Featured Stories
The Common House
Four and a half years after breaking ground on West Hill overlooking Ithaca's downtown, the Ecovillage at Ithaca (EVI)’s first neighborhood, called FROG (First Residential Group), hosted an open…
Setting the Record Straight: Visiting the Oneida Community
The Oneida community’s relationship with outsiders was an art form. Community members led visitors around the Mansion House, actively trying to dispel rumors that they were yet another sect like the…
The Yaddo Rose Garden
The Trasks began to plan the Rose Garden during the summer of 1899 after they decided to make Yaddo into an art colony. Katrina Trask wrote that she did not feel like she could design the Rose Garden…
Take a Tour
Movers and Shakers at Mount Lebanon
10 Locations ~ Curated by By Tess Freedman and Trent RhodesTrask Family Art Colonies
11 Locations ~ Curated by Mary C. Fesak and Emily GrenierMormon Sites of Palmyra
6 Locations ~ Curated by Aliza Alperin-SheriffThe Byrdcliffe Arts and Crafts Community
9 Locations ~ Curated by By Thomas A. GuilerThe Timbucto Agricultural Colony
5 Locations ~ Curated by RJ LaraRecent Stories
Triuna Island
Spencer and Katrina Trask spent the summer of 1906 on Clay Island, a small island just offshore of Bolton Landing in Lake George. The Trasks used Clay Island as an escape from the endless stream of extravagant house parties at their grand mansion in…
Wiawaka Holiday House
While the Adirondacks had once been considered “one unbroken wilderness” and an exceptionally harsh environment, the rise of the Massachusetts Transcendentalists in the two decades prior to the American Civil War changed the public perception of…
The Stone Tower at Yaddo
The Stone Tower was most likely constructed around 1893, the same time as the Yaddo Mansion. The Trasks intended to use the upper story of the structure as their family chapel, with the lower level being used to store ice. The Trasks later came to…
The Great Hall at Yaddo
Upon the completion of the reconstructed Yaddo Mansion in 1893, Spencer and Katrina Trask sought to furnish their new home with all the trappings of an English Tudor country estate as well as all the comforts of a modern American home. The Great Hall…
The Music Room at Yaddo
Located on the first floor of the Yaddo Mansion, the spacious Music Room is one of the primary social spaces at Yaddo. Following the communal dinner and the end of quiet hours, artists in residence are free to explore the rooms of the estate. For…
The Yaddo Lakes and Streams
Much like the surrounding forests, the lakes and streams are essential components of Yaddo’s pastoral landscape. Similar to other lakes and ponds around Saratoga Springs, the Yaddo lakes were carved out by retreating glaciers. In 1932, the…
UpstateHistorical
A project by Thomas A. GuilerUpstateHistorical is an interactive website that brings the rich history of Upstate New York to life for tourists, residents, and anyone interested in learning more about this important region. It uses Curatescape, a web-based platform that uses GPS to allow administrators to pin key historical locations and upload story-based text, photographs, audio, and video content to tell the story of a particular place, the people that lived there, and events at that location. Read more About Us