New York's Capital Region in 50 Objects

New York's Capital Region in 50 Objects

Introduction

Each region of the nation has its own distinctive history and identity. The New York’s Capital Region—consisting of Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, and Saratoga Counties—is no different. But what best identifies the region? What events, objects, people, and ideas have contributed to its character and uniqueness?

To learn the answers, we presented these questions to the numerous museums, historical organizations, libraries, and residents of the Capital Region. The fifty objects that were ultimately selected present an exciting history of the Capital Region, including well-known favorites but also unexpected surprises. Some of the fifty objects characterize very broad topics like the textile industry and the Hudson River School of art, while others embody large populations of people who shaped the character of the region, such as the Dutch and the Iroquois. Many objects represent specific people or events, such as writer William Kennedy and the Battle of Saratoga. In some instances, the objects represent themselves, like the GE Monitor Top refrigerator and Albany’s beloved Nipper statue. A complementary image accompanies each of the fifty objects, providing context and additional information.

Overall, the fifty objects clearly demonstrate that this narrowly circumscribed part of New York State has played an astonishing role in shaping the history of the nation and, in several instances, the world beyond the confines of our national borders.

Joseph Henry’s Electrical Experiments

Around the year 1830, Albany Academy professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, Joseph Henry, began conducting experiments with electromagnetism using the objects shown here. His experiment included a mile of insulated copper wire wrapped around the second floor of the original Albany Academy building (located across from the New York State Capitol in Lafayette Park). Through this wire the circuit from the battery attached at one end caused the magnet at the other end to ring the bell. His was the first successful experiment with the electromagnetic telegraph anywhere in the world, and it had international implications since it laid the groundwork for the telegraph, the telephone, the radio, the electric motor, and even television and computers.

Henry was born in Albany in 1797 to a poor Scottish immigrant family. Not able to afford the tuition, he was only able to attend Albany Academy through a full-scholarship. Henry excelled in all his subjects to the extent that the Academy eventually offered him a position in 1826. Throughout his scientific career, Henry believed that scientific discoveries were public property for the benefit of every citizen and, as such, he never patented any of his inventions. Both Samuel F. B. Morse and Alexander Graham Bell took what they had learned from Henry and applied the knowledge to commercial inventions that transformed the world.

On December 3, 1846, Henry accepted a position with the newly founded Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, as its first Secretary, a position bestowed on him because of his recognition as one of the era’s leading scientists.

Joseph Henry’s Electrical Apparatus

1830

Copper, various metal

Courtesy of the New York State Museum, XX.466.1

Albany Academy

Drawn by D. S. Peirce

Engraved by J. E. Gavit & Co., Albany, New York

c. 1850

Engraving and etching on paper

Albany Institute of History & Art, gift of Ledyard Cogwell, Jr., 1944.68.63.2

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James Hall and Paleontology

Many people call James Hall "the father of modern geology." In the nineteenth century, he was New York’s best known geologist and paleontologist, and highly respected for his early work in stratigraphy, the study of geologic layers of rock called strata. When fossils are found in strata, geologists can identify the age of the fossil by the age of the strata.

Hall studied natural sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy and graduated with honors in 1832. He was later hired by the school as assistant professor of chemistry and natural sciences and in 1836 was made full professor of geology. Hall did much of his early field work in the Helderberg Mountains in Albany County where the exposed cliffs were rich in fossils. He also surveyed New York’s strata in the Adirondack Mountains and set a model for naming strata after its location. In 1841, Hall became New York’s first State Paleontologist and built his own laboratory in Albany (in what is now Lincoln Park) where he trained many prominent scientists.

In 1886, during the construction of Harmony Mill Number 3 near Cohoes Falls on the Mohawk River, the remains of a mastodon were found deeply buried in two potholes which had been worn into the bedrock by the swirling action of water and stones at the end of the last Ice Age. Hall was responsible for bringing the Cohoes Mastodon to the New York State Museum where he was the first director. The Cohoes Mastodon became its most popular and iconic specimen and has been on display for more than 150 years.

Hall’s standing desk has thirty-four drawers and two locking compartments where he stored and organized fossils and other specimens.

James Hall’s Desk

Unknown maker

c. 1875

Walnut

Courtesy of New York State Museum, H-1975.29.3

Mastodon Giganteus

Photograph by Eugene S. M. Haines, Albany, New York

1866

Albumen photographic print on card

Courtesy of New York State Museum

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Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd

The desk and chair shown here belonged to the longest serving mayor of a major U.S. city, Erastus Corning 2nd. In office from 1942 to 1983, Corning served forty-two years as Mayor of Albany. He was born on October 7, 1909, into a politically active and affluent family. His father, Edwin Corning, served as Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1926 to 1928 under Governor Alfred E. Smith, and his great-grandfather, Erastus Corning, was mayor of Albany from 1834 to 1837. Corning 2nd was educated at the Albany Academy and later at Yale University. He got his start in politics in the New York State Assembly, rising to the position of New York State Senator in 1937. He held this position until his first campaign for mayor in 1941.

On January 1, 1942, Corning took the office of mayor after a landslide victory over Republican Candidate, Benjamin R. Hoff. Corning served as mayor until he was drafted as a private in the United States Army in 1944. Until his return to office in 1945, Frank Salisbury Harris served as acting mayor. After his military service, Corning ran and won consecutive terms. In 1983, Corning died in office due to heart failure at the age of seventy-three. Today, Corning tower in the Empire State Plaza is dedicated to his life of public service.

Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd’s Desk and Chair

Unknown | 1940s

Maker: Unknown

Credit: Albany Institute of History & Art

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