Peg Leg Bates performing in Denver on December 1954.
The study of an Ulster County legend received a $10,000 grant as a result of the massive bipartisan federal American Rescue Plan recently passed by Congress, Humanities New York (HNY) announced early today. Arts Mid-Hudson’s project, called “Peg Leg Bates Resort: The Legacy of a Black Resort in the Catskills,” was one of six projects in the Hudson Valley to be funded.
These grants support honoraria for humanities experts, staff time, space rental, marketing, and other expenses for projects that respond to community needs and interests. HNY said it prioritized equitable grantmaking by considering geographic location, mission, and the importance of reaching under resourced communities in its funding decisions.
The funded study will consist of three parts: to highlight the work of Bates himself, the history and context of his resort for blacks in the predominantly white Catskills, and the experience of being a guest at the resort.
“The pandemic did not extinguish our thirst for cultural education,” said U.S. senator and majority leader Chuck Schumer, “and this critical funding will strengthen New York’s rich cultural and local history for some time to come.”
The Peg Leg Bates Country Club in Kerhonkson operated from 1951 to 1987.