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 “last word” in campaigning, 1940 style
The GOP campaign trailer stopped at the Esso station on Margaretville’s Main St., Oct. 14, 1940 He was nowhere near Margaretville but his presence loomed large on October 14, 1940 when the “GOP Motion Picture Caravan” streamed in to town to campaign for Republican...
Bob’s gone, but the cider-making continues
Burr Hubbell reports that the ancient apple press at Hubbell Homestead farm will be operating Sept. 28 at 1 p.m., Oct. 5 at 1, 1:30 and 2:30, and Oct. 6 at noon, 1 and 2. Anyone interested in seeing history at work is welcome to stop by and watch the process unfold on...
A wrong righted
Eleven Margaretville Cemetery monuments that were toppled by vandals August 6, 2012 have been righted by the Margaretville Public Works crew. With guidance from experienced cemetery restorer Brian Wheaton, the workers pieced and cemented together the stones of the...
Preserving cemetery history
Preservation of the history contained in burial grounds is relegated to a small group of dedicated caretakers without the resources, time and often energy to take care of the sacred places with which they are entrusted. HSM member Ed Stewart passed along an article...
250 years and counting
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...
Bird’s eye view of A. H. Todd & Son
A. H. TODD & SON AUTO DEALERSHIP PHOTO GALLERYClick for a larger view of each image...
Save the date!
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...
Take a closer look…
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...
Go directly to jail!
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...