Local History

A time of ferment: The rise and legacy of Poughkeepsie brewing tycoon Matthew Vassar
Local History

A time of ferment: The rise and legacy of Poughkeepsie brewing tycoon Matthew Vassar

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Matthew Vassar barely acquired any formal education, being kicked out of night school after throwing a bottle of ink at the schoolmaster who had just smacked him in the head with a ruler. A niece named Lydia Booth, who had begun her teaching career as a private tutor and opened the Cottage Hill Seminary on Poghkeepsie’s Garden Street, was the first to plant in Matthew’s mind the notion that a fully accredited college for women was direly needed.

Written in stone: The surprising career of Pine Hill’s scientist/philanthropist Henry Morton
Local History

Written in stone: The surprising career of Pine Hill’s scientist/philanthropist Henry Morton

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In 1870 Morton became the first president of the newly founded Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, and used his own personal wealth to equip its labs with steam engines, tools and electrical equipment. He experimented and published widely, and was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences. He also spent summers in the Catskills, and in 1897 he established Pine Hill’s first library.

The Heart of the Matter: The Unknown Hervey White
Local History

The Heart of the Matter: The Unknown Hervey White

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Part IV in a series on Hervey White. Erroneously named “founder” of Woodstock by Life magazine in 1938, White [1866-1944] is better described as godfather of a town he personally transformed into America’s most famous Bohemia, earlier even than 1920. But despite this fact, and although admired by artists and farmers alike, Hervey lived and died an enigma. Some knew part, but none knew all his secrets.

Historic Saugerties farm up for sale
Local History

Historic Saugerties farm up for sale

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The historically significant Snyder Farm, located on Rt. 212, includes the family’s stone house built in the 1800s, a farm house across the road, one of the few remaining barns built in the Dutch manner, and of course its sledding hill used by generations of Saugerties youngsters each winter.

Remembering the old Kingston Post Office
Local History

Remembering the old Kingston Post Office

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Wednesday, Dec. 11 from 4-7 p.m. at 63 Main St., Friends of Historic Kingston and Blauweiss Media are hosting an open mic where the public is invited to a free event to share memories and anecdotes about the Old Post Office in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of its demolition.

$17M expansion of National Purple Heart Hall of Honor in New Windsor now underway
Local History

$17M expansion of National Purple Heart Hall of Honor in New Windsor now underway

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The Purple Heart is the US military’s oldest medal, created here by General George Washington toward the end of the Revolutionary War to recognize meritorious service. New York governor Andrew Cuomo is touting the museum’s improvements as part of a multifaceted campaign to make New York State, home to nearly 750,000 military vets, “the most veteran-friendly state in America.”