If it were not for the blue and yellow cast-iron
signs that punctuate the landscape, you might never know
that you were passing the homestead of Jedidiah Peck, who
founded the New York public school system (2 ½ miles east
of Burlington) or that you lived near an 1808 tollgate on
the Western Turnpike (US 20 at East Springfield).
Historical
markers can alert passersby to the events and personalities
of the past. In this region of New York those markers tell
of the Mohawk and Leni Lenape, of the Underground Railroad
and the Ithaca & Owego Railroad, of Friedrich Wilhelm
Baron Von Steuben and George Eastman. Some events have
been of great importance – for example, the first Women’s
Rights Convention at Seneca Falls – and some markers
denote facts of obscure interest (the site of the law office
in New Berlin of Lincoln’s Interior Secretary, John
Usher).
These historical markers have been collected
and their information expanded in Sure
Signs: Stories Behind the Historical Markers of Central New
York by Auburn resident Howard
S. Ford. A retired financial planner, Mr. Ford spent
about nine years traveling this section of New York State
and researching its history. It is a long and complicated
history of Iroquois settlement and contact with Europeans,
recurring warfare (many of the markers, like much of history,
records bloody conflict) and the American Revolution. Ford’s
book tells of a land of religious fervor and of industrial
development with important developments in fields from education
to agriculture.
The signs themselves can come from many sources. The history
of official historical markers only dates back to the
1920s, when the New York State Education Department was
directed to place markers in observance of the 150th anniversary
of American independence. Today most historical markers
are sponsored by local historical societies, schools and
even private individuals. No special permission is needed
to erect a historical marker on private property, and although
the Education Department recommends that a professional
historian review the text, there is no requirement that
the information be accurate.
Most historical markers in New York State are manufactured
at Catskill Castings in
Bloomville, Delaware County. The facts stated on the sign
are limited to about 150 letters (including spaces and punctuation)
so any marker must be a brief summary, hence the value of
a book like “Sure Signs”.
Author Howard Ford joins Bill
Jaker on OFF THE PAGE to tell about this region’s fascinating
history and his own odyssey among the markers. Listeners
are invited to phone in questions, or suggest historical
events that might merit a sign along the road. Call during
the live 1:00 PM broadcast to 1-888/359-9754 or post a
comment here to WSKG.Radio@Gmail.com.
Listen to the program
now
in RealAudio© format
(requires free RealAudio© player)
On July 12th, Tim Gallagher
of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology visits OFF THE PAGE
to tell about his new
book The Grail Bird: Hot
on the Trail of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker. Gallagher’s
discovery, after an exhaustive and exhausting quest, that
the ivory-bill was not extinct made headlines around the
world.
Off the Page