At the center of great events and controversies from the very beginning of our nation's history (see Aaron Burr), the Colony of New York became a state on April 20, 1777. New York adopted its first constitution 12 years before the Federal Constitution was adopted. New York City was the first capital of the United States and was the site of the inauguration of George Washington
With their major port and city occupied, New Yorkers managed to serve valiantly in the Continental Army and to supply quantities of food, clothing, lead and iron to General Washington. The American flag was first flown in battle at the defense of Fort Stanwix in Rome, NY.
In 1784, George Washington referred to New York as the "Seat of Empire". The Empire State cannot be described without superlatives: the best, the fastest, the tallest, the first, the biggest, the most. Excelsior (Ever Upward) is New York State's motto and New York, in its mastery of technology is fast becoming the e-mpire state. Note the "welcome" in so many of the websites listed on this page. The Government sites are truly "user friendly" models with cross-reference links to related services. With over 2,200,000 web sites for New York state attractions and government, the easiest reference to use in web research is northernlight.com, a searchengine that will organize the results into category folders for you.
The total area of New York State is 54,471.144 square miles (47,223.839 land and 7,247.305 inland water).
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mountain ranges: Adirondack, Catskill, Shawangunk and Taconic
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water: 6,713 natural ponds, lakes and reservoirs of one acre or more (76 with an area of one square mile or more); 1,745 square miles of inland water; 4,000 lakes, ponds and reservoirs; 70,000 miles of rivers and streams; 127 miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline; 9,767 miles of shoreline; 231 miles of shorefront, 83 miles of island shorefront, 548 miles of bayfront in & near Long Island area.. Oneida Lake is the largest lake completely within the State. Lake Champlain is 107 miles long. Lake Tear of the Clouds in Essex County is the highest lake in the State - 4,320'. Other noted lakes: Finger Lakes, Otsego Lake, Lake George, Lake Placid. New York's harbors and waterways must include The Hudson River (306 miles long), the Erie Canal (363 miles long - now a National Recreational Trail - The New York State Canal System - Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga Seneca)
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and the fertile interior is dotted with sugar maples (state trees) yielding a sweet sap for syrup and sugar, apples (introduced by seed in the 1600s by European settlers - dried apples and apple cider were staples), cherry orchards and two hundred year old grape arbors (See the Cayuga Wine Trail for wine history in New York), horse farms and dairy farms, alfalfa and field corn and truck farms.
U.S. Presidents associated with New York State are Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, William J. Clinton.
As the publishing capitol of the United States, most of America's writers are associated with New York - a very few who may epitomize New York are: James Fennimore Cooper, Walt Whitman, Dorothy Parker - and perhaps the essence of New York was captured by Washington Irving who was the first American literary humorist and the first to write history & biography as entertainment (as a consequence, nonfiction prose was recognized as a genre of literature).
New York was the first state to (1) preserve an historic site (Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh); (2) establish a railroad (see Albany); (3) establish a state park (Niagara Reservation); and (4) declare land "forever wild" (the Adirondack and Catskill forest preserves) in the State Constitution.
"Uncle Sam" was a meatpacker from Troy, New York. During the War of 1812, Sam Wilson stamped "U.S. Beef" on his products. The Uncle Sam caricature of Sam Wilson came to personify the United States government.
New York is a world capital with the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.
A wonderful trip planner is located at http://www.iloveny.com/ "Useful Information".
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Albany / Saratoga: Albany - the capitol city's 19th century architecture, Saratoga Racetrack, ballet, museums & other attractions are located in the upper Hudson Valley. The first railroad in America ran between Albany and Schenectady, a distance of 11 miles. The Adirondacks: 46 high peaks, 3,000 clear lakes, 1,500 miles of rivers, wilderness, Lake George and Lake Placid. The highest point in New York State is Mount Marcy, Essex County in the Adirondacks - 5,344 feet above sea level. North Elba, New York, is the home and grave of abolitionist John Brown whose actions at Harper's Ferry are generally thought to have been the final trigger for the Civil War. Lake George Monster - Warren County - 1904 surfacings wreaked havoc with the tourist trade, frightened honeymooners, and reportedly caused one man to swear off liquor permanently. |
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The Catskills: boast the world's largest kaleidoscope: 60' tall. Home of the Borscht Belt, the legend of Rip Van Winkle and other LEGENDS AND FOLKLORE, brown trout and flycasting and of course legendary Woodstock where the Bed & Breakfasts list Spirituality Links on their websites. |
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Central Leatherstocking: Howe Caverns, Glimmerglass Opera, Fenimore House and Manson Williams Proctor Institute in Utica. Cooperstown's National Baseball Hall of Fame. The United States flag was first flown in battle at the defense of Fort Stanwix in Rome. In 1815, Rome was the starting place for the Erie Canal. . Rome is within a 300-mile radius of 25% of US-Canadian population. The National Association of Homebuilders ranked the area 9th in the top 10 most affordable metro areas in the nation. |
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Chautauqua-Allegheny: Allegheny State Park, Salamanca, the only city in the world entirely within native lands, the Allegheny Reservation of the Seneca Nation of Indians. It is the only city in the U.S. to lie entirely within native lands. And Chautauqua Institution over 125 years old, is a renowned arts festival set in a charming Victorian village in upstate NY, dedicated to intellectual and spiritual growth. |
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The Finger Lake Region: Carved by glaciers and noted for its artistic retreats, waterfalls and Wineries, Corning Museum of Glass and Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology in Syracuse and the International Museum of Photography in Rochester. Taughannock Falls in the Finger Lake region is the highest falls at 215 feet (yes, higher than Niagara). Mark Twain spent many summers here. |
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Greater Niagra: Niagara Falls - Thunder Alley and Letchworth State Park (the Grand Canyon of the East). Buffalo, the regions largest city offers fine dining and museums. 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 ( which honeymooners may not have noticed). |
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The Hudson Valley: Along the meandering Hudson River are great estates, Franklin Roosevelt's Hyde Park, the Rockefeller's Kykuit and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The Hudson Valley is homeland to the Iroquois Confederacy and the Oneida Nation. The size of the valley estuary led Henry Hudson to believe he had found passage to the Orient. |
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Long Island: Miles of shore dotted with seaside villages offer whale watching, surfing, sunning and other water recreation. |
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New York City: The first capital of the United States and the site of the inauguration of George Washington as President on April 30, 1789. With Broadway and New York City Opera for entertainment and Madison Square Garden for sports, the city that never sleeps offers entertainment 24/7 all year long. Named "The Big Apple" by touring jazz musicians of the 1930s . ("Apple" was slang for any town or city. New York City was and is the entertainment, business and publishing capital of the country , which equals big time or "The Big Apple"). Must see's in the city include: the American Museum of Natural History, Bryant Park, Central Park, Chelsea Piers, the Empire State Building (1,454 feet tall, built in 1931, in Art Deco style), Metropolitan Museum of Art (One of the greatest museums in the world), Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), NBC Studio Tours, New York Public Library, New York Skyride, Rockefeller Center, St Patrick's Cathedral, and United Nations Headquarters - all in Midtown Manhattan. In the Bronx, there is the Bronx Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Park, New York Botanical Garden (One of the world's largest botanical gardens, 250 acres, founded 1891, tram rides, etc.), and Yankee Stadium. Upper Manhattan holds the Cloisters, and the Jewish Museum (4,000 years of Jewish art, history, etc. - largest collection outside of Israel). Chinatown, Ellis Island (built in 1842 on the site of the first U.S. Capitol), Federal Hall National Memorial, Greenwich Village, Little Italy, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (visitors tours), SoHo, Statue Of Liberty National Monument (tallest statue of modern times, presented by France in 1884.) Gateway National Recreation Area, Richmondtown (village/museum complex with centuries' old schoolhouses, shops, prison, etc.) can be found in Staten Island/Richmond and Shea Stadium (New York Mets) is in Queens. |
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