
MidHudson History Hub:
Resources for Teachers and Students
Coordinated by GHHN, MidHudson History Day is the regional contest for National History Day (NHD), a program that provides over half a million students each year the opportunity to excel at historical research, interpretation and creative expression. Students wishing to compete in MidHudson History Day in 2024 must attend school in Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster counties or, if homeschooled, must reside in one of those four counties. To learn more about National History Day and how it transforms young minds, click here. The theme for the 2022-2023 school year is Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas
Though there are many resources available at the national level, and the state level, we encourage students to also take a look at the rich resources available at the local level. There are a wealth of stories held in the local collections of libraries, archives, museums, heritage centers and historical societies within your own communities. Primary source materials held in these small collections are largely unknown - and the materials there tell the story of the everyday, of the common voice, of the people who lived where you now live. They echo and connect to the story told at the national level - and that scaffolding of historical inquiry can better develop your understanding of the moments and people that make up history.
Resources for Teachers and Students
Coordinated by GHHN, MidHudson History Day is the regional contest for National History Day (NHD), a program that provides over half a million students each year the opportunity to excel at historical research, interpretation and creative expression. Students wishing to compete in MidHudson History Day in 2024 must attend school in Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster counties or, if homeschooled, must reside in one of those four counties. To learn more about National History Day and how it transforms young minds, click here. The theme for the 2022-2023 school year is Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas
Though there are many resources available at the national level, and the state level, we encourage students to also take a look at the rich resources available at the local level. There are a wealth of stories held in the local collections of libraries, archives, museums, heritage centers and historical societies within your own communities. Primary source materials held in these small collections are largely unknown - and the materials there tell the story of the everyday, of the common voice, of the people who lived where you now live. They echo and connect to the story told at the national level - and that scaffolding of historical inquiry can better develop your understanding of the moments and people that make up history.
Click on the boxes below for county specific listings of town, village, city, and county historians - as well as listings of local libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives where you may conduct research.
Videos
We interviewed Orange County Historian Johanna Porr Yaun and Dutchess County Historian Will Tatum to learn what they think about being a historian, what you'll find when doing research at the local level, how to connect local level resources to national level resources, and much more! Click on each video title below to view.
DIGITAL REPOSITORIES AND ONLINE RESOURCES
New York State Historic Newspapers
nyshistoricnewspapers.org/
The NYS Historic Newspapers project provides free online access to a wide range of newspapers chosen to reflect New York's unique history.
New York Heritage Digital Collections
nyheritage.org/
New York Heritage Digital Collections is a research portal for students, educators, historians, genealogists, and anyone else interested in the Empire State’s history. The site brings together digital collections from more than 260 libraries, museums and archives from eight of the nine ESLN regions.* It provides a gateway to more than 670 distinct digital collections that reflect New York State’s long history. These collections represent a broad range of historical, scholarly, and cultural materials, including photographs, letters, diaries, oral histories, city directories, maps, newspapers, books, and more.
Digital Culture of Metropolitan New York
dcmny.org/
Digital Culture of Metropolitan New York (DCMNY) provides online access to digital collections of libraries, archives, museums and historical societies located in and around New York City. Participating institutions are located in the following counties of New York State: Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, and Westchester. The collections include photographs, maps, letters, postcards, manuscripts, scrapbooks, programs from events, catalogues, memorabilia and ephemera, and much. New collections are being added on an ongoing basis, and contributors are also adding new material to existing collections.
Fulton Search
fultonsearch.org/
Search interface for over 47,059,000 historical newspaper pages from New York State and beyond
Consider the Source New York: Teaching with Historical Records
considerthesourceny.org/
Discover a continuously expanding collection of document-based activities created by the Archives Partnership Trust and teachers around the state
A New York Minute in History Podcast
wamcpodcasts.org/a-new-york-minute-in-history/
The winner of a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award and a New York State Broadcasters Association Award, A New York Minute In History tells the unique tales of New Yorkers throughout American history. With the state’s hundreds of historical markers as a guide, join NYS Historian Devin Lander and Saratoga County Historian Lauren Roberts as they explore the people, places, and experiences that made New York.
HISTORY/HERITAGE ORGANIZATIONS
GHHN (Greater Hudson Heritage Network)
www.greaterhudson.org
GHHN is the statewide, go-to service organization for responsive assistance, interpretation, and collections care. Our program services are local, professional, and statewide. We offer grants, workshops, webinars, consultations, technical assistance, a resource network, and professional development opportunities to advance the work of historical societies, historic house museums, heritage centers, historic sites, archives, and libraries.
Historic Hudson River Towns
https://www.hudsonriver.com/hudson-river-history
A consortium of municipalities located along New York’s Hudson River, from Yonkers to Albany, designed to promote economic stimulus through waterfront development and tourism. Make sure to check out their free audio tours.
Hudson River Valley Institute
https://www.hudsonrivervalley.org/
The Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College is the academic arm of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area. Its mission is to study and to promote the Hudson River Valley and to provide educational resources for heritage tourists, scholars, elementary school educators, environmental organizations, the business community, and the general public. Its many projects include the publication of the Hudson River Valley Review and the management of a dynamic digital library and leading regional portal site.
Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area
www.hudsonrivervalley.com/
The Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area was designated by Congress in 1996 and is one of the now fifty-five federally-recognized National Heritage Areas throughout the United States. Through a partnership with the National Park Service, Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area collaborates with residents, government agencies, non-profit groups and private partners to interpret, preserve and celebrate the nationally-significant cultural and natural resources of the Hudson River Valley. In this way, we encourage public stewardship for these resources as well as economic activity at the local and regional level. The Heritage Area is managed by the Hudson River Valley Greenway.
The MidHudson History Hub is made available through generous funding from an Action grant from Humanities New York. |