O’Neill, the Schenectady Swindler
For a while now we’ve been interested in the story of Emmett O’Neill, the Schenectady Swindler. We hadn’t heard of him before he popped up along with some other research […]
From canal to boulevard
Imagine giving a weeklong exposition, with parade and fireworks, to celebrate the opening and lighting of a new street.
“All Who Attended Were Well Pleased.”
More for amusement than for historical edification, we present this clipping from an 1867 edition of the Schenectady Evening Star. We haven’t dug in to exactly who Prof. Shepard was […]
Crossing State (And Building a New Union Station)
When Schenectady was a sleepy backwater, having numerous trains go across the main business street, just feet from the Erie Canal, was probably not much more than a nuisance. But […]
How Well Do You Know Schenectady?
On Dec. 30, 1911, the Schenectady Gazette asked on its front page, “Do You Know Your Own City?” It then posed questions about Schenectady that “will be answered by the […]
The Hotel Vendome (and any number of other names)
For those of us who grew up around Schenectady in the 1950s or 1960s, the northeast corner of State and Broadway seemed long settled as the home of the Woolworth’s […]
Death and Debauchery
We’ve been fascinated by this one for some time, for reasons not entirely clear even to us. We don’t usually publish true crime and the like, but now and then […]
Dr. Jones’ Beaver Oil: No Beaver, No Dr. Jones
In talking about Lebbeus Burton of Troy, the druggist whose fortune founded an orphans’ home that is still in use today, we touched on the seemingly unlikely cure of Dr. […]
Beaver Oil, Root Beer, and Orphans
Looking up these old local stories is nearly always a venture down a rabbit hole, and it’s usually a question of where to stop. One little detail catches the eye, […]
The Albany Police Bill
There was a time when the organization of the Albany police department was a very hot political issue. That time was 1896. Back in the days when there were two […]