Bronck House at The Bronck Museum Celebrates 350

bronck house

May-NOvember 2013

Celebrates 350at the Bronck Museum

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

July 2010

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

April 2010��

Mercantile

March 2009

��

Inside: Comprehensive Springtime Events Calendar & More!

live. work. play.

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

March 2010��

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

I n s i d e : Frightful Fun Halloween CalendarExplore the Hudson Valley Cider Trail& much more!

October 2009

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

November 2009� � � � � � � � �theissue

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

Green Issue

Hudson Valley Green Fair Information on Local Green BusinessesCalendar of Green Eventsplus, comprehensive arts & entertainment calendars!

The

April 2009

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

Summer ’ s Las t Fl ing August 2009

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

May 2010The

issue��

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

I n s i d e : HARDSCRABBLE DAY PREVIEW Quad Celebrations Calendar Sept 2009

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

p a i r i n g s

February 2010

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

October 2010

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

Augu

st 2010

inside:��

��

��

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

March-April 2011

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

May-June 2011Annual Gardens Issue

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

February-March 2011

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

Happy New Year 2010

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

Summer Preview Issue

The

June 2009

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

June 2010

Mercantile��

live. work. play.

June-July 2011

Mercantilehudson valley

live. work. play.

July/August 2012


live. work. play.

September 2012


live. work. play.

��


live. work. play.

� � � � � � � � � � � � �

bronck house

May-NOvember 2013

Celebrates 350at the Bronck Museum

��

��

��

��

Happy 300th

Birthday, Germantown!

��

��

Nail it right. The first time.

from your neighbors at Williams Lumber, helping build

Hudson Valley communities for three generations

Happy 2ooth Birthday,Red Hook!

Call 518.589.5200www.williamslumber.com

RHINEBECK • HIGH FALLS • HOPEWELL JUNCTION • HUDSON • HYDE PARK • RED HOOK • PLEASANT VALLEY • TANNERSVILLE

HAPPY 350TH

BIRTHDAYBRONCK HOUSE!!

CONGRATULATIONS GCHS!

Happy 350th BirthdayBronck House!CONGRATULATIONS GCHS!

bronck house Celebrates 350 commemorative 4

5 bronck house Celebrates 350 commemorative

Welcome Letters begin

History of the Greene County Historical Society by David C. Dorpfeld

The Bronck Family: The First Generationsby Shelby Mattice

Greene County Historical Society Offers Items for Sale Commemorating 350 Years

Windows on History by Jim Planck

Bronck Family Tree

Timeline Begins

Eight Generations of the Bronck Familyby Robert Hallock

Semiseptcentennial Schedule of Events begins

Days and Seasons at the Bronck Museum

37th Annual High Peaks Tour of Homes

A Day in Spring by Shelby Mattice

The Bronck Farm by David C. Dorpfeld

Geology at the Bronck Farmstead by Robert Titus

Pieter Bronck and the Mahican Indians by Robert Hallock

History on Display by Richard Muggeo

The Greene Scene Calendar of Events begins

In Memorium & Gratitude

ContentsCO N T R I B U T O R S

David C. DorpfeldRobert Hallock

Jen Kiaba, PhotographerShelby Mattice

Richard MuggeoJim Planck

Robert Titus

GREENE COUNTY HISTOR ICAL SOC IETY

Board of Trustees

Joseph Warren, ChairmanRobert Hallock, PresidentJim Planck, Vice President

David C. Dorpfeld, TreasurerThomas Satterlee, Financial Secretary

Ann Hallock, Recording SecretaryChristine Byas

Robert D’AgostinoKaren Deeter

Wanda DorpfeldHarvey DurhamW. Bradford Ellis

Karla FlegelRick Hanse

Stefania JozicEmily Dorpfeld Kunchala

John Dickinson MayRegina McGrathRichard MuggeoDennis O’Grady

John QuinnBarbara SpataroDenise Warren

Staff

Shelby Mattice, Bronck Museum CuratorJennifer Barnhart, Operations ManagerJason & Amanda O’Donnell, Caretakers

On the Cover: Bronck House, photograph by Jen Kiaba. Inset: L to R, kitchen dependency, photo by Jen Kiaba; Association Day at the Bronck Museum, photo courtesy Greene County Historical Society (GCHS); interior photo Bronck House, by Geoffrey Gross from the book ‘Dutch Colonial Homes of America’ used with permission; historical marker on grounds of Bronck House, photo by Jen Kiaba; horse-drawn wagon photo courtesy GCHS.

P.O. Box 178Red Hook, NY 12571845-546-3051hvmercantile.com

a publication of

7

11

13

15

15

18

18

19

20

23

23

27

28

29

30

31

32

36

Jim Gibbons, [email protected]

Heather Gibbons,Creative [email protected]

Contents ©2013 Rising Tide Communications, LLC . No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written permission of the publisher.

The Bronck House Celebrates 350 Commemorative is published on behalf of the Greene County Historical Society by Rising Tide Communications, publishers of Mercantile

��

live. work. play.

Photos this page: kitchen dependency; Bronck House historical marker; Vedder Research Library; photos by Jen Kiaba

bronck house Celebrates 350 commemorative 6bronck house Celebrates 350 commemorative 6

Durham Center Museum

Open May 18 - Columbus DayHours: Fri-Sun 1pm-4pm or by special appointment

Route 145 • East Durham, NY 12433 • (518)239-8461

Located in Prattsville New York, the Zadock Pratt Museum is dedicated to exhibiting the history and culture of the Northern Catskill Region during the

Located in Prattsville New York, the Zadock Pratt Museum is dedicated to exhibiting the history and culture of the Northern Catskill Region during the

Located in Prattsville New York, the Zadock Pratt Museum is dedicated

mid-nineteenth century, the heyday of to exhibiting the history and culture of the Northern Catskill Region during the

mid-nineteenth century, the heyday of to exhibiting the history and culture of the Northern Catskill Region during the

the tanning industry in the area.to exhibiting the history and culture of the Northern Catskill Region during the

the tanning industry in the area.to exhibiting the history and culture of the Northern Catskill Region during the

��

��

��

��

��

��

• Local & Long Distance Service• High Speed Internet

518-731-6128www.statetel.com

Locally owned and operated since 1909

Congratulations Greene County Historical Society

on the

Bronck House 350th Celebration

A 2013 featured A 2013 featured A High Peaks Tour of Homes stop...� � � ��

Happy 350th Birthday Bronck House��

��


Dear Reader:

Think a bit about how long things last in the U.S. National Historic Landmarks in the western U.S. date into the 1920’s and ‘30s. Historic Preservationists argue about saving buildings erected in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Housing built in the 1960’s and 1970’s is routinely torn down to put up McMansions.

Yet here in Coxsackie, NY in Greene County stands a house built in 1663, still substantially the same as it was when Pieter Bronck built it – and, yes, it is a National Historic Landmark. If Pieter Bronck, the builder of the house, came back today he would clearly recognize his house. He may wonder about the additional houses attached to it built by his descendents in 1685 and 1738, or the barns and other outbuildings. The youngest of the farm structures dates to the 1880’s, the oldest to the 1790’s.

This house was more than 100 years old at the time of the American Revolution. It has seen the land it sits on go from Mahican (Native American) control to a Dutch colonie, to an English colony, and then to an independent country, the United States of America.

Please come this year to visit this site as we celebrate the 350th year of the oldest existing house in New York State. Check our website at gchistory.org for information on when the site is open and what special events we have planned.

Sincerely,

Robert C. Hallock, President Greene County Historical Society, Inc.

Dear Friends:

One of the first tasks I was ever given was to comb through the secretary’s minutes from the early years of the Greene County Historical Society. It wasn’t long before I realized just how significant the challenge had been in 1939 when the Society undertook the responsibility of maintaining the 1663 dwelling of Pieter Bronck and the ten adjacent historic structures. The minutes chronicled lengthy discussions on where to expend the limited available resources to meet the dual responsibilities of preserving the structures and operating them as a museum open to the public. The Society, which is a private not for profit organization, has not and does not receive sustaining public funding. Given the situation, tough-minded, realistic fiscal decision-making and endless hours of volunteer labor seemed the best way to meet the challenge. The combination of fiscal prudence and volunteerism remains central to the successful operation of the Bronck Museum and the preservation of its precious historic structures.

Congratulations to the Greene County Historical Society for nearly 75 years of commitment to the preservation of the 1663 Bronck dwelling and the allied structures that comprise the Bronck Museum National Historic Landmark site. Congratulations also to the hundreds of volunteers from all over Greene County who have, over the decades, contributed untold hours of their personal time to get it all done. It has been a pleasure to work with so many devoted volunteers. They deserve more thanks than it is possible to adequately express.

With respect and appreciation,

Shelby MatticeMember, Greene County Historical SocietyCurator, Bronck Museum

Greene County Historical Society, Inc.90 County Route 42 | Coxsackie, NY 12051

518-731-6490 | www.gchistory.org

Bronck MuseumVedder Research LibraryGreene County Historical Register

photo by Jen Kiaba



��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

Welcome to the beautiful Town of Coxsackie, the proud home of the stone Bronck House built on the Coxsackie Creek in 1663. Coxsackie is a river town with deep roots including the Reed Street Historic District which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Town is very proud to celebrate with the Greene County Historical Society the 350th birthday of the Bronck House. The Bronck House museum and associated Vedder Research Library are treasured assets of this community and are direct connections to our town’s rich history.

Once you are done touring the Bronck House and grounds, be sure to check out the other structures of architectural interest and historical fascination in downtown Coxsackie. A leisurely stroll along Reed and South River Streets with camera in hand, and then a few minutes of relaxation and reflection at the water’s edge in Riverside Park near the remains of the old steamer, Storm King, will make a visit worthwhile and memorable.

Alexander BetkeTown of Coxsackie Supervisor

My own interest in local history started in the third grade, at age eight or nine. That was the year that I realized that not only was I distantly related to my third grade teacher, Miss Blaisell, but the connection was through the Bronck family, dating all the way back to the 1600’s. Just imagine my surprise in realizing that I was a descendant of the first European settler of the Coxsackie area.

Fast forward nearly 40 years later and that grade school boy is now in his mid-forties and serves the community as the Town of Coxsackie Historian. I’m proud of my heritage and the fact that 350 years later, the original Bronck homestead, and many of the surrounding structures that followed, are still standing as a working museum for all to visit and see.

While I’ve always enjoyed the subject of history the most, the knowledge of my own lineage to the Bronck family is what has most certainly been the motivation for my interest in the Coxsackie area, along with the Hudson Valley.

I would like to acknowledge all the many volunteers through the years who have been dedicated to preserving the Bronck Family property, and especially the Greene County Historical Society for without this organization, this valuable piece of American history may not have been saved.

Sincerely,

Michael H. RauschTown of Coxsackie Historian


��

A family resort and golf destination for over 94 years

in the Great Northern Catskills.

Congratulations, Bronck House!


The Greene County Historical Society was founded in 1929 and received its permanent charter from the University of New York on June 16, 1939. The charter states, “the object of this Society shall be the preservation of historical matter relating to the history of Greene County in particular, and New York State in general, and to create an interest in all matters of historical information; collect, receive, preserve and safely keep historical records, documents, books, paper maps, manuscripts, letters, journals, relics and things which may establish or illustrate the history, growth and progress of the County of Greene and its surroundings, and to establish a Museum therein for their preservation.”

It was not all smooth sailing for the society, however. We learn from President George Bagley writing in the 1970s that the society only had 139 members in 1960, and was struggling financially. According to Bagley: “The organization was close to extinction.” That was the low point. Under Bagley’s leadership and with the help of others such as Chairman of the Board Henry Werker, Everett McCarty, Raymond Beecher, Walter Dietz and County Historian Mabel Parker Smith, to name a few, the organization grew to more than 2000 members by 1967. Over the next 40-some years the Society has taken on many new activities including:

• Sponsoring a wide variety of education programs and activities for children and adults;

• Operating the Vedder Research Library which opened in a new building in 1996;

• Publishing a quarterly journal for Society members and a semi- annual newsletter on Society activities called the Messenger;

• Maintaining the Greene County Historical Register to document, recognize and encourage the preservation of historical structures and sites throughout the county;

• Sponsoring an Annual Tour of Homes. This year’s tour will be in the Towns of Hunter and Lexington, and will be the society’s 37th;

• Encouraging close contact with other historical societies, museums and local historians in an effort to promote awareness and wider understanding of Greene County’s past.

As a not-for-profit organization, Greene County Historical Society seeks its funding through endowments, grants, memberships and fundraising. Through this continued support, the Society is able to operate the Bronck Museum and Vedder Research Library.

More than 300 years of Upper Hudson Valley history are reflected in the cluster of architecturally significant buildings which comprise the Bronck Museum. After eight generations of Broncks maintaining the homestead as a working farm, it came to the Greene County Historical Society under the will of Leonard Bronk Lampman. This legacy is a permanent memorial to his mother Adelaide Ely Bronk Lampman, a lineal descendant of Pieter Bronck, original grantee and first builder on the land in 1663. The Greene County Historical Society maintains the Bronck Farmstead as its headquarters, and has a museum to house valuable historical collections which reflect the region’s history.

by David C. Dorpfeld, Greene County Historian

Greene County Historical SocietyHistory of the

Bronck House photograph by Jen Kiaba



There is an incessant stream of cars on their way across the Willis Avenue Bridge. The giant forest trees, the beavers and even the humble marsh hay all are gone, as are his house and barns. The fields where he pastured his livestock and grew tobacco are no more – replaced by asphalt and stained gray cement. You can’t help but wonder what Jonas Jonasson Bronck would think of the old neighborhood if he could see it today!

Jonas was a part owner and Captain of the sailing ship Fire of Troy which made port at New Amsterdam in late spring of 1639. On board were his wife Teuntje Joriaens, indentured servants, livestock, commercial goods and household furnishings – in short everything the couple would need to prosper in the Dutch commercial colonie of New Netherland. Jonas purchased 700 acres of land near the confluence of the Harlem River and a second stream that would come be known as the Bronx River. As fate would have it, Jonas’ time in the colonie was short. He died in 1643 leaving no children to inherit his land. Within the year, Teuntje made a brilliant second marriage, sold Jonas’ land and joined her new husband upriver. While Jonas is, of course, considered to be the founding father of the Bronx, he did not succeed in establishing his family in America that task fell to the next Bronck to arrive in New Netherland.

Pieter Bronck, Jonas’ younger poorer cousin, and his wife Hilletje Jans had settled at Beverwijck (Albany) by the mid 1650s. Pieter appears to have been an impatient pragmatist with larcenous tendencies. A difficult man who felt rules and regulations could be

bent or, if necessary, broken. He dabbled in the fur trade, opened a rowdy tavern and developed a brewery. The family’s finances were at best unstable, and their business practices irregular. Pieter borrowed often and repaid infrequently. By 1662 creditors had seized Pieter’s tavern, brewery and a dwelling house.

Badly in need of a fresh start, Pieter expended a portion of his remaining assets to acquire a parcel of land nearly 20 miles south of Beverwijck on the west side of Hudson’s River, near present day Coxsackie. In the spring of 1663, Pieter, Hilletje and their son Jan left for their Coxsackie land. Pieter had already located a small clearing in the dense forest near shallow stream as a suitable site for their new home. In that clearing he built a solid square stone house that would be left to his son Jan, as Jan in turn would leave it to one of his sons. That square stone house became home to Pieter’s direct descendents. Generation after generation they worked his land, made his house larger and more comfortable, and raised children there to know and value their family’s history.

Family ownership ended in 1939 with the death of the eighth generation owner. The Bronck House was left to the Greene County Historical Society with the provision that it continue to be preserved and be operated as a museum. So it has come to be that three and a half centuries later, Pieter’s square stone house still stands beside that small creek and on summer afternoons the story of the family he founded is still being told.

by Shelby Mattice, Bronck Museum Curator

The Bronck Family: The First Generations

Pieter appears to have been an impatient pragmatist with larcenous tendencies. He dabbled in the fur trade, opened a rowdy tavern, and developed a brewery.

Bronck farmstead c. 1850, oil on canvas by Richard William Hubbard.

While Jonas is, of course, considered to be the founding father of the Bronx, he did not succeed

in establishing his family in America. That task fell to the next Bronck to arrive in New Netherland.


~ One Venerable Institution ~National Bank of Coxsackie

~1852 ~

~ Salutes Another ~Bronck House

~1663 ~

��

One Venerable InstitutionNational Bank of Coxsackie

~1852~

Salutes AnotherBronck House

~1663~

(518) 943-6777 OR (888) 682-4105

Scott Alarm Systems A Division of Commercial Instruments and Alarm Systems, Inc.


(518) 943-6777 OR (888) 682-4105


WWW.SCOTTALARMSYSTEMS.COM OR CIASECURITY.COM

Residential and Commercial Installations and Service. Here at Scott Alarm Systems A Division of CIA Security we offer very competi-tive prices and the highest quality protective systems available. We install and service with our own professional staff-boasting over sixty years of combined experience. We maintain are own 24 hour UL Burglary Protection and Signaling Central Station on premises. Weather it’s across the street or across the region, our immediate response to your emergency is of utmost importance.

(518) 943-6777 OR (888) 682-4105




(518) 943-6777 OR (888) 682-4105




(518) 943-6777 OR (888) 682-4105




(518) 943-6777 OR (888) 682-4105

Scott Alarm SystemsA Division of Commercial Instruments and Alarm Systems, Inc.

Congratulations Greene County Historical Society

on the

Bronck House’s 350th

from your friends at


WINDOWS ON HISTORY

The Greene County Historical Society commissioned a limited number of 6” x 6” inch ceramic tiles commemorating the 350th Anniversary of the Bronck House. Each bas-relief sculpted stoneware tile is handmade, glazed, and fired by Frank Giorgini of Freehold, NY. $50

Greene County Historical Society offers Items for Sale

COMMEMORATING 350 YEARS

The 50” x 60” throw celebrating 350 years of the Bronck House is made of 100% cotton. $50

Set of 4 red ceramic coasters. $25

The 3” x 6” ceramic tile of the Leeds bridge is a bas-relief sculpted stoneware tile handmade, glazed, and fired by Frank Giorgini of Freehold, NY. In the 1930’s, Jessie Van Vechten Vedder (founding member of the Greene County Historical Society) fought to save the Leeds bridge when the State Department of Public Works wanted to demolish the stone bridge and replace it with a modern structure. $60

All items are available for sale at the Bronck Museum, Vedder Research Library or by mail. Add $10 for shipping and handling if mailed. Mail orders can be sent to Greene County Historical Society at P.O. Box 44, Coxsackie, NY 12051, or ordered online at www.gchistory.org.

by Jim Planck

All who have ever lived in an old time house know full well how troublesome the upkeep can be. Windows that used to fit seamlessly into their sills now call to every draft and winter breeze to come visit, doors stick in their jambs on humid days, and foundations that once seemingly would have supported the Empire State Building now have shifted and sag, bulging where the rainwater swells the cracks.

Imagine, however, not dealing with those problems at 100 or even 125 years old, but spread those years over the sweep of more than three centuries - a full 350 years - and that’s precisely the challenge the Greene County Historical Society faces every day in preserving its Bronck House Museum, the oldest standing stone house in upstate New York.

To help them do that, and in recognition of the Bronck House’s 350th Anniversary, the Society is conducting Windows on History, a massive fundraising campaign to help correct the existing problems and prevent future ones.

GCHS President Robert Hallock explains, “As we often say during the tour of the houses, this house is older than the United States, older

than the English colony of New York, and dates back to the time the Dutch had a colonie of New Netherland here in the Hudson Valley.”

“Over the years - what these windows have seen, or more appropriately, what the Bronck family members have seen from these windows! The Dutch losing control of their colonie; the English settlement of the colony; the French and Indian War; the American Revolution; the formation of Greene County; the War of 1812; the Civil War; World War I; and the Great Depression.” Then, in 1939, the Bronck House was donated by the family to the Greene County Historical Society and residency at last ended.

The Bronck House Museum’s history, and the heritage it represents, truly are of international cultural value, as the Museum regularly draws visitors from all over the world. In 2012, people from the Netherlands, Brazil, Japan, Australia, and Russia all visited the Museum.

The Museum’s three sections - the 1663 stone house, the 1685 stone house, and the 1738 brick house - all need work. Wooden sills and frames have rotted, bricks have frozen

and split, mortar has worn to dust - and all must be addressed, as together they form the strength and endurance of the structures.

Please help Windows on History fulfill its mission by providing whatever donation is possible. Visit our website at www.gchistory.org to make an online donation, or mail a check to Greene County Historical Society, P.O. Box 44, Coxsackie, NY 12051.

The Bronck Museum is a National Historic Landmark and a NYS Revolutionary War Heritage Trail site. Help preserve one of the Hudson Valley’s earliest structures in the year of its 350th Anniversary. Thank you.

All who have ever lived in an old time house know full well how troublesome upkeep can be...Imagine, however, not dealing with those problems at 100 or even 125 years old, but spread those years over the sweep of more than three centuries...

One Venerable InstitutionNational Bank of Coxsackie

~1852~

Salutes AnotherBronck House

~1663~


Nutrena • Blue Seal • Purina Feeds

Fertilizers • Shavings • Feed • FencingPet Food & Supplies • Lime • Bedding

Straw • Lawn & Garden Supplies

68 Firehouse LaneRed Hook, NY 12571

845.876.1559 or 845.758.3601 Fax: 845.758.8002

68 Firehouse Lane

��greene county historical society

on the bronck House’s 350th

� ��

11824 State Route 9W West Coxsackie • 518-731-8600

www.paulspizzaandpasta.com

File Name: Order # 381133

Menu Size 8 ½ x 14 The logo will stamp approximately 3 inches down from the top of

the menu to the top of the logo and will be centered from left to right.

This Proof shows the ACTUAL SIZE of the logo and where it will be stamped on your menu.

(The maximum size our dies can be is up to 20-square inches,

which would be 4" wide x 5" tall or 5" wide x 4" tall.)


Happy 350 th Birthday Bronck House

a House Portrait or your favorite landscape

make a great gift!!

Commissioned works done in Watercolor

by Karen F. Rhodes

see my website at FASO

email [email protected] • 518- 678-2290


Henry Hudson exploresthe river that will benamed after him andestablishes Dutchclaim to the region

Dutch establish furtrading post at presentday Albany

1600 1609 1614

Pilgrims settle onCape Cod

1620Pieter Bronck and hiswife Hilletje Jans arriveat Fort Orange (Albany)

1649Jan Bronck, secondgeneration owner ofBronck farmsteadborn

16521610 1620 1640 1650

Pieter Jonasson Bronckborn at Jonkoping,Sweden

1617

Peter Minuit purchasesManhattan Island, firstslaves brought to Dutch colonie ofNew Netherland

1626

Bronck Family Tree

Helps found GCHS in 1929*

Maria Lampman | Leonard Bronk Lampman1875-1919 1872-1939

Adelaide Bronk | Edwin Ely Bronk | Leonard Bronk1837-1904MLewis Lampman

1843-1918

h

h

John | Elsje | Catharine | John Leendert | Robert | Susannah | Leonard Bronk, Jr. 1797-1872

Maria Ely1801-1891M

h

( Judge) Leonard Bronk 1751-1828

Tryntje Van Den Berg1754-1812 (7 children)

Elbertie Van Burenb & d unknown

Mh

Sara | Commertje | Catarina | Leendert | Jan Leendert Bronck 1723-1797

Elsie Van Burenunknown-before 1783

Susannah Houghtalingunknown-1814

Mhh

Marretje | Agnietje | Antje | Pieter | Jonas | Philip | Hilletje | Caspar | Leendert Bronck Anna de Wandelaerc. 1692-unknownb & d unknown M

h

Jan Bronck1652-1742

Commertje Leendertse Conyn b & d unknownM

h

Pieter Bronck1617-1669

Hilletje Jans1617-1685 M

h

Images Lto R: Henry Hudson portrait from ‘Cyclopedia of Universal History’ source wikipedia.org; Peter Minuit, source wikipedia.org; Bronck House photo courtesy GCHS; stone wing Bronck House photo courtesy GCHS; Witchcraft at Salem Village, engraving, 1876, author unattributed, source wikipedia.org.

* in 1939, Leonard Bronk Lampman gives a generous gift to Greene County Historical Society to establish

Bronck Museum.


Pieter Bronck and familysettle at Coxsackie andbuild single room stonehouse

Dutch New Netherlandbecomes English New Yorkwith the signing of the Treaty of Westminster

1660 1663 1674

Stone wing added to the1663 stone house atBronck farmstead

1690

Salem Witch Trials begin

1692

Leendert Bronck, thirdgeneration owner ofBronck farmstead marries

1717Jan Leendert Bronck,fourth generationowner of Bronckfarmstead born

17231670 1690 1710

Bubonic plague ravagesLondon

1665

1720

Pieter Bronck and his wife Hilletje Jans had one child, Jan Bronck. There is evidence they had another child in Beverwyck who did not survive. There are also “stories” of a Bronck son that ran off with an Indian princess, but we have found no evidence of that.

Jan married Commettje Conyn and had nine children. Commertje’s father was Leendert Conyn and the Leendert name, translated to Leonard, comes down through the generations. Jan inherited the 1663 Bronck House and added the 1685 house. Jan fights in the Queen Anne War, helps to found the Dutch Reformed Church in Old Catskill (Leeds), his daughter marries the first minister of the Church, and Jan lives to an old age. It is his son Leendert who gets the 1663 and 1685 Bronck houses. Little is known of Leendert Bronck, except that he built the 1738 house. Leendert’s son was Jan Leendert Bronck ( John Leonard Bronck), a Major in the local militia, a signer of the Articles of Association and active in the American Revolution.

Jan Leendert Bronck’s son Leonard Bronk is probably the highest achieving of the generations, becoming a surveyor, attorney, farmer and landowner; signing the Articles of Association, with his father; serving in the militia during the start of the Revolution; appointed as the local quartermaster for getting supplies for the American forces; elected as Coxsackie Town Supervisor in 1781; elected to the New York State Assembly in 1782, and later to the State Senate serving there until Greene County was formed; and then became the First Judge of Greene

County. He uses the Americanized Leonard and drops the ‘c’ from the name Bronck to make it more American. He made improvements to the Bronck houses and was active in building the first courthouse in Greene County about 1811.

His son Leonard Bronk Jr. inherits the farm and is an active farmer all of his life. He has three children, two sons and one daughter. The sons are educated at Williams College but die of tuberculosis shortly after graduation, leaving it to their sister Adelaide to carry on the family legacy.

In 1871 Adelaide marries the Reverend Lewis Lampman who is a Presbyterian minister with churches in the New York Metropolitan area. Adelaide continues to own and operate the farm, with the help of her husband. They have two children Leonard Bronk Lampman and his sister Maria. Maria dies unmarried and Leonard is an attorney who practices in New York City and never marries. However, he helps to found the Greene County Historical Society in 1929. He begins to prepare the houses, outbuildings and approximately 16 acres for the transfer to the Society to become the Bronck Museum, although the houses are used by the Society as early as 1929. In 1939, in his will, Leonard leaves the property to the Society with a $50,000 trust fund to help provide money for the Society to care for the houses, all in memory of his mother.

by Robert Hallock, President, GCHS

Eight Generations of the Bronck FamilyLeft to right: Judge Leonard Bronk; Leonard Bronk, Jr.; Adelaide Bronk; Leonard Bronk Lampman; courtesy GCHS.

Timeline continued on page 20 g


George Washington born

Leonard Bronk, fifthgeneration owner ofBronck farmstead born

1732 1751

United States of Americadeclares independence

United States Constitutionratified

1787

New World Dutchgrain barn built atBronck farmstead

1790

Brick house built at Bronck farmstead

1738

French and Indian Warbegins

1776

Leonard Bronk Jr.,sixth generation ownerof Bronck farmsteadis born

1797

1754

1730 1750 1770 1780 1790

It’s hard to believe how time flies, but it has been three-and-a-half centuries since Pieter Bronck and his family settled on their land near present day Coxsackie. In America there aren’t many semiseptcentennials being held, so the question becomes what is the appropriate way to honor the passage of 350 years? Well, why not begin with a birthday party! On Sunday, June 16, from 12:30-4 p.m., the Bronck Museum will hold its 350th birthday party complete with 350 cupcakes, face painting, music, and fun of all kinds. A highlight for dads and their kids is the chance to participate in raising the scale model of a New World Dutch Barn provided by the National Barn Alliance in association with the Dutch Barn Preservation Society. While the day is intended to honor the past, the Bronck Museum will also emphasize its commitment to the future with the opening of a new permanent exhibit devoted to the history of the Hudson River ice industry.

On Sunday, June 23, the Bronck Museum will hold the first of four scheduled Semiseptcentennial Sunday Tours. These special content tours, led by a costumed guide, will focus on the 1663 dwelling and lifestyle of early Europeans – like the Bronck family – who settled

in remote locations. The tour will examine how they coped with and adapted to wilderness life, and the impact of their arrival on the wilderness. Additional Semiseptcentennial Sunday Tours are scheduled for July 28, August 25, and September 22. Tours begin at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.

A continuing exploration of colonial life in the mid-1660s will be offered during the Bronck Family at Home programs in July and September. On Sunday, July 14, Shirley W. Dunn, author of The Mohicans and Their Land 1609-1730, will explore the nature and cultural impact of the relationship that developed between Dutch settlers and the Mohicans in the upper Hudson Valley. On Sunday, September 15, Janny Venema, author of the groundbreaking book Beverwijck will offer a picture of daily life in the small Dutch village – present day Albany – where the Bronck family lived from the late-1640s until their move to the Coxsackie property in 1663. The Bronck Family at Home programs begin at 2 p.m., in the Reading Room of the Vedder Research Library on the Bronck Museum grounds. A Schedule of 350th Events follows.

Semiseptcentennial Left to right: Bronck House roof line photo by Geoffrey Gross, from the book ‘Dutch Colonial

Homes of America; Kitchen dependency photo by Jen Kiaba; wagon photo courtesy GCHS.

Images Lto R: Bronck brick house photo courtesy GCHS; Leonard Bronk portrait courtesy GCHS; high resolution image of the United States Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, source commons.wikimedia.org; New World Dutch grain barn photo by Jen Kiaba; Leonard Bronk Jr., portrait courtesy GCHS; Kitchen dependency, 13-sided barn, Adelaide Ely Bronk photos courtesy

GCHS; Painting depicting Civil War Battle of Antietam, painting by Thure de Thulstrup, 1887, source wikipedia.org.


Kitchen Dependencybuilt at Bronck farmstead

State of New Yorkfrees slaves

1800 1827

Thirteen-sided hay barnbuilt on Bronck farmstead

Gold discoveredin California

1848

United States Civil War begins

1861

Adelaide Ely Bronk,seventh generationowner of Bronckfarmstead born

1837Battle of the Alamo

1835

1836

1800 1820 1830 1840 1860

Sunday, May 19, 1-3 p.m.: Association DayCelebration of the 238th anniversary of the signing of the Coxsackie Declaration. Live music. Admission: Free

May 25 – October 14: The Broncks: A Dutch-American FamilyBronck Museum Visitor Center GalleryAn exhibit marking 350 years of the Bronck family. Special Exhibit Hours: Wed.-Fri. noon-4 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun. 1-4 p.m. Admission: Free

Saturday, June 8, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: 37th Annual Tour of Homes Headquarters: Mountaintop Historical Society’s Ulster and Delaware railroad depot in Haines Falls and Methodist Church in the hamlet of Lexington. Tour focusing on the homes of historic significance along the Route 23A corridor between Haines Falls and Lexington. Tickets: $25; advance, $20 Information: 518.731.1033; www.gchistory.org

Sunday, June 16, 12:30-4 p.m.: Happy 350th Anniversary Bronck House! An afternoon of birthday fun for the entire family with food, music, new exhibit opening, face painting, barn raising and more. Admission: Free

Sunday, June 23, 1-4 p.m.: Semiseptcentennial Sunday Join a costumed guide for a trip back in time 350 years to the Dutch “colonie” of New Netherland. Tours begin at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. & 3 p.m. Tickets: $6; GCHS Members & children, $3

Sunday, July 14, 2 p.m.: Bronck Family at Home with the MohicansVedder Research Library. Historian Shirley Dunn explores the relationship between the first European settlers and Native Americans. Admission: free thanks to a grant from the Bank of Greene County Charitable Foundation.

Schedule of EventsSemiseptcentennial Panorama photograph of Bronck Museum grounds by Susanne Morlang.

Timeline continued on page 22g

Schedule of Events continued on page 22g


Leonard Bronk Lampman,eighth generation owner ofBronck farmstead born

Statue of Libertyunveiled

1872 1886

San Franciscoearthquake

World War I begins

1914

American womengranted right to vote

1920

Greene CountyHistorical Societyreceives Bronckfarmstead fromLeonard BronkLampman and beginsoperation of theBronck Museum on the site

1939

Wall Street crash

Greene CountyHistorical Societyformed

1906

1929

General George Custerdefeated at Little Horn Montana

1876

1870 1880 1900 1910 1920-30

Sunday, July 28, 1-4 p.m.: Semiseptcentennial SundayJoin a costumed guide for a trip back in time 350 years to the Dutch “colonie” of New Netherland. Tours begin at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. & 3 p.m. Tickets: $6; GCHS Members & children $3

Saturday, August 17, 7:30 p.m.: By the Light of the Silvery MoonLearn about the pleasures & perils of the night life in times past. Enjoy period refreshments and entertainment. Tickets: $7; GCHS Members & Children, $3.50

Sunday, August 25, 1-4 p.m.: Semiseptcentennial SundayJoin a costumed guide for a trip back in time 350 years to the Dutch “colonie” of New Netherland. Tours begin at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. & 3 p.m. Tickets: $6; GCHS Members & children $3

Sunday, September 15, 2 p.m.: Bronck Family at Home in Beverwijck Vedder Research Library. Historian Janny Venema explores the village of Beverwijck in the 1650s and 1660s. Admission: free thanks to a grant from the Bank of Greene County Charitable Foundation.

Sunday, September 22, 1-4 p.m.: Semiseptcentennial Sunday Join a costumed guide for a trip back in time 350 years to the Dutch “colonie” of New Netherland. Tours begin at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. & 3 p.m. Tickets: $6; GCHS Members & children, $3

Sunday, October 6, noon-5 p.m.: Heritage Craft FairExhibit & sale of traditional American crafts, live music, silent auction, wagon rides. Admission: free.

Saturday, October 26, 4 p.m. & 5:15 p.m.: A Great SorrowExperience an early American funeral. Tours begin at 4 p.m. & 5:15 pm. Tickets: $6; GCHS Members & Children $3

Saturday & Sunday, November 16 & 17: Chilly Willy Winter’s Eve TourCold season tour with costumed guide. Tours at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. & 3 p.m. each day. Tickets: $7; GCHS Members & children $3.50

All events held at Bronck House and Museum, unless otherwise noted.

Left to right: Village Volunteers Fife & Drum Corps performs at Association Day, courtesy GCHS; Trading Post photo by Jen Kiaba; Shelby Mattice, Curator, Bronk Museum, courtesy GCHS; New World Dutch Barn, photo by Jen Kiaba.continued from page 21 i

Images Lto R: Portrait Leonard Bronk Lampman courtesy GCHS; Statue of Liberty unveiled painting by Edward Moran, 1886, source wikipedia.org; Arnold Genthe’s famous photograph looking toward fire on Sacramento Street in aftermath of 1906 San Francisco earthquake, source wikipedia.org; U.S.

women suffragists demonstrating for the right to vote, Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Bain News Service, source wikipedia.org.


The Bronck Museum special events calendar offers visitors the chance to experience the forgotten holidays, seasonal celebrations, and the public and private events that punctuated life in early rural America.

The Bronck family had called their Coxsackie farmstead home for 112 years when the possibility of a war with England arose. The current owner, Jan Leendertse Bronck, and his son Leonard were concerned. They had grievances with the English administration of the American colonies, but they were cautious. Open warfare would cause disruption to the commerce that was making the Bronck family very prosperous. In the end, both men joined more than 200 of their neighbors to sign the Coxsackie Association. The document set forth the colonists’ grievances and left no doubt that they were willing to undertake their own governance if England did not correct the enumerated problems. A serious step toward a full Declaration of Independence had been taken. Two hundred and thirty eight years and two days later, on Sunday, May 19, from 1-3 p.m., the Bronck Museum will hold Association Day observances. Costumed presenters will read the text of the original document and invite visitors to take quill in hand and “associate” themselves with the grievances of those long ago patriots. The afternoon also includes period music, and costumed interpreters to provide the women’s perspective on the tea boycott, and offer suitably patriotic refreshment.

In rural communities, the activities of daily life were determined by the weather, the demands of crops and creatures, and even the phases of the moon. The full moon provided a welcome and free source of light. Moonlight reduced the dangers of nighttime travel and bathed the interiors of houses with a cool white light, making evening gatherings easier and safer. By the Light of the Silvery “Corn Moon” on Saturday, August 17, at 7:30 p.m., the Bronck Museum opens its doors for a special evening of live music, country amusements, homemade deserts, and candle light tours of the Bronck houses and grounds.

September brought the first of the fairs that punctuated the harvest season in rural America. Produce and homemade goods, the tangible reward for months of hard labor, skill and vigilant attention were exhibited and sold with pride. On Sunday, October 6, from noon to 5 p.m., the Bronck Museum will hold its annual Heritage Craft Fair. Crafters fill the houses and barns and spill on to the lawn selling all manner of traditional goods and fresh produce. There will be live music, a silent auction, horse drawn wagon rides, grazing sheep, and country food—everything necessary for a traditional celebration of the American harvest season.

The golden light of October has faded to the pearl gray of November. Oak leaves rattle in the chill north wind, a death has occurred. On Saturday, October 26, at 4 p.m. and 5:15 p.m., the Bronck Museum observes the rituals of a Dutch funeral. The house is shuttered and prepared. A body, neatly wrapped in the burial shroud, awaits mourners and the ministrations of the “sin eater” before a solemn procession to the family burying ground.

By mid-November, the harvest is stowed away and the heavy agricultural labor of the year is nearly complete. Celebration of the holidays of Martinmas, St. Nicholas Day, and St Lucia Day are just ahead. On the weekend of November 16 and 17, the Bronck Museum will welcome visitors for tours through candle lit rooms decorated for these now largely forgotten holidays. The Lucy bundle is placed by the door and her crown ready on the table, you can hear the rattle of Krampus’ chains, and the klompen are filled with carrots for Nicholas’ horse. There is a bowl of white beans for abundance and a banket staven for good behavior. The old legends will be told, and traditional Dutch and Swedish refreshments will be served. Tours are scheduled at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. each day.

Winter has arrived. The shutters on the stone house are closed; the first snow will soon cover its steep gray shingled roof. The venerable old house has fallen dark and silent to await the coming of its 351st first spring.

Spend the day in the mountains on Saturday, June 8th experiencing the Greene County Historical Society’s 37th annual Tour of Homes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The tour, held in collaboration with the Mountain Top Historical Society, the Town of Hunter and the Lexington Bicentennial Committee, focuses on the Route 23A corridor between Haines Falls and Lexington. The area has a long history serving as host to visitors from all over the world and that tradition continues today. Included are several sites that capture life in the mountain community in the 1800s and more.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the creation of the towns of Hunter and Lexington and the 100th anniversary of the Mountaintop Historical Society’s Ulster and Delaware railroad depot in Haines Falls, which will serve as one of two headquarters for the tour. There will also be a ticket sale site at the Methodist Church in the hamlet of Lexington.

Tickets are $25 the day of the tour; $20 in advance. Participants will receive a packet of material about the sites along with a marked route map. The tour will be held rain or shine. Picnic lunches will be available at the Lexington Methodist Church on Route 23A in Lexington.

To reserve advance sale tickets, send a check payable to GCHS to: Greene County Historical Society, P.O. Box 44, Coxsackie, NY 12051. Advance sale ticket reservations must be received by June 4th. The tickets will be available with your tour packet at the headquarters you specify on your reservation form.

Proceeds from the sale of tour tickets support the Greene County Historical Society, the Bronck Museum and the Vedder Research Library.

For more information, call David Dorpfeld at 518.817.8771; Terez Limer at 518.966.8131; or visit http://www.gchistory.org.

37th ANNUAL HIGH PEAKS TOUR OF HOMES

DAYS AND SEASONS BRONCK MUSEUMat theLeft to right: Bronck House photo by Geoffrey Gross, from the book ‘Dutch Colonial Homes of America; Spring & Winter photos provided by GCHS.

bronck house Celebrates 350 commemorative 24



a day in Spring


a day in SpringThe rising sun of a spring morning flooded through the single

window. It had been wise to place their only window so that the sun lit the interior of the main room as soon as it rose above the huge trees that surrounded the clearing where the house stood. The sun rose earlier each morning and the family did too. During the dark winter months everyone remained in bed much later. The frost covered beams and ice covered floors that awaited them every winter morning made it hard to leave the relative warmth of their beds.

In the blue pre-dawn light, women rekindled the fire in the huge fireplace and prepared the cornmeal mush studded with the last chunks of dried pumpkin. The family’s store of food was nearly gone. What remained were the unsavory dregs of last season’s corn, dried squash, and grey peas from the bottom of the barrels. It would still be a while before they could find much growing wild, and the wait for food from the kitchen garden would be even longer. So they were thankful for the single large plate of mush from which they all ate, and the small pitcher of beer. The scant meal hardly filled their stomachs or provided sufficient energy to accomplish the heavy spring workload on an isolated Dutch farmstead. They hoped that today someone would find a newly laid clutch of wild bird eggs, catch some fish, or find fresh green ramps in the swamp.

The family ate their meal in the single room that also served as kitchen and bedroom for the entire household. It was a much larger house than the one they left in Holland, but it was sparsely furnished. Most families sold their furniture before leaving for the “colonie”. Trunks provided rodent-resistant storage, seating and work surfaces. Few families owned chairs, and tables were even rarer. Many houses had built-in beds, but most had simple homemade free standing bed frames that occupied most of the remaining living space not taken up by the trunks, firewood or cooking equipment.

The return of warmer weather made doing the laundry possible again. The family’s clothes and bedding had not been washed since late fall. Laundry was a task that occupied every family member. The men and older boys carried the water and tended the fire under the large kettle that had been used last fall to butcher the pigs. Women and girls scrubbed all clothing and bedding before putting them in the kettle to boil. Boiling the laundry put an end, at least for a little while, to the perpetual problem of clothing infested with body lice. The clean laundry was spread on bushes or hung from convenient low hanging tree limbs to dry. One of the younger children stood guard to be sure nothing was carried away by a gust of strong spring wind. The family

had a limited supply of clothing. The loss of a single garment, or warm blanket was serious.

The house needed attention too. The sand that had absorbed spills and provided traction on icy floors combined with months of accumulated woodchips, splintered cornhusks, grass, ashes, manure and all manner of filth had to be swept outside. The exposed floors were scrubbed in the best Dutch tradition and once dry, a fresh layer of clean sand would be spread. Poison had to be set out for rodents and newly hatched insects. This was no time to be sharing scant food supplies with vermin.

The spring sun crossed over the house to the west where there were no windows. Daylight gave way to firelight as afternoon passed into evening. The family had not had enough fat from the butchering last fall to make candles. Soon the fire would be banked and the family that had risen early to greet the dawn were in their beds before sunset. No one slept alone. Infants slept with their parents, older children were packed tightly in every available bed. In this house tonight the bedding would be clean and the mattresses filled with fresh stuffing. There would be fewer bed bugs to disturb their rest tonight.

Before falling into the deep sleep of those accustomed to heavy labor, more than one family member assessed the events of the spring day just past and considered what had to be accomplished on the day ahead. The family had a cleaner house and clothing by day’s end. One of the children walking along the stream had found some duck eggs which had been eagerly consumed with the cornmeal mush at the main meal of the day. Even so, everyone had gone to bed more or less hungry. Tomorrow they would begin the heavy work necessary to ready the established fields for planting. The women would concentrate on getting the kitchen garden ready. Any time they were not otherwise occupied had to be devoted to the increasingly critical search for fresh wild food. Someone needed to have success fishing. More wild bird eggs had to be found. The list of things to be accomplished was long and sleep elusive.

Somewhere outside in the pitch dark forest, wolves – it sounded like many wolves – began to howl. It was an unsettling reminder of how precarious their situation was, how dependent they were on each other, and how much their survival depended on many things beyond their control. Before dawn in a corner of the dark house, several hungry gray field mice gained access to a barrel holding the remaining precious supply of corn.

by Shelby Mattice, Bronck Museum Curator photo by Haather Gibbons


This year the Bronck house in Coxsackie will be 350 years old – the oldest existing house in upstate New York. But, it was more than a home for the Bronck family. The site was also the centerpiece for a farm which remained in the family for eight generations, covering 276 years (1663-1939). While we know the original land purchase was large – three square miles constituting almost 2000 acres – little is known about the farming that took place in the 17th century. It was likely a subsistence living during the first decades: clearing the land, husbanding a few small animals such as pigs, sheep and goats, trying to grow a few crops, hunting for wild game, fishing and battling the elements with the nearest settlements miles away.

By the 18th century and the time of the Revolution we know the Broncks were running a successful self-sufficient enterprise growing hay, various types of grain, and livestock on the farm. They even milled their own grain for flour and livestock feed at a gristmill on the Coxsackie Creek. Leonard Bronk, agent for the Coxsackie District during the war, was responsible for gathering provisions necessary to pursue the colonial cause. For example, in August 1780 he received a requisition for ten tons of flour and 20,000 weight of beef or its equivalent needed for the army. The Bronck farm likely contributed its share to filling the requisition.

By the early 1800s the Bronck farm was listed as the most valuable property in Greene County. Corn, acquired from the Indians, was grown in the valley as a cereal crop. Some of the other crops likely grown by the Broncks include: oats for horse feed, barley for beer making, buckwheat for feeding poultry and swine and making pancake meal, and rye for whiskey. Of course the farm also had orchards for growing fruit and making cider as well as hay to feed the livestock and to sell down the

river to the growing New York City metropolitan area. In addition to the crops, the Broncks raised animals of all kinds including horses, cows, swine and poultry.

Even after selling off some of the land over time, during the 19th and early 20th centuries the Bronck farm still encompassed hundreds of acres and stretched from the escarpment that carries the Thruway to the Hudson River. This was huge considering the fact that most farms in Greene County at the time were 100 acres or less. Today much evidence of the farm still exists. For instance, visitors can visit the Dutch barn, built around the turn of the 19th century, with its massive threshing floor and storage areas on each side. Also open to the public is the thirteen-sided hay storage barn which once had a dairy barn attached. The interior of the barn features a number of horse drawn contrivances. A magnificent Victorian Horse Barn stands on the property as well and is open to the public with exhibits on early Greene County industry.

the bronck

Farm

by David C. Dorpfeld, Greene County Historian

By the 18th century and the time of the Revolution, we know the Broncks were running a successful self-sufficient enterprise growing hay, various types of grain, and livestock on the farm.

Thirteen-sided barn on the Bronck Museum grounds. Photo by James Dustin.


The Bronck family was certainly influenced by the local geology when they chose to settle here. Hints abound as you scan the horizon in every direction. To the east lies a broad, very flat landscape. This is the floor of Glacial Lake Albany, an ice age lake that extended up and down the Hudson Valley. To the west lies a rising ledge of gray rock. This is the Helderberg Front, a thick sequence of limestone and shale that, again, extends up and down the Hudson Valley. The first Bronck settlers may not have known much geology, but they likely saw that these landscapes could provide for many of the family’s basic needs as they settled here.

The glacial lake deposits must have seemed very attractive to the Broncks as providing a favorable soil to develop their crops on. Lake deposits would not have had all that many boulders in them. Plowing would have been so much easier. The soil was important but the bedrock is more interesting.

The strata of the Helderberg Front would have offered the building stone that settlers needed. Indeed the oldest and younger parts of the Bronck home are composed of stone that apparently came from the Helderberg Limestone of that nearby hill.

The two lowest rock units of the Helderberg are called the Manlius and Coeymans Limestones. Blocks of both are found in the walls of the Bronck House. The largest numbers of them, however, are from the Manlius. If you visit the Bronck home and slowly walk around the house, you will observe a very wide variety of Manlius stone blocks. These take us more than 400 million years into the past, to a time called the Devonian Period.

This time travel brings us to an ecology that’s rarely seen in the modern world. The habitat is called a supratidal flat. That’s a broad, nearly flat surface that rises just inches above the high tide mark. You

would have to visit the Persian Gulf to see something like it today. During the Devonian Period our region was a tropical land at the edge of a shallow sea that closely resembled today’s Persian Gulf. In your mind’s eye you can stand on this tidal flat and look all about you. This surface is covered by horizons of primitive algae. It is a surface called an algal mat.

In your mind’s eye you can become a real time traveler and explore more of this ancient landscape. You will soon find places where the tropical sun has baked the surface and shrank its sediments into a honeycomb of shrinkage cracks – called mud cracks. At very high tides the winds sculpt ripple marks into the sandy sediments. Algal mats, mud cracks and ripples are all typical of supratidal flats. We see them frequently along the shores of the Persian Gulf and at the Bronck House.

There is more; if you look carefully at the stone blocks at the Bronck home, you will find fossils of ancient reef-building creatures called stromatoporoids. Nobody knows what exactly they were, but like corals today, they created reefs in the nearby Helderberg Sea.

So, the Bronck House is an old house with a very ancient heritage.

Noted local geologist and author Dr. Robert Titus received his doctorate from Boston University and is a faculty member of the Department of Geology at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y. He is an author and a regular contributor to Kaatskill Life Magazine, the Woodstock Times, and the Register Star Newspapers. Dr. Titus and his wife Johanna recently published a new book detailing the Ice Age History of the Hudson Valley.

Geology

by Robert Titus

at the Bronck Farmstead

If you visit the Bronck home and slowly walk around the house, you will observe a very wide variety of Manlius stone blocks. These take us more than 400 million years into the past...

Robert Titus at the Bronck House. Photo submitted.


Pieter Bronck, of Swedish birth, married to a Dutch woman, came to New Netherland about 1650, lived there and died there. He dealt with the local Mahican Indians in his tavern in Beverwyck (now Albany), had a house for the Indians (wilden haus) who traded in Beverwyck on his tavern grounds, and purchased land from the local Mahicans in 1662 to build his house in “kaaks-aki” now Coxackie.

The Mahican stories that survive indicate that the Delaware and the Mahicans crossed the North American continent together, but separated once they reached the East coast. The Mahicans settled by the Hudson River, which they called Muhegantuc – or river that flows both ways – which they said reminded them of the home they had left in the west. The Mahicans, sometimes called the River Indians, inhabited Long Island, around New York City, the east side of the Hudson/Muhegantuc, and on the West bank North from somewhere between the Sawyers Kill and the Cats Kill up to about Lake Champlain.

In what is now Greene County, Mahican tribes had at least one “village” in Old Catskill on the flats by the Cats Kill. Pieter Bronck’s land purchase was an area that may once have been used as a hunting camp where the Mahicans did controlled burns to clear the brush for better hunting, hence as Pieter described it “a natural clearing” in the dense woods. In Old Catskill, now Leeds, a “village” with a burial ground and remnants of a rude stockade made of logs fixed perpendicularly in the ground were found. It was said in the late 1600’s that there were 60 fighting Indians there, besides women and children, about 300 people all together.

When Brant Van Schlitenhorst bought land in the mid 1600’s he purchased it from Pewasck, a woman sachem (chief ) of the Mahicans, and her son Supahof. Pieter Bronck’s purchase of land in 1662, was

from two Mahicans Sachemos and Siskewas, sons of another sachem, Keesie Way. Keesie Way was a well known sachem who was a counselor to the local Mahican chief Skiwas, called Aepjen, a name derived from the Dutch reference to an ape. Aepjen was born c. 1600, became chief sachem in 1648, and died c. 1665.

The Native Americans had a trail that ran from what is now Montreal to what is now New York City, which ran in Greene County from just north of the Hannacroix Creek, along the flats to the edge of the High Rocks, then across the flats to Roberts Hill Road, then atop the limestone cliffs to the Coxsackie Creek and thence along the limestone cliffs crossing the Cats Kill at Jefferson Heights. Other trails ran off to the west into the mountains. The main westward trail went up the side of the Catskill Mountains and became the road to the Catskill Mountain House site in the early 1800’s. Almost 100 years later the new road was built up through the Clove, bypassing this old trail, which is still in use as a hiking trail.

by Robert Hallock, President, GCHS

mahican indiansPieter Bronck and the

The Mahicans settled by the Hudson River, which they called Muhegantuc – or river that flows both ways – which they said reminded them of the home they had left in the west.

Model depicting typical Mahican village on display at the New York State Museum in Albany Photo courtesy GCHS.


One of the most interesting sites in the Hudson Valley can be found in Greene County – the Bronck Museum is located just off Route 9W in Coxsackie. The original house was constructed in 1663, added to later, and is the oldest house in upstate New York. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1967. A tour of the house usually takes 60-90 minutes, but visitors can also visit many other exhibits at the site.

While at the Visitor Center, a beautifully designed timeline can be viewed. Designed by James Dustin, a former Trustee of the Historical Society, and Shelby Mattice, curator, the timeline highlights important events that took place in the Bronck Family history, and also indicates what events were taking place at the same time in the country from the colonial period up to the mid-twentieth century.

Next to the Visitor Center is the Victorian Horse Barn. At one time home to the horses of the farmstead, it now houses the gift shop, some rotating exhibits and a scale model of the famous Catskill Mountain House. The Catskill Mountain House which opened in 1824 was situated on a 2000 foot cliff near the present village of Haines Falls, and was one of the most famous hotels in the country. It hosted European royalty, American Presidents and captains of industry. It also offered a fantastic view of the valley, and was a beautiful and amazing structure. The scale model is an impressive piece of work. It was built by Edgar Saxe, a retired farmer whose farm was located directly below the Mountain House near Palenville. Other Mountain House-related items are also on display.

New to the Bronck complex is an exhibit dedicated to the ice industry in the Valley. Located a short walk from the Victorian Horse Barn, the exhibit is the result of hours of research by several trustees of the Historical Society, who are eagerly awaiting opening day on June 16. The exhibit includes a detailed history of the ice industry with an emphasis on what happened in Greene County. On display are the tools

used to cut the river ice and move it into the houses. Photographs of the period show the ice moving from the river into the ice houses, and from the ice houses to the barges that transported the ice to New York City. A map indicates the location of most of the ice houses in Greene County. For all those old timers out there, and for the youngsters too, the exhibit also includes an ice box. While the Bronck family was not involved in the ice industry, harvesting of ice played an important part in the economic life of Greene County and the exhibit is a welcome addition to the site.

While at the Bronck Museum one can also visit the Dutch Barn built around 1800, the Thirteen-Sided Barn built in the mid-1830s, and the family burial grounds. Redwood tables placed in the shade of majestic trees provide a nice place for a picnic lunch. Bathrooms are on site. For more information or directions please visit the Museum’s website at: http//www.gchistory.org.

Photos: top, Visitor Center with timeline exhibit in background, photo by James Dustin; Inset, scale model of Catckill Mountain House located in the Victorian Horse Barn, photos courtesy GCHS.

by Richard Muggeo, Greene County Historical Society Trustee

history on display


Taylor 2 & Ruth Andrien with kenneth hamrick:

musical-choreographic language of paul taylorPiano Performance Museum, Doctorow Center for the Arts, 7971 Main St., Village of Hunter, NY 12442Saturday, May 18, 2 p.m.: Taylor 2 dancers led by Rehearsal Director Ruth Andrien in a discussion and performance. They will perform examples of the “Musical Choreographic Language of Paul Taylor.” Artistic Director Kenneth Hamrick will provide accompaniment on historic instruments from the world-class collection of period playable pianos from the 18th century to the present. Tickets: $10; $7 studentsInformation: 518.263.2000; http://www.catskillmtn.org

Paul taylor dance companyOrpheum Performing Arts Center, 6050 Main St. (Rte. 23A), Village of Tannersville, NY 12442Wednesday, May 22, 7 p.m.: The Paul Taylor Dance Company will perform Kith and Kin, Scudorama, and Brandenburgs. As part of the Live Music for Dance Initiative, this performance features repertoire specially selected by choreographer and dancer Paul Taylor to be performed for the first time with a Baroque orchestra of period instruments, with live music accompaniment provided by the distinguished orchestra American Virtuosi, conducted by harpsichordist Kenneth Hamrick. Tickets: Advance, $23; $18 seniors; $7 students; Door, $27|$21|$7Information: 518.263.2000; http://www.catskillmtn.org

Tannersville rubber duck race & crazy boat raceVillage of Tannersville, Main St., Rte. 23 A, Tannersville, NY 12485 Saturday, May 25, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.: 500 rubber ducks are launched into Gooseberry Creek on Main Street at 11 a.m. Cash prizes for the first 3 ducks across the finish line located across from Rip Van Winkle lake where a festival with food, music and crafts will be held all day. Crazy Boat Race on lake at 2 p.m. Tickets: freeInformation: 518.858.9094; http://www.communityeventsny.com

Performance by taylor 2 residency Orpheum Performing Arts Center, 6050 Main St. (Rte. 23A), Village of Tannersville, NY 12442Saturday, May 25, 7 p.m.: See the young professionals who have participated in the Taylor 2 Residency perform. Tickets: $10Information: 518.263.2000; http://www.catskillmtn.org

East durham irish festivalMichael J. Quill Irish Cultural & Sports Centre, Route 145, East Durham, NY 12423Saturday & Sunday, May 25 & 26: 21 Irish bands on two stages, Irish dancers, City of Albany Pipe Band, music and dance workshops, First Annual Irish Festival Idol Contest, food and other vendors, and much more. Tickets: $12 advance; $16 at gateInformation: 518.634.2286; http://eastdurhamirishfestival.com

Cat’n around catskill during the dog days of summerMain Street, Village of Catskill, NY 12414May 27-September: This is the 7th year for the famous Catskill cats.Juried artists decorate fiberglass cats (and this year, dogs too), which will then be displayed throughout the Town and Village of Catskill, and auctioned on Septemer 28, at the Auction & Gala. Profits from the auction support arts education, participating artists, animal welfare, local not-for-profits, and local food banks. Information: http://www.cat-n-around.com

NInth Annual Mountain Jam fest IxHunter Mountain, Route 23A, Hunter, NY 12442Thursday-Sunday, June 6-9: Four day music festival featuring national recording artists and local bands. Listed by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top 10 music festivals in the country. This year’s line-up includes Phil Lesh and friends, Widespread Panic, Gov’t Mule, Primus, The Avett Brothers, Dispatch, Gary Clark

the greene sceneSee world-class Irish musicians and dancers at Hunter Mountain’s International Celtic Festival in

August. Irish Step Dancers, photo courtesy Great Northern Catskills of Greene County;


Jr., Soulive, Deer Tick, Jackie Greene, Rubblebucket, ALO, Amy Helm, Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers, The Revivalists, David Wax Museum, SIMO and more! On site camping available, Food Truck Village, hotel shuttles. Tickets: Advance one-day passes, $79 & $89; 4-day, $215; 3-day, $190Information: 518.628.4423; http://mountainjam.com

Storyteller David GonzalezDoctorow Center for the Arts, 7971 Main St., Hunter, NY 12442Saturday, June 8, 3:30 p.m.: David Gonzalez performs “Aesop Bops,” a fast-paced, funny, and packed with audience participation performance. The show features a potpourri of Aesop’s classic stories. Tickets: Advance, $10; $7 children under 12; Door, $12|$7 Information: 518.263.2000; http://www.catskillmtn.org

Taste of Country Music FestivalHunter Mountain, Route 23A, Hunter, NY 12442Thursday-Saturday, June 13-15: Top country music stars including Lady Antebellum, Willie Nelson & Family, Trace Adkins, Hunter Hayes, Montgomery Gentry, Gloriana and many others.Tickets: packages start at $120; Thurs. only, advance $49 & $75; Fri. only, advance $79 & $110; Sat. only, advance $89 & $110Information: 518.628.4423; http://tasteofcountryfestival.com

Bavarian Summer FestRiedlbauer’s Resort, 57 Ravine Dr., Round Top, NY 12473Saturday & Sunday, June 22 & 23: Annual event featuring all things German -- bands, bell ringers, dancing, food, drink and many vendors. Tickets: Free parking and admissionInformation: 518.628.4423; http://www.riedlbauersresort.com

i love downhill grand prix new york skateboard

& streetluge raceWindham Mountain, 33 Clarence D. Lane Rd., Windham, NY 12496Saturday & Sunday, June 22 & 23: The racecourse will be over one mile with five of the most intense and fun technical turns, and fast speeds to challenge the topskateboard racers in the world, all while achieving its goal of building awareness of the sport, its athletes and the longboard skateboard and street luge community! Information: http://www.windhammountain.com

2013 Summer party at thomas cole historic site218 Spring Street, Catskill, NY 12414Saturday, June 29, 7 p.m.: Known as “the party of the year,” enjoy cocktails, dinner, dancing and fireworks, all while overlooking a 180-degree view of the Hudson River. Tickets: $175Information: 518.943.7465; http://www.thomascole.org

Sparkle! music of chinese-american composersDoctorow Center for the Arts, 7971 Main St., Hunter, NY 12442Saturday, July 6, 8 p.m.: Perspectives Ensemble has created a concert with Chinese-American composer Huang Ruo, focusing on the works of composers who came of age during the Cultural Revolution. Recently awarded First Prize by the prestigious Luxembourg International Composition Prize, Huang Ruo has been cited by the New Yorker as “one of the most intriguing of the new crop of Asian-American composers.” Tickets: Advance, $23; $18 seniors; $7 students; Door, $27|$21|$7 Information: 518.263.2000; http://www.catskillmtn.org

special performance on the scotland unversity

“cremona 1734” violinDoctorow Center for the Arts, 7971 Main St., Hunter, NY 12442Saturday, July 20, 3:30 p.m.: The Amati Music Festival will feature a very special performance on the Scotland University “Cremona 1734” violin made by the renowned instrument builder, Antonio Stradivari, now part of the Sau-Wing Lam Collection – one of the finest collections of violins currently in private hands. The collection was on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through spring 2013. Tickets: Advance, $23; $18 seniors; $7 students; Door, $27|$21|$7 Information: 518.263.2000; http://www.catskillmtn.org

summer interlude: manhattan in the mountainsDoctorow Center for the Arts, 7971 Main St., Hunter, NY 12442Saturday, July 27, 8 p.m.: Part of the Piano Performance Museum Festival, this concert features Tatiana Goncharova, Joanne Polk, pianists, and Grigory Kalinovsky, violinist. Verbal program notes presented by Dr. Jeffrey Langford, musicologist and author of Evenings at the Opera.Tickets: Advance, $10; $7 children under 12; Door, $12|$7 Information: 518.263.2000; http://www.catskillmtn.org

grey fox bluegrass festival

continued on page 34 g

Walsh Farm, 1 Poultney Rd., Oak Hill, NY 12460Thursday-Sunday, July 18-21: Four-day outdoor festival featuring a Who’s Who of bluegrass and acoustic music, dancing, workshops, family activities, camping, jam sessions, food, vendors and more. This year’s line-up includes The Infamous Stringdusters, Keller Williams with the Travelin’ McCourys, The Steel Drivers, The Duhks, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Monroeville, James King Band, Nora Jane Struthers & The Party Line, Milk Drive, 23 String Band, Berklee Roots Road Show, and many others.Tickets: full festival including camping, $170; day tickets, Thurs.-Sat., $55, Sun., $25Information: 888.946.8495; http://www.greyfoxbluegrass.com

Keller Williams and the Travelin’ McCourys. Photo submitted.


Warrior dashWindham Mountain, Clarence D. Lane Rd., Windham, NY 12496Saturday, July 27: Red Frog Events and Windham Mountain host this extreme 3.2 mile obstacle course throughout Windam Mountain’s terrain. There are 13 obstacles including high wall climbs, fire jumps, pond swimming and mud crawling! The ultimate challenge for extreme athletes.Information: 518.734.4300; http://www.warriordash.com

Tour of the catskills pro-am bicycle road raceVarious locations throughout Greene CountyFriday-Sunday, August 2-4: The Tour of the Catskills is one of America’s premier cycling events held in the heart of the Catskill Mountains. Held over 3 days, beginning with a Friday individual time trial, and two epic road stages on Saturday and Sunday in Greene and Ulster Counties, the event captures the essence of the history, culture, and scenery of the Catskill Mountains. The addition of the famed ‘Devil’s Kitchen Climb’ in 2012 re-established the event as one of America’s toughest cycling events for amateurs and professionals alike. The event draws hundreds of participants and thousands of spectators who line the streets and roads as racers pass through the region in an exciting parade of colors! Information: http://tourofthecatskills.com

Live on stage: the spirit of johnny cashHistoric Catskill Point, One Main St., Catskill, NY 12414Saturday, August 3, 7 p.m.: “The Spirit of Johnny Cash” features Harold Ford as Cash, and Laura Lucy as June Carter Cash and The Cash Band. A ‘resurrection’ tribute concert.

Tickets: $25 preferred; $15 general; $10 BYO chair, $10Information: http://www.heartofcatskill.com; http://www.thespiritofjohnnycash.com

isn’t it romantic: manhattan in the mountainsDoctorow Center for the Arts, 7971 Main St., Hunter, NY 12442Saturday, August 3, 8 p.m.: Festival concert featuring Tatiana Goncharova, Joanne Polk, pianists, and Grigory Kalinovsky, violinist. Verbal program notes presented by Dr. Jeffrey Langford, musicologist and author of “Evenings at the Opera.” Tickets: Adv., $10; $7 under 12; Door, $12|$7 Information: 518.263.2000; http://www.catskillmtn.org

german alps festivalHunter Mountain, Route 23A, Hunter, NY 12442Saturday & Sunday, August 10 & 11: Annual event featuring traditional German-American foods, Schuhplattler Dancers, entertainment, vendors, fun activities for kids and more. Fireworks display Saturday night. Information: 800.486.8376; http://www.huntermtn.com

White nights: rachmaninoff, prokofiev, tchaikovskyOrpheum Performing Arts Center, 6050 Main St. (Rte. 23A), Village of Tannersville, NY 12442Sunday, August 11, 2 p.m.: Celebrating “White Nights” of the Nordic and Russian traditions, two charismatic international performers —Vassily Primakov and Yehuda Hanani—join forces to present a program of Russian masters.Tickets: Advance, $25’ $20 seniors; $7 students; Door, $28|$23|$7Information: 518.263.2000; http://www.catskillmtn.org

continued from page 33 i

FARM-FRESH PRODUCE • BUTCHER SHOP • FISH MARKET

VAST GOURMET GROCERY, CHEESE & COFFEE SELECTION

DELECTABLE BAKED GOODS • SWEET SHOP • HOUSEPLANTS

GIFT SHOP • FLOWER SHOP • GARDEN CENTER • NURSERY

w w w . a d a m s f a r m s . c o m

P O U G H K E E P S I ERoute 44

845-454-4330

K I N G S TO NRoute 9W

845-336-6300

N E W B U R G HRoute 300

845-569-0303

WA P P I N G E RRoute 9

845-632-9955


Bier-FestThomas Cole Historic Site, 218 Spring Street, Catskill, NY 12414Saturday, August 17, 7 p.m.: Celebrate the artist Albert Bierstadt with a tasting from local and award-winning breweries along with German food, music and fun. Details to be announced.Information: 518.943.7465; http://www.thomascole.org

season of the midnight sunOrpheum Performing Arts Center, 6050 Main St. (Rte. 23A), Village of Tannersville, NY 12442Sunday, August 11, 2 p.m.: Resonating with the season of the midnight sun, this performance brings to the fore the national composer of Norway, Edvard Grieg, as well as Russians of the same artistic latitude—Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky. Featuring baritone, Mischa Bouvier, pianist Michael Chertock, Ara Gregorian on violin and viola, Elmar Oliveira on violin, and Yehuda Hanani on cello.Tickets: Advance, $25’ $20 seniors; $7 students; Door, $28|$23|$7Information: 518.263.2000; http://www.catskillmtn.org

International Celtic festivalHunter Mountain, Route 23A, Hunter, NY 12442Saturday & Sunday, August 17 & 18: Entertainment from the Emerald Isles, plus world-class Irish-American bands and dancers. Dozens of authentic Irish vendors, traditional foods, and beverages. This year’s musical line-up includes Derek Wakefield and the Young Wolftones, Andy Cooney, Cherish the Ladies, Celtica Pipes Rock, Shilelagh Law and more. Sunday features a Bagpipe Competition, followed by the spectacular Mass March as hundreds of pipers and drummers march down the mountain in unison. Fireworks display Saturday night. Tickets: $16; kids 12 and under, freeInformation: 800.486.8376; http://www.huntermtn.com

Stereographic workshopThomas Cole Historic Site, 218 Spring Street, Catskill, NY 12414Saturday, September 14, 3 p.m.: Laurie Dahlberg, professor of art history and photography at Bard College, explains Bierstadt’s use of stereographs and then leads participants in making their own stereographs of the landscape.Information: 518.943.7465; http://www.thomascole.org

HITS Triathlon SeriesNorth-South Lake State Park, CR 18, Haines Falls, NY 12436 Saturday & Sunday, September 21 & 22: An epic mountain-top race amidst the beautiful fall foliage of the Hudson Valley. Athletes swim

the pristine waters of South Lake, and then bike and run through the majestic Catskill Mountains. Hosted by HITS.Information: 845.246.8833; http://www.hitstriathlonseries.com

Cat’n around catskill AuctionHistoric Catskill Point, 1 Main St., Catskill, NY 12414Saturday, September 29, noon-4 p.m.: 40+ artist-painted and decorated fiberglass cats and dogs, that paraded up and down the streets of Catskill throughout the summer, will be auctioned off. Tickets: $30, includes lite fare.Information: 518.943.0989; http://www.cat-n-around.com

OctoberfestHunter Mountain, Route 23A, Hunter, NY 12442Saturday & Sunday, October 5 & 6 and 12 & 13, 11 a.m.-6:15 p.m.: Authentic German and German-American entertainment in the beauty of the northern Catskills in autumn. This annual celebration of the harvest features many vendors, free crafts for the kids and much more. Tickets: Free!Information: 800.486.8376; http://www.huntermtn.com

Aaron Diehl ensembleOrpheum Performing Arts Center, 6050 Main St. (Rte. 23A), Village of Tannersville, NY 12442Saturday, October 12, 8 p.m.: Aaron Diehl and his ensemble will explore the works of Nat King Cole.Tickets: Advance, $23, $18 seniors; $7 students; Door, $27|$21|$7Information: 518.263.2000; http://www.catskillmtn.org

Wing, wine & brew fest weekendHunter Mountain, Route 23A, Hunter, NY 12442Saturday & Sunday, October 19 & 20: Wine & Brew on Saturday, Wing Fest on Sunday. Sample fine wines and microbrews. Sample hot wings, BBQ wings, and more from area restaurants and caterers. Skyride operates on both days (weather permitting), plus farmers’ market, arts & crafts, live entertainment and more.Tickets: $20 for 5 sample tokens; additional sample tokens, $1 each; Wing Fest, $5 admission, plus $1.25/3 wings. Information: 800.486.8376; http://www.huntermtn.com


live. work. play.

now covering Greene County!

hvmercantile.com | find us on


The Greene County Historical Society was organized in 1929 and received a permanent charter from the New York State Board of Regents in 1939. This was the year that the Society received its first bequest and arguably the most important one – the 16-acre Bronck property with the houses and outbuildings – from Leonard Bronk Lampman, the last Bronck family member to own the property, and a founder of the Society. The bequest was in memory of his mother Adelaide Bronk Lampman.

Since that time, bequests have been received in the form of money, stock or collection items, and numerous people have contributed their time and effort to the Society. A disclaimer should be set out here. This is not meant to be a comprehensive, all inclusive list, but a highlight of gifts and bequests. The Society is thankful for the smallest paper item of historical interest, or collection item such as a plate or dish, as well as the larger bequests and collections donated.

Over the years up until the present, many people have served the Society as Trustees, Officers, and volunteers and we are grateful to all of them. One of the Society organizers was Jessie Van Vechten Vedder. Jessie was Greene County Historian and through her efforts and dedication, the Society grew. Jessie lived in the Bronck houses during WWII for their protection and to keep them open to the public. Today we have a “Jessie” award for someone who helps to preserve local history. President George Bagley helped to keep the Society organized and looking forward. Mabel Parker Smith lent her considerable talents to the Society including doing a fall lecture series in conjunction with Columbia Greene Community College as a non credit course offering. Reuben Garcia presided over the Society during the major repair work on the Bronck Houses in the 1970’s, and gifted the Society with the Dutch scripture painting hanging in the 1663 house. Jim Dustin helped to design and create the timeline exhibit in the Visitor’s Center as well as helping to re-design “The Messenger” newsletter. Katherine Decker, of the Catskill Dubois family, donated many items to the Museum collections and paper items to the Vedder Research Library collections.

Charles Dornbusch was responsible for the start of the Jessie Van Vechten Vedder Research Library, and made a substantial bequest of his house and printing business to the Society. Betty Miller with her husband Harry were long time volunteers and Betty served as a Trustee and Officer. Betty passed away after Harry and named the Society as a beneficiary in her will.

Florence and Ralph Hunter were active in the Society – Florence serving as a Trustee – and they left the Society a substantial sum. The Hunter Education Center is named in their honor as the money to purchase that property came from the Hunter bequest.

Raymond Beecher’s contributions to the Society were numerous: Curator, Chairman of the Board, Librarian, saving the Cole House, the

Quarterly Journal, The Home Tour, several books on Greene County history, major financial contributions to the Vedder Research Library building, and gifting the Albertus del Orient Browere paintings now hanging in the Library. Catharine Beecher, his wife, did tireless work to recruit and keep members as well as creating the artwork that served as the Society letterhead for many years. The Beecher award goes to someone who has done tireless work for their community in the field of local history.

Milton Chadderton, long-time Chairman of the Board, left a bequest to the Society which included a large postcard collection. Part of his bequest was used to purchase the original Greene County Courthouse bell and present it to the County.

Frances Adams and her sister Ellen Whitbeck worked as volunteer tour guides for the Museum and left the Society a large collection of cut glass as well as many antique furnishings from their house. Kit Baker’s silver tea service and punch bowl were left to the Society and have been used at the Victorian Teas and at other Society events.

William Van Dyke named the Society in his will as a beneficiary of his estate as well. Kenneth Egbertson also left a substantial amount to the Society. These two bequests created the basis for our endowment fund which is invested with two local investment firms. Kenneth Van Vechten Parks bequest was also added to this fund to help support the Vedder Research Library. Kenneth had been a long- time volunteer in the Library. Ethel Schulte’s bequest was also included in the endowment fund. Recently Dr. Olga Santora, former Society President, left the Society a substantial bequest of IBM stock with the provision that only the interest or earnings of that bequest be used to support the Society. A Dr. Olga Santora Annual Women’s History Month Lecture was established this year to honor Olga.

The people who gave over the years are remembered by the Society. They helped to form the history of the Society and in a way the history of Greene County. Their efforts helped to make the Society what it is today, one of the best small county historical societies in the State, something we should be proud of in Greene County. Your gift of collection items, stock, and money – or of your time and effort – will be gratefully accepted and remembered in the years to come.

in Memorium & GratitudeThe Society is thankful for the smallest paper item of historical interest, or collection item such as a plate or dish, as well as the larger bequests and collections donated.

Photographs L to R: Leonard Bronk Lampman, Jessie Van Vechten Vedder, Mabel Parker Smith, Dr. Olga Santora, and James Dustin.

Photos courtesy Greene County Historical Society.


The 19th century Washington Irving Inn is located on the outskirts of the historic

Villages of Hunter and Tannersville, Greene County, New York.

Built circa 1890, this distinctive Victorian Inn is located on Scenic Route 23A

(also know as “The Rip Van Winkle Trail”)

6629 RT.23A Tannersville 12485Phone:(518) 589-5560

www.washingtonirving.com

Congratulations��on your 350 th

��The Great Northern Catskills of Greene County plays host to a wide variety of unique events and annual festivals – many of which celebrate the region’s rich historic and cultural legacy. There’s always something going on in

Greene County!

Documents

Bronck House at The Bronck Museum Celebrates 350