The 250th anniversary of the first European settlement of the Town of Middletown back in 1763 was observed with the dedication of a historic marker at the Town Hall July 12. HSM is proud to have facilitated the marker’s placement, and pleased to have had a small part in the ceremony. It included comments by former Supervisor now Town Historian Len Utter; former Town Historian and current Margaretville-New Kingston Presbyterian Church pastor Shirley Davis, and retired English teacher and local historian Dr. Bill Birns.
Other speakers were Nate Hendricks, 9th generation descendant of one of the original settlers, and State Asssemblyman Pete Lopez.
Adam and Nate Hendricks, 9th generation descendants of one of the first Middletown settlers, unveiled the historic marker with their aunt, Lori Hendricks Ballard. Photo by Roger Davis
The occasion recalled the emigration of a troupe of five Hudson Valley Dutch men: brothers Harmonus and Peter Dumond, Johannes Von Waggoner and Peter Hendricks and Hendricks’ teenage stepson Frederick Kittle. The initial ‘settlement’ was made up of their four farms, all along the East Branch of the Delaware River that had until then been the seasonal domain of the Lenni Lenape (Delaware) Indians.
Several more families came in the years leading up to the Revolution, but conflicts among Indians, Tories and Whigs sent them all back to the Valley until hostilities ceased. After the war, emigration began in earnest and folks arrived bearing surnames that still identify Middletown families: Yaple, Carpenter, Green, Utter, Craft, Mead, Ackerley, Grant, Delameter and many others.
In her prayer of blessing, Pastor Davis said, “We thank you for the first inhabitants of these hills and valleys and for the courage and wisdom You gave them to face the many hardships and dangers they encountered in taming some of the wilderness of these beautiful Catskills Mountains. These brave men – and women – came to this land with hopes and dreams of their own – the hope of new freedoms and new life, dreams of having a place to call their own, a home and community in which to raise not only their children, but a place for future generations to call home and community as well. And we, my friends, gathered here today in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Town of Middletown, are part of those future generations.”
Dr. Birns pointed out that in the decades since these people put down roots, Middletown has been a haven for people of all religious, political, ethnic and social persuasions. “A town that started out with Hendricks, Dumond, Von Waggoner and Kittle has ended up with a big and fairly diverse US – It’s the US we celebrate today, along with those first families.”
A. H. TODD & SON AUTO DEALERSHIP PHOTO GALLERY
Click for a larger view of each image…
An aerial view of the dealership shows how the place looked in the 1970s. It is now occupied by VW Parts.
The Todds sold Fords, a 1924 Model T shown here in the 1963 Middletown Bicentennial parade.
A coal truck on a snowy delivery to Todd’s garage
This was A. H. Todd & Son, Fleischmanns, c. 1958.
This is Augustus Todd, founder of A. H. Todd & Son car dealership and auto repair shop in Fleischmanns in 1921.
This is the ‘son’ in the business, Otis. HIS sons, Oscar and Bob, ran the enterprise for decades after the founders, and Bob’s son Jim kept it going with partner Warren Smith from 1979 to 1989.
Augustus is being brought to life at the Clovesville Living History Cemetery Tour June 29 by his great-grandson, Ward Todd, shown rehearsing with another ancestor, Samuel Todd, played by John Hartner.
You’re invited to join us on Friday, July 12th at 4p.m. at Middletown Town Hall, 42339 State Highway 28, Margaretville, for the unveiling of a commemorative marker in celebration of Middletown’s 250th Anniversary of settlement.
Dr. Bill Birns will be speaking as well as Town Historian Len Utter. Let’s hope the weather cooperates in making this a moment to remember!
Stroll three blocks of Margaretville’s Main Street and SEE what you’ve been missing . . . Click on this link, print it out and take an awesome visual scavenger hunt. It’s fun, challenging and could win you a ticket to our Labor Day concert and community picnic! Thanks to Sharon Suess, Ros Welchman, Larraine Dunham, Becky Hubbell and our own HSM Trustee Anne Sanford for putting this together.
There is a mystery in Dunraven: Why would an iron jail cell have been set atop a concrete bunker built into a stone retaining wall on the old Smith farm on New Kingston Road (now the Blue Deer Center)?
The cell was made by the E. T. Barnum Wire and Iron Works Company in Detroit, which made all kinds of ornamental and functional tems, from fences to fire escapes, park furniture to mausoleum doors. Apparently, they were famous for their lattice work jail cells (“Highest award received at World’s Fair for Jail Cells” the company boasted in a 1924 catalogue.)
Barnum made double decker or single cells, equipped with food openings or hinged bunks, forged of “tool proof steel.” “A secure lockup or jail will conserve morals and lessen crime in your community,” claimed the catalogue, which offered a list of customers, including the City of Oneonta, and the villages of Deposit, Schoharie and Tannersville. In 1902, these cells cost about $217.
But why would one have ended up on the Smith Farm in Dunraven? Maurice J. Smith settled the place in 1821 and ran a prosperous farm and mill there, leaving the property in 1890 to his son Olney, who turned it into a popular boarding house which operated through the mid-20th century. A jail cell isn’t exactly a tourist draw.
Was this cell ‘rescued’ from a town that was tearing down its jail? Was it used as secure storage for valuables, explosives, livestock? The bunker below cannot be accessed by the cell above, but it contains a toilet and sink, purportedly for use by farm workers.
Ideas, anyone?
It’s just starting to feel like spring but we’ve been busy firming up plans for a jam-packed season of programs and activities.
Details will follow on this website, and in a flyer to be sent with the Spring Bridge to our members. For now, a partial preview:
The first program of the year will be April 20 when homeowners in Margaretville and Halcottsville share the secrets of their houses and the people who lived there.
Vintage postcards and ephemera will be offered at a show and sale at the hall June 8.
The second annual Living History Cemetery Tour will be June 29 in Clovesville. Ten former residents will be profiled, including a 10-year-old girl, the last of the stage coach drivers, and famed bear hunter Mike Todd!
Come see local faces of the Civil War at our summer exhibit July 4-Sept. 1. The hall will be open every Saturday. Five outstanding Civil War programs are scheduled throughout the summer, from battlefield medicine, to women’s roles and a reading from local letters and diaries. A horse named Rebel will tell his story on July 13.
Mark your calendars for a community picnic Sunday of Labor Day weekend, with the music of the 77th Regimental Balladeers.
We’ll have the History Tent at the Cauliflower Festival Sept. 29. The event will feature a sheep and wool exhibit and demos this year!
Entertaining speaker “Big Chuck” D’Imperio will talk about “Fascinating Facts of the Empire State” at our Annual Meeting Oct. 27.
Want to volunteer at any of these events? Email us! We could use your help!