Saturday, May 19: Hop aboard the bus and learn about the immigrants of 1710 who established West Camp. This docent-led tour offers views of some of the 68 stone houses in Asbury, Saxton and Blue Mountain.
Between the Thruway and the Hoogebergs, a clump of rolling hills behind Winston Farm where Saugerties blends into the Catskills, sits Asbury. If advocates have their way, the little neighborhood of farms and stone houses will become the town’s latest historic district.
The Village of New Paltz Historic Preservation Commission unveiled its fourth annual art exhibit and announced the award-winners at a reception Saturday, April 28. The show will remain on view in the community room of the Elting Memorial Library during regular library hours through May 12.
Saturday, May 5: In his talk entitled “The Catskill Tanneries: An Environmental Disaster with a Happy Ending,” local historian Paul Misko describes the development of the tannery industry — particularly in Phoenicia’s Woodland Valley but also in other parts of the Catskills — as well as the consequences of the tanneries’ brief reign, which he says weren’t all bad.
William B. Rhoads’ new book & exhibition about Charles S. Keefe puts the Kingston architect back on the historical map. The Friends of Historic Kingston will offer a self-guided driving tour of 15 Keefe buildings, so you can check out Keefe’s architecture for yourself.
While issues such as gun control, the proposed Belleayre Resort project, and the Ashokan Rail Trail tend to polarize local residents, it’s instructive to be reminded that people on both sides of these controversies have always had a love of the land and nature as their primary motivation.
The Reher Center for Immigrant Culture and History, located in a historic bakery in the Rondout that catered to the Kingston community for much of the 20th century, is making major strides toward becoming a bona fide museum.
The Friends of Historic Saugerties will present “The Catskill Tanneries: An Environmental Disaster with a Happy Ending” on Saturday, May 5 at 2 p.m. in the community room of the Saugerties Public Library, 91 Washington Ave.
Pulitzer Prizewinner Edna St. Vincent Millay has stood the test of time both as poet, feminist and cultural icon. Without help, Steepletop, her 200-acre preserved home and grounds in the Columbia County town of Austerlitz, will close to the public.
Saturday, April 28: All the historic houses on the tour started as one- or two-room houses. Most of them were constructed of stone, while others had stone foundations and were built of clapboard. Over the centuries, the houses were expanded. The houses on this tour reflect a range of the decisions owners had to make: how much of the original house should be preserved, what features should be kept, what features could be added.
The business of media is changing, but local, on-the-ground, fact-checked journalism is needed now more than ever.
