Oscar the Grouch, pictured here in 1969 on Sesame Street.

You can also visit him (and his pet worm Slimey) at the New York State Museum!

10/14/2026

High School students in Fossil Mammal Hall at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC (1900).

https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/Detail/objects/2384

10/14/2026

This recipe for the Schuyler Wedding Cake of 1690, from Mrs. Richard Schuyler of Ballston Spa, called for a staggering 12 dozen eggs, 46 pounds of raisins, and 12 teaspoons of pearl ash. Mixed in a large oaken tub and baked for 16 hours, this historic recipe was collected for the 1941 State Almanac by researcher J. A. DeHollander.

https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/Detail/objects/47329

10/13/2026

Are you just starting to look into your family’s history? Did you know New York State residents can view several of our genealogy-rich records series online for free via Ancestry.com New York? Visit the sign-up page on our website to learn how to create an account:

https://www.archives.nysed.gov/research/how-to-video-ancestry

10/12/2026

Is anything better than pure maple syrup? A farmer carries a sap bucket at Woodview Farms Maple Sugar Camp in this 1940s photograph, documenting a day of work in New York’s agricultural past. This image is from the Division of Agricultural Promotion Services’ publicity photographs.

https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/Detail/objects/101900