An artful fundraiser

An artful fundraiser

Dec 1, 2010 | Tin Horn

It was Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, but The Commons was alive with vibrant color and the buzz of folks enjoying the start of the holiday season. It was our second benefit art auction, and interest was high in the 27 works created by members of the East Branch Delaware River Plein Air Painters. HSM and the artists shared the proceeds, enough to allow us to erect another historic marker in Middletown in 2011. A big thank you to the talented and generous artists, led by Alix Hallman Travis: Robert Axelrod, Sumiko Patrone, Linda Webb Varian, Margaret Leveson, Patrice Lorenz, Rosamond Welchman, Carol Steene, Nancy McShane and Oneida Hammond. We also extend appreciation to Frank and Helene Manzo for contributing the space; Dale Trethaway for the wine; Marc Levenshus and the Portfolio Café for the sweets and the posters; the Cheese Barrel for the cheese platter; Trish Adams for flyer design; and to HSM board members who so ably orchestrated this event! Happy holidays to one and all!

FUNDRAISER PHOTO GALLERY
Click for a larger view of each image…

Artists-Carol-Steene-Oneida-Hammond-Patrice-Lorenz-Sumiko-Patrone

Artists Carol Steene, Oneida Hammond, Linda Webb Varian, Sumiko Patrone

Carol-Steene-and-Alix-Travis-share-a-laugh2

Carol Steene and Alix Travis share a laugh

Examining-the-artwork

Examining the artwork

Reception-table

Reception table

Paintings of historic sites offered at auction

Nov 18, 2010 | news archive

A selection of original paintings of area historic sites will be auctioned Friday, Nov. 26 as a benefit for the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown (HSM).

Silent bidding will commence at 3 p.m. on the second floor of The Commons, Main Street, Margaretville. Art lovers, HSM supporters and visitors will enjoy light refreshments as they look over the 25 works on display and place their bids. Bidding will cease at 5:15, and winning bids will be announced at 5:30 p.m. There is no charge to attend the reception, which lasts until 6 p.m.

A selection of paintings can be viewed at HSM’s new website, www.mtownhistory.org. A revolving exhibit of the paintings to be auctioned can also be seen in the window of Miller’s Drug Store, Main Street, Margaretville through Thanksgiving. Proceeds from this fundraiser will go towards HSM’s efforts to erect historic markers throughout Middletown.

Ten talented area artists, members of the East Branch Delaware River Plein Air Painters, spent many days over the past year painting treasured buildings and iconic views of the Town of Middletown. Participating artists included Margaret Leveson, Alix Travis, Oneida Hammond, Rosamond Welchman, Patrice Lorenz, Nancy McShane, Carol Steene, Sumiko Patrone, Robert Axelrod and Linda Webb Varian.

 

While the artists gathered as a group to paint the selected sites, each work is a distinct interpretation of the building or view. Included among the images are Victorian homes and buildings on Walnut Street in Margaretville and Wagner Avenue in Fleischmanns; views of Pakatakan Mountain and the East Branch of the Delaware River; historic homes of the former Pakatakan Artists Colony in Arkville; the pastoral Clovesville Cemetery; maple syrup making and sugar houses in New Kingston and on Hubbell Hill; and the barn on the historic VanBenschoten farm on Margaretville Mountain.

Note cards of some of the artwork created for last year’s auction, handsomely collected in gift packages of five cards with envelopes, will be available for purchase, just in time for the holidays.

For more information: 845-586-4973; history@catskill.net.

What’s that tower in your yard?

What’s that tower in your yard?

Nov 11, 2010 | Tin Horn

That’s what I asked Maggie Braton up on Searles Road as I was out walking the dog one Indian summer Sunday. She has an unusual white wooden tower in her neatly manicured yard. An odd sight. Turns out the top of the tower contains a tank capable of holding several hundred gallons of water, pumped up from a well and distributed through a network of pipes and spigots to serve a long-gone pheasant house and, she says, a small herd of cows. A bit of research in the Catskill Mountain News, Ethel Bussy’s History of Margaretville and other sources introduced me to the gracious world of wealthy summering in the Catskills.

Water tower at The Ark

For some time prior to 1902, E. V. Hallock had an estate here. It was known as ‘The Ark,’ and what had been called Kittle Hill (for the family that settled there in the late 1700s) became known as Hallock Hill. Not sure what line of work Mr. Hallock was in, but he quickly made improvements that made it “one of the most pleasant summer resorts in the Catskills.” He could afford to hire G. L. Hull to manage his farm; John Atkin to build a tool house, office and “seed house”; and George Kenyon and Harry Coulter to do carpentry and painting at his property on Long Island. He was likely the one who had the stone gate built at the entrance to the winding road up to the house, and the “hanging gardens,” stone-terraced flower beds and koi ponds on the hillside.

In 1902, Mr. Halleck had a log cabin built at the summit for his daughters and guests to play and party in. During a sleepover that summer, a lightning strike near the cabin split a wooden flagpole in half and struck terror into the hearts of the young campers.

In October of 1904, 50 guests came up by special train and stayed at the Pakatakan Inn in Arkville to attend the wedding at The Ark of the Hallecks’ daughter, Elizabeth, to Army Captain William Rogers. A second daughter, Mary, married Edward Bennett in 1907 and eventually inherited the place and the summering tradition.

Mr. Bennett died in 1928 after a year long illness. His obituary called him a “world traveler,” but didn’t mention an occupation. Mrs. Bennett and daughter Frances continued to spend summers at The Ark there through the 1930s, while another family, the Roneys, rented various homes in the vicinity for their own annual summer sojourns. At some point, Ethel Bussy says, Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Roney acquired The Ark, restored the gardens, and had the “large, rambling” house taken down with the intention of building a stone one that never materialized. Mr. Roney died by his own hand in the 195s.

The Burke family now owns most of the former mountainside estate; Maggie Braton’s parents bought the caretaker’s house next to the charming little water tower in the 1960s. If anyone has photos or facts to add to this brief history, please contact us!

The Ark Residence of E. H. Bennett. Searles Rd. not Arkville. July 25, 1939

Historical Society launches new website

Oct 29, 2010 | news archive

The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown has launched a new website (www.mtownhistory.org).

Designed by Joanie Merwin of Fleischmanns and constructed by CMS Internet Solutions, Inc. of Bovina, the site was funded by member contributions. It not only contains information about the Society, and its programs and activities, but also serves as an online source for those seeking historical background and photos of Middletown and its hamlets.

“This is the only website devoted to the town as a whole and its history,” explained HSM President Diane Galusha. “Nowhere else online can you read about the great tannery that once dominated Dunraven (Clark’s Factory), or the Pakatakan Art Colony in Arkville; or the Kelly family “empire” in Halcottsville. We’ve included capsule histories and photographs of nine communities, and a Features page where you can read about the Blind Poet of Arena, for example, or the Elliott Brothers of New Kingston who died in the Civil War.”

There is an 1890 directory of businesses and homeowners along the Ulster & Delaware Railroad, a list of sites in the Town that are on the State and National Registers of Historic Places, and a link to the searchable Catskill Mountain News 1902-1937, (a recent project of HSM).

There is also a page of links to other sites where researchers can find cemetery listings, photographs and more specific information (like Skene Library’s “Digital Quilt,” a repository of Fleischmanns history.)

Find out about coming events, and see photos from events of the past two years. Learn about ongoing HSM projects, including cemetery restorations and inventories, oral histories, and farm and barn documentation efforts. Read excerpts from The Bridge, the newsletter that is a benefit of membership in HSM, or download the Margaretville Walking Tour.

Press releases, a quick listing of events, and The Tin Horn, a blog containing observations, discoveries and announcements, are posted on the Home Page. Submissions to the Tin Horn from readers who’d like to share their history finds or questions are most welcome and can be offered through the Contact Us feature on the site.

“We want this to be a living site that evolves and grows, so reader contributions are encouraged,” Galusha said. “Middletown’s history is important and fascinating. We hope this website helps people appreciate it a bit more.”

Halcottsville exhibit at Middletown Town Hall

Oct 29, 2010 | news archive

A new exhibit, focusing on the community of Halcottsville, is now on display at the Middletown Town Hall on Route 28 between Margaretville and Arkville. Organized by Town Historian Shirley Davis using materials submitted by area residents, the exhibit in the vintage Bussy Store display case includes a stamp from the former Halcottsville Water Company, calendars from Griffin’s and Hubbell’s stores, a souvenir seashell from “Halcottville,” and many photos and postcards such as Lake Wawaka, Hubbell’s cove, and road construction between Kelly Corners and Halcottsville. The display is a follow-up to the 100th birthday celebration of the Halcottsville Fire Department which was held with great fanfare in September. It can be seen at the Town Hall weekdays during regular business hours through mid-December.