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| 1524 | New York harbor was visited by Verrazano. |
| 1609 | The Hudson River was first explored by Henry Hudson. |
| 1624 | The Dutch settled here permanently and for 40 years they ruled over the colony of New Netherland. |
| 1664 | It was conquered by the English and was then named New York, in honor of the Duke of York. |
| July 9, 1776 | Existing as a colony of Great Britain for over a century, New York declared its independence, becoming one of the original 13 states of the Federal Union |
| April 20, 1777 | New York's first constitution was adopted. |
| June 1777 | While the war was going on, an election for the first governor took place. Two of the candidates, Philip Schuyler and George Clinton, were generals in the field. Two others, Colonel John Jay and General John Morin Scott, were respectively leaders of the aristocratic and democratic groups in the Convention. |
| July 30, 1777 | George Clinton was declared elected and he was inaugurated as Governor at Kingston. |
| 1778 | The device of arms of the State flag was adopted and the present flag is a modern version of a Revolutionary War flag. It is dark blue with the State Coat of Arms in the center. The Coat of Arms shows Liberty and Justice standing either side of a shield upon which is emblazoned the sun rising behind a range of mountains. A three-masted, square-rigged ship and a Hudson River sloop signify commerce. Beneath the shield is the State motto. The original is at The Albany Institute of History and Art. |
| January 1797 | Albany became the capital of the State. |
| April 30, 1789 | President George Washington was inaugurated in New York City, which became the first capital of the new nation. |
| November 25, 1783 | New York City, long occupied by British troops, was evacuated. |
| December 4, 1783 | At Fraunces Tavern (in NYC), General George Washington bade farewell to his officers. |
| 1784 | New York's economic and industrial growth made appropriate the title "The Empire State," an expression possibly originated by George Washington. |
| 1792 | The New York Stock Exchange was founded & has become the center of world finance. |
| 1809 | Robert Fulton's "North River Steamboat," the first successful steam-propelled vessel, began a new era in transportation. |
| 1825 | The Erie Canal was completed and greatly enhanced the importance of the port of New York and caused populous towns and cities to spring up across the state. |
| Early 1880s | Overland transportation grew rapidly from a system of turnpikes established in the to the modern day Governor Thomas E. Dewey New York State Thruway. |
| 1853 | Railroads, that had started as short lines in 1831, crossed the state in systems like the Erie and New York Central. |
| 1886 | The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in in the harbor & with its famous inscription, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," she was the first symbol of America's mission. |
| 1918 | The Barge Canal replaced The Erie Canal and the system of waterways was further expanded by the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway. |
NEW
YORK STATE FLAG
The arms of New York State were officially adopted in 1778. The center shows a ship and sloop on a river bordered by a grassy shore and a mountain range with the sun rising behind it. Liberty and Justice stand on either side, under an American eagle. Liberty holds a staff topped with a Phrygian cap, symbolic of the cap given to a Roman slave upon the formal act of emancipation and freedom. This cap was adopted by French revolutionists as a symbol of liberty, especially in the U.S. before 1800.
The figure of Justice is blindfolded and carries a sword in one hand and scales in the other. These symbols represent the impartiality and fairness required for the assignment of a merited reward or punishment.
The banner shows the State motto--Excelsior--which means "Ever Upward."
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-The oldest cattle ranch in the U.S. was started in 1747 at Montauk, Long Island.
- The Adirondack Park is larger than the Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, and Olympic National Parks combined.
- New York was the first state to require license plates on automobiles.
- Kingston was the first capital of New York State.
- Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua has nine formal gardens and one of the largest displays of roses in the state.
-It took 31 years, from 1867-1898, to build the State Capitol Building.
- New York State has 1,300 museums and galleries, 64 performing arts centers, and 230 theaters.
- There are more than 400 golf courses and 55 downhill ski areas in New York State.
- The New York State Canal System is 524 miles long and has 57 locks.
- The Seaway Trail covers 454 miles along scenic vistas of Niagara Falls and the Thousand Islands, along with grape-growing vineyards and apple orchards.
- The Hudson River was named an American Heritage River by the U.S. government in 1998.
- In 1885 New York State acquired property around Niagara Falls and established the first state park in the U.S.
- In 1892 Ellis Island opened in New York Harbor as the primary immigration depot in the U.S.
-The first railroad in America ran between Albany and Schenectady, a distance of 11 miles.
-The Catskills are the home of the legend of Rip Van Winkle, brown trout and fly-casting.
-"Uncle Sam" was a meatpacker from Troy, New York. During the War of 1812, Sam Wilson stamped "U.S. Beef" on his products and soldiers interpreted that as Uncle Sam. His caricature later came to personify the United States. His gravesite is located in Oakwood Cemetery in Troy.
-New York was the first state to (1) preserve an historic site (Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh); (2) establish a state park (Niagara Reservation); and (3) declare land "forever wild" (the Adirondack and Catskill forest preserves) in the State Constitution.
-The term "The Big Apple" was coined by touring jazz musicians of the 1930s who used the slang expression "apple" for any town or city. Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple.
-New York is a world capital with headquarters of the United Nations in New York City.
-A number of presidents have been closely associated with the history of New York State, including Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
NY Sports Teams: Baseball - New York Yankees, New York Mets; Basketball - New York Knicks; Football - Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, New York Giants; Hockey - New York Rangers, New York Islanders, and Buffalo Sabres
| Counties | 62 |
| Depth (North-South) | 310 miles |
| Highest mountain | Mount Marcy, ( Essex County in the Adirondacks) 5,344 feet above sea level |
| Highest waterfall | Taughannock, 215 feet |
| Lakes and ponds | 4,000 |
| Land area | 47,224 square miles, ranks 30th among states |
| Largest city | New York City |
| Largest Lake | Oneida, 79.8 square miles |
| Length (East-West) | 440 miles, including Long Island |
| Longest river | Hudson, 315 miles |
| Longest toll superhighway in the U.S.A | Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway, 641 miles |
| State Canal System | 524 miles |
| State Capital | Albany |
| State motto | Excelsior which means Ever Upward |
| State nickname | Empire |
| Tallest Building | Empire State Building, 102 Stories |
| Towns and villages | almost 1,500 |
-The total length of the New York State boundary is 1,430 miles:
-Canadian line / 445 miles
-Vermont line / 171 miles
-Massachusetts line / 50 miles
-Connecticut line to Long Island Sound / 81 miles
-Along the ocean around Long Island to the New Jersey shore / 246 miles
-New Jersey line / 93 miles
-Pennsylvania line / 344 miles to the beginning of the Canadian line in the middle of Lake Erie.
The boundaries are fixed by accepted agreements and are marked by natural watercourses or monuments.
-The total area of New York State is 54,471.144 square miles (47,223.839 land and 7,247.305 inland water).
-The geographic center of New York State is located in Madison County, approximately 12 miles south of Oneida and 26 miles southwest of Utica.
-There are four mountain ranges in New York State: Adirondack, Catskill, Shawangunk and Taconic.
-The Hudson River is 306 miles long, and drains an area of 13,370 square miles. Its average discharge is 21,500 cubic feet per second. The Hudson's most distant source is in Essex County. Lake Tear of the Clouds in Essex County is the highest lake in the State - 4,320 feet above sea level - and is considered the source of the Hudson River.
-There are 6,713 natural ponds, lakes and reservoirs of one acre or more, 76 with an area of one square mile or more.
- There are 1,745 square miles of inland water, including some 4,000 lakes, ponds and reservoirs.
- Other prominent lakes are the Finger Lakes, Otsego Lake, Lake George, Lake Placid and Lake Champlain, which is 107 miles long.
-The State has 70,000 miles of rivers and streams, 127 miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline, 9,767 miles of shoreline which includes 8,778 miles of lake shoreline, 231 miles of shorefront on Long Island Sound, 548 miles of bayfront in Long Island area and 83 miles of shorefront of islands near Long Island.
-There are 10 natural fresh-water lakes of 10 square miles or more; the largest, Lake Champlain in Clinton (Essex County), covers a 490-square-mile area and includes islands that total about 55 square miles.
-Lake Erie borders on New York State for an airline distance of 64 miles. Its surface area in the U.S. totals 5,002 square miles.
-Lake Ontario forms the northern boundary of New York State for an airline distance of 146 miles, and the area in the U.S. is 3,033 square miles.
-At the site of Niagara Falls, the Niagara River spills 40 million gallons of water 180 feet downward each minute across a ragged ledge nearly 2/3 of a mile wide.
-The New York State Barge Canal System is the longest internal waterway system in any state (800 miles or 1,280 kilometers) carrying over 2 million tons per year.
-New York State has 62 counties, 62 cities, 553 villages and 932 towns.
-Taughannock Falls in the Finger Lake region is the highest falls at 215 feet.
| State Fruit | The apple was adopted as the State fruit in 1976. Apples are sweet and crisp. They come in many varieties, such as Golden Delicious, McIntosh and Winesap. |
| State Beverage |
Milk comes from the dairy cow. Butter, cheese and ice cream are made from milk. It was adopted as the State beverage in 1981. |
| State Tree |
The sugar maple is our main source of maple syrup made from sap stored in its trunk. Its leaves are pointed and turn bright colors in the fall. The sugar maple was adopted as the State tree in 1956. |
| State Flower |
The rose was adopted as the State flower in 1955. Roses are soft, fragrant flowers with thorny stems. They grow in bushes and are seen in many gardens. |
| State Insect |
The ladybug is an orange beetle with black spots. It helps gardeners by eating tiny pests that ruin plants. The ladybug was adopted as the State insect in 1989. |
| State Bird |
The bluebird was adopted as the State bird in 1970. The bluebird is one of the first birds to return North each spring. |
| State Animal |
Beavers build dams across streams by packing mud with their long, flat tails. The beaver was adopted as the State animal in 1975. |
| State Fish |
The brook trout was adopted as the State fish in 1975. Brook trout live in freshwater brooks, lakes and streams. |
| State Fossil |
Eurypterus
remipes, a 420 million year-old eurypterid, was adopted as the State fossil in 1984. Eurypterids are extinct, distant relatives of the horseshoe crab. |
| State Gem |
The garnet was adopted as the State gem in 1969. Garnets are used in jewelry and are a dark red color. |
| State Muffin | The apple muffin was adopted as the State muffin in 1987 as a result of the efforts of students throughout New York State. Apple muffins are made by adding small pieces of apple to muffin batter before it is baked. |
| State Shell |
The bay scallop was adopted as the State shell in 1988. They live at the bottom of the sea and can swim by flapping their shells together. |
STATE
SONG
"I Love New York"
Words and music by Steve Karmen
I LOVE NEW YORK (repeat three times)
There isn't another like it.
No matter where you go.
And nobody can compare it.
It's win and place and show.
New York is special.
New York is diff'rent' cause there's no place else
on earth quite like New York and that's why
I LOVE NEW YORK. (repeat three times)
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Oneida County is a county located in the state of New York.
As of 2000, the population was 235,469. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, an Iroquoian tribe that formerly occupied the region.
History: When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Oneida County was part of
Albany County. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State of Vermont and, in theory, extending westward to the
Pacific Ocean. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766 by the creation of Cumberland County, and further on March 16, 1770 by the creation of Gloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont.
On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. One of the other pieces, Tryon County, contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of the present city of
Schenectady, and the county included the western part of the Adirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of the
Delaware River. The area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of New York State. The county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York.
In the years prior to 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to
Canada. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, the name of Tryon County was changed to
Montgomery County to honor the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of
Quebec, replacing the name of the hated British governor.
In 1789, the size of Montgomery County was reduced by the splitting off of
Ontario County from Montgomery. The actual area split off from Montgomery County was much larger than the present county, also including the present
Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans,
Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and part of Schuyler and Wayne Counties.
In 1791, Herkimer County was one of three counties split off from Montgomery. This was much larger than the present county, however, and was reduced by a number of subsequent splits.
In 1794, Herkimer County was reduced in size by the splitting off of
Onondaga County. This county was larger than the current Onondaga County, including the present
Cayuga, Cortland, and part of Oswego Counties.
In 1798, Oneida County was created from a part of Herkimer County. This county was larger than the current Oneida County, including the present
Jefferson, Lewis, and part of Oswego Counties.
In 1805, Jefferson and Lewis Counties were split off from Oneida.
In 1816, parts of Oneida and Onondaga Counties were taken to form the new
Oswego County.
In 1848, John Humphrey Noyes founded a religious community
near Oneida. Its unconventional views on religion and relations between the sexes led to much controversy. The community lasted until 1881.
Geography: Oneida County is in the central portion of New York State, east of
Syracuse, and west of Albany. Oneida Lake is on the northwestern corner of the county, and the
Adirondack State Park is on the northeast. Part of the Tug Hill Plateau is in the northern part of the county.
The Erie Canal bisects the county. Oneida Lake and
Oneida Creek form part of the western boundary.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,256
kmē . 3,141 kmē of it is land and 115 kmē of it is water. The total area is 3.53% water.
