“Calico” heirs at HSM on August 30, 2026.
“Calico Rebellion,” a documentary exploring the Anti-Rent War, called by some the “Second American Revolution,” will be screened at the Middletown History Center Sunday, Oct. 11 at 2 p.m. Admission is by donation.
Descendants of participants of the farmers’ uprising of the 1840s will attend, along with director Victoria Kupchinetski and producer Misha Gutkin.
This screening offers an opportunity to see the film for those who were unable to attend the first showing August 30, which attracted a capacity crowd to the History Center at 778 Cemetery Road, Margaretville. Several local people appear in the film.
The Anti-Rent War changed the course of American history and ended a feudal system of land ownership by wealthy patent holders who had been renting parcels to settlers bound by onerous long-term leases. To fight the economic injustice, farmers dressed in leather masks and calico gowns staged the Anti-Rent rebellion.
The system of perpetual leases was ended by the New York State legislature but not before several violent episodes occurred, including the killing of Delaware County Undersheriff Osman Steele in Andes.
Today, although largely forgotten outside the immediate area, the historic uprising lives on through direct descendants of those rebellious farmers, and through their stories, songs, and surviving calico costumes preserved since the 1840s.
Visit calicorebellion.com for more information and to view a trailer of the film.