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Facts About New York State

There are tons of interesting little facts about New York State to learn. There’s an endless amount of interesting history and folklore told here.

Would you like a collection of facts about the Hudson Valley? Do you want to know something historical about the St. Lawrence River? How about some interesting facts about the Finger Lakes? Maybe you’ve always wanted to know more about the Adirondacks, but weren’t sure where to look.

Did you know the idea for a Christmas Tree market was first invented in the Catskills or that Steuben County’s fair is the oldest county fair in the United States? Did you know our religious history in New York is really unique? The Finger Lakes is one of the top destinations in the country for wine, but the Lake Erie region grows the most grapes outside of California!

The Empire State has long history of famous people, intriguing information, and tall tales. It isn’t easy to collect it all, but it sure is fun! Over the years, this list has grown from trips around Upstate, and lots of research.

Every week a new piece of Empire State trivia gets posted to the Exploring Upstate feeds on Facebook and Twitter. Once they’re shared on social media, each fact gets added here to the list. That means, you’ll find this page updated every week with new information!

How To Use This Database

You can use these lists to learn something fun about New York State in a short time. Either read one or two and move on, or dive into an entire list and read up on different parts of the state all at once. Each list is easy to digest, but still filled with fascinating facts.

Where possible, all the facts in this archive link to a source for further reading and credibility.

To access the archive, scroll down and click the photo of a banner to read the collection of facts pertaining to that region.

Submit A Fun Fact

Have you got a fact about New York that you want to share? Drop a line using this contact form. In your message, please include a link to reference as a source.

New York State Facts - Banner

Adirondack Region Facts Banner


Capital Region Facts - Banner


Catskills Region Facts - Banner


Central New York Region Facts - Banner


Chautauqua Allegany Region Facts - Banner


Finger Lakes Region Facts - Banner


Hudson Valley Region Facts - Banner


Niagara Frontier Region Facts - Banner


Thousand Island Seaway Region Facts - Banner


Map Of New York State

Here's a reference map of how the regions in New York State are divided up on this website. The map below and the regional divisions on Exploring Upstate were designed using the parameters laid out by the New York Visitors Network.

Regional Map of New York State