From the Archives
HSM COLLECIONS OF HISTORICAL MATERIALS
Pictured here are a few of the thousands of items in the HSM collection of historical materials. The collection includes photographs, diaries, store ledgers, business records, school documents, yearbooks, maps, letters, records of civic organizations, advertising items and the like. The collection includes some artifacts too, such as signs, small tools, housewares, toys and the like.
It is the only history collection dedicated to Middletown and the surrounding area. HSM is committed to preserving these treasures, adding to the collection and documenting our holdings so that researchers may make use of them. These materials will also inform our programming and exhibitions into the future.
To donate items relevant to the history of Middletown and contiguous towns, please contact us:
history@catskill.net; 845-586-4973.
The News, from 1863
Orson Allaben was an educated, principled and influential man. A man with character. Money. And opinions. An early developer of the Village of Margaretville, he was a doctor, a businessman, and, in the 1860s, started a newspaper called The Utilitarian, “A Family...
Winter into Spring
As the new season struggles to overcome the old, it’s worth remembering that ‘twas ever thus. Evidence of this can be found in the diaries of James Thomson, a New Kingston farmer who kept track of his family’s activities from 1838 to 1903, a remarkable 65 years, with...
It was a hot time in the old barn that night
In answer to the question, “What on earth did people do before TV and computers?,” we offer the following item from the Catskill Mountain News of July 4, 1947:Six Hundred Attend Barn Dance at Dunraven About 600 people attended the barn dance at the Frank Trowbridge...
Who were the Odd Fellows?
An interesting stash of books and records found by Brian Sweeney in 2004 when he acquired a large building on High Street in Arkville sheds some light on a once-prevalent fraternal organization with a pretty strange name: The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF)....
Bragging rights
While researching the origins of the Ulster & Delaware Railroad (first named the Rondout and Oswego and then the New York, Kingston and Syracuse), Burr Hubbell came across a description of the line from Kingston to Roxbury in the July 4, 1872 Kingston Freeman. It...
An artful fundraiser
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...
What’s that tower in your yard?
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...
Good Friends, Good Music
Our 6th Annual Meeting October 23 was a great time to renew acquaintances, meet some new folks and enjoy a program by folksinger Linda Russell who performed campaign music from the past on guitar, and lap and hammered dulcimers. Some might remember Linda as the “star”...
Taking our place in cyberspace
Finally, HSM has a website! After years of talking about it, we now have a presence on the web, the one and only place devoted to the history of the Town of Middletown. Thanks to Sue and Craig of Bovina-based CMS Internet Solutions, Inc., our programs and activities...