Historical Society of Middletown
Town of Middletown, Delaware County, NY
Welcome to the home of the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown (HSM)
The only website dedicated to the history of our town, located in Delaware County, in the Central Catskill Mountains of New York State
HSM is dedicated to preserving the heritage of the villages, hamlets and the contiguous area of Middletown:
The Town of Middletown, in eastern Delaware County, includes two incorporated Villages, Margaretville and Fleischmanns; several hamlets — Arkville, Dunraven, Halcottsville, Kelly Corners, and New Kingston; and outlying settlements with their own unique histories — Redkill/Bedell, Millbrook, Dry Brook and the Denver Valley.
Because history doesn’t always follow political boundaries, HSM also collects and preserves stories and historic materials from contiguous towns — Roxbury and Andes in Delaware County, Hardenburgh and Shandaken in Ulster County, and Halcott in Greene County (which can only be reached through Delaware County). And of course we seek to preserve the heritage of a Middletown community that is no more — Arena, lost more than half a century ago to the Pepacton Reservoir.
WELCOME to the MIDDLETOWN HISTORY CENTER
Recent Updates…
NEWS:
Recent Press Releases
Author discusses history-based novel at August 11 talk in Margaretville
The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown (HSM) welcomes Halcott resident and author Peg DiBenedetto who will discuss and read from her book “Silver Dollar Girls” in a Second Sunday program at the Middletown History Center August 11 at 1 p.m.
HSM offers talk on history of Denver-Vega Valley July 14
An illustrated talk, “Homesteads to Go-Karts: A History of the Denver-Vega Valley,” will be presented at the Middletown History Center in Margaretville July 14 at 1 p.m.
HSM to open Middletown History Center
The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown will hold an Open House at the new Middletown History Center, 778 Cemetery Road, Margaretville, on Sunday, June 9 from 2 to 4 p.m.
The celebration will begin with a 2 p.m. ribbon cutting on the doorstep of the expanded facility which includes an archives and reading room named for HSM benefactor Nicholas J. Juried.
Fires, floods focus of Margaretville walking tour May 18
On Saturday, May 18 at 11 a.m., the May 18 – Historical Society of the Town of Middletown will host a one-hour walking tour of Main and Bridge Streets to explain the impact of disastrous fires and floods over more than a century.
TIN HORN:
Observations & Discoveries
The Battle of Shacksville, March 14, 1845
This is the general area where the Battle of Shacksville is presumed to have happened. That’s the East Branch of the Delaware River at center left crossing under the bridge on what is now Briggs Road. Town of Roxbury collectionThe Battle of Shacksville, March 14, 1845...
In The Prime of Their Lives
Young people in the prime of their lives are reflected in these undated portraits, c. 1870, from an album scanned by Steven Morse. The cigar-smoking men are cousins Eugene Crosby and William M. Bellows and the women are Will’s sisters, Sarah Idell Bellows and Orrie...
WARK: Home-grown TV
WARK: Home-grown TV Back in the Dark Ages, before you could whip out your cell phone, shoot some video and in an instant post it on the internet for all the world to see, there was ‘local access’ cable television. In the Margaretville-Arkville area, it was known as...
EVENTS:
2024 Calendar
MAY 18
Fire and Flood: A on-hour sidewalk stroll of Margaretville
JUNE 9
Open House: At the NEW Middletown History Center and Nicholas J. Juried Archives
JULY 14
History of the Denver Vega Valley: An illustrated talk by Diane Galusha
AUGUST 11
Silver Dollar Girls: Peg DiBenedetto talks about her mother’s WWII flying experiences
SEPTEMBER 8
The Private Side of History: Readings from local diaries and letters.
SEPTEMBER 21
Margaretville Cauliflower Festival: Music, food, fun. Exhibits and activities at HSM History Tent.
OCTOBER 13
Exploring the Nicholas J. Juried Archives: A guided tour of Middletown History Center research resources
NOVEMBER 2
The Lost Battalion: A Veteran’s Day tribute by Eli Taylor. Part of the HSM Annual Meeting program.
FEATURES
Middletown Family Farms, c. 1950
This map was produced by Ira McIntosh who in 2006 worked with local elders in each section of town to identify the locations of dairy farms that were operating in the late 1940s-early 1950s. It shows 187 family farms. In 2015, there were just two dairy farms still...
Obituary For a Newspaper: History As It Happened
HISTORY AS IT HAPPENED A program presented by the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown on August 12, 2017, and posted on its website March 27, 2020 in tribute to the Catskill Mountain News which ceased publication January 15, 2020. INTRODUCTIONA weekly...
Images of Historic Arkville
Take a look at these wonderful pdf documents of historic Arkville photos! Enjoy this peek back in history — 138 photos are divided in to 5 pdf documents to help speed up your download time!
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Civil War Soldiers
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“Man is a history-making creature who can neither repeat his past nor leave it behind.”
W.H. Auden, The Dyer’s Hand
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