Unearthing Local History: Rensselaer County
Local History - 2025-08-20
Our local area is rich with industrial history. Collecting local ephemera and history books is the only way to preserve our community's true story.
Here at Forage With Me Books, we are deeply invested in the history of Rensselaer County, the Berkshires, and the surrounding areas. The history of this region is the history of the American industrial revolution. It is a story told in iron, brick, and textiles.
The Industrial Boom
In the 19th century, Troy, New York, was an absolute industrial powerhouse. It was famously known as 'The Collar City' due to its massive production of detachable shirt collars. Thousands of workers, predominantly women, spent their lives in these massive brick factories. The iron works in Troy were equally legendary. They forged the heavy armor plating for the USS Monitor during the Civil War. The Burden Iron Works produced millions of horseshoes that literally kept the country moving. This industrial might brought immense wealth to the area, resulting in the stunning Victorian architecture that still defines the downtown landscape today.
Why Local Ephemera Matters
Much of this history is not found in mainstream textbooks. It survives in ephemera. Old factory ledgers, Victorian trade cards, local town histories self-published by historical societies, and vintage postcards hold the true story of the region. These items were meant to be thrown away. They were printed cheaply for temporary use. By rescuing them, we preserve the gritty, authentic history of the working-class people who built our region.
We frequently uncover old business ledgers from local general stores. These ledgers show exactly what people were buying and how much they were paying in the 1880s. We find local cookbooks compiled by church groups in the 1920s. These cookbooks preserve family recipes that would otherwise be lost to time. Whenever we find local history books or documents, they go straight to our special local history archive at the shop. We consider it our duty to keep these physical records safe and accessible for future historians and curious locals alike.