William Seward

Construction is underway on a $10 million Equal Rights Heritage Center in Auburn. The goal of the facility is to highlight New York's history of promoting social and equal rights.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Alaska Purchase, which was negotiated by Secretary of State William Henry Seward, who lived in Auburn. The Seward House Museum is celebrating the anniversary with the unveiling of a new Seward statue on Saturday that will make its way to the Alaskan capitol of Juneau.

A document that changed history was displayed in Syracuse Thursday.  School children and history buffs lined up to look at the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, the order from President Abraham Lincoln that ultimately freed the slaves in the midst of the Civil War.