New York Trivia & Tidbits - Page 6

Looking for New York trivia? Try our list New York little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

The 1842 Federal Hall National Memorial in New York City replaced the original hall, demolished in 1812, where the Stamp Act Congress convened in 1765 and the Bill of Rights was signed in 1789.

first appeared: 11/6/2005

Approaching the port of New York in fog, the 45,000-ton Olympic, sister of the ill-fated Titanic, struck and sank the Nantucket Shoals Lightship in 1934. Four men went down with the ship; three others died later from injuries.

first appeared: 10/23/2005

Val-Kill, a modest stone home set among trees and ponds in Hyde Park (pop. 20,851), was the beloved retreat of Eleanor Roosevelt. It is the only National Historic Site dedicated to a first lady.

first appeared: 10/9/2005

A 40-mile mountain bike race, the Black Fly Challenge courses through the Moose River Recreation Area in the Adirondack Mountains between Inlet (pop. 406) and Indian Lake (pop. 1,471). PENNSYLVANIA—In 1946, James Herr bought a small potato chip business—two iron kettles, a potato peeler and slicer, and a pickup truck—for $1,750 in Lancaster (pop. 56,348). Today, Herr Foods Inc., based in Nottingham (pop. 2,522), is the nation’s third largest snack food company.

first appeared: 9/25/2005

Industrialist Henry Quackenbush of Herkimer (pop. 7,498) is best known for his 1878 invention of the nutcracker and nutpick.

first appeared: 9/18/2005

The Big Duck has enticed travelers through its door since 1931. Farmer Martin Maurer built the 20-foot-tall roadside attraction in Riverhead (pop. 10,513) to boost sales of his ducks and eggs. Now located in Flanders (pop. 3,646) at the Sears Bellow County Park, the structure is a tourist center and gift shop and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

first appeared: 9/11/2005

The American Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was founded in New York City on April 10, 1866, by Henry Bergh to curb the abuse of working horses and stray cats and dogs. Nine days later, the state Legislature enacted an anti-cruelty-to-animals law.

first appeared: 8/28/2005

The state of New York’s Leatherstocking region, bound by interstates 81, 88 and 90, got its name from a deerskin garment worn by early settlers to protect their clothing from forest underbrush and brambles, and also from James Fenimore Cooper’s series of novels set in the region and collectively known as the Leatherstocking Tales.

first appeared: 8/28/2005

Charles Loring Brace (1826-1890) founded the Children’s Aid Society of New York in 1853 and established, in 1854, the orphan trains that transported children from the crowded, poverty-stricken streets of New York City to Midwestern and Western farms, where they were adopted. Orphan trains were discontinued in 1930.

first appeared: 8/14/2005

Raised on a farm near Mohawk (pop. 2,660), identical twins Leigh and Leslie Keno are best known for their roles as antique experts on the popular PBS show Antiques Roadshow.

first appeared: 7/31/2005

Missionary Eleazer Williams, the son of a St. Regis Indian chief and a white woman, accompanied the Oneida Indians to a reservation in Wisconsin in 1822. Returning to New York in 1850, he claimed to be the kidnapped son of French King Louis XVI. He died in 1858 and was buried in Hogansburg near Massena (pop. 11,209). His remains were moved to Oneida, Wis., in 1947

first appeared: 7/31/2005

The Dunbar Apartments in New York City were the "first large cooperative built for blacks," according to the city’s Landmarks Commission. Built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. in 1927, the building was home to Arctic explorer Matthew Henson and actor/singer Paul Robeson.

first appeared: 7/17/2005

Opened in 1823, the Champlain Canal connected Lake Champlain to the Hudson River. Historic features of this commercial canal still are visible along the route.

first appeared: 6/19/2005

Since the 19th century, when its abundant mineral waters made it the "Queen of Spas," Saratoga Springs (pop. 26,186) has flourished as a center of health and history.

first appeared: 6/5/2005

Large ice jams at the confluence of West Canada Creek and the Mohawk River were blamed for the Great Flood of 1910, which placed many parts of Herkimer (pop. 7,498) under 3 feet of water and stopped electric trolleys in their tracks. Fortunately, no lives were lost.

first appeared: 5/22/2005

Born in 1847 in Herkimer, Henry M. Quackenbush invented the nutcracker and nutpick in 1878. He patented a spring-jointed, nickel-plated steel version of the cracker and pick set 35 years later.

first appeared: 5/22/2005

Founded in 1900 by financier Spencer Trask and his poet wife Katrina, Yaddo is an artists’ community located on a 400-acre estate in Saratoga Springs (pop. 26,186). Its mission is to nurture the creative process in a supportive environment.

first appeared: 5/8/2005

The Chautauqua Institution, a 750-acre educational center adjacent to Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York, offers a blend of arts and recreational activities during nine weeks each summer. Founded in 1874 as the Chautauqua Lake Sunday School Assembly, the organization began the nation’s oldest continuous book club, the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (CLSC), in 1878.

first appeared: 4/24/2005

Opened in 1927 with 6,000 seats, the Roxy Theater in New York City was dubbed "The Cathedral of the Motion Picture." Declining attendance led to its razing in the 1960s.

first appeared: 4/10/2005

The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse in Barker (pop. 577) was constructed in 1875 to mark a sandbar and shoal in Lake Ontario. Located 30 miles east of the mouth of the Niagara River, the 70-foot-tall tower and keeper’s house are the centerpiece of Golden Hill State Park.

first appeared: 3/27/2005

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