Historical Society of Middletown

Town of Middletown, Delaware County, NY

Welcome to the home of the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown (HSM)

The only website dedicated to the history of our town, located in Delaware County, in the Central Catskill Mountains of New York State

To donate items relevant to the history of Middletown and contiguous towns, contact us at historicalsocietyofmiddletown@gmail.org;
or 845-586-2400.

HSM is dedicated to preserving the heritage of the villages, hamlets and the contiguous area of Middletown:
The Town of Middletown, in eastern Delaware County, includes two incorporated Villages, Margaretville and Fleischmanns; several hamlets — Arkville, Dunraven, Halcottsville, Kelly Corners, and New Kingston; and outlying settlements with their own unique histories — Redkill/Bedell, Millbrook, Dry Brook and the Denver Valley.

Because history doesn’t always follow political boundaries, HSM also collects and preserves stories and historic materials from contiguous towns — Roxbury and Andes in Delaware County, Hardenburgh and Shandaken in Ulster County, and Halcott in Greene County (which can only be reached through Delaware County). And of course we seek to preserve the heritage of a Middletown community that is no more — Arena, lost more than half a century ago to the Pepacton Reservoir.

WELCOME to the MIDDLETOWN HISTORY CENTER

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TIN HORN:
Observations & Discoveries

WARK: Home-grown TV

WARK: Home-grown TV Back in the Dark Ages, before you could whip out your cell phone, shoot some video and in an instant post it on the internet for all the world to see, there was ‘local access’ cable television. In the Margaretville-Arkville area, it was known as...

Home from The War

Orville Baker led an ordinary life. One of six kids in an ordinary family who grew up in an ordinary town, his death was ordinary, too, for the times. Orville succumbed in 1918 to pneumonia in the murderous worldwide influenza pandemic while serving with thousands of...

Hard luck brings out the neighbors

If you live in the Catskills chances are you’ve attended a benefit supper, concert or ball game to help a sick neighbor or a family fallen on hard times. It’s what we do. Sometimes it’s all we can do. ‘Twas ever thus, it appears. In 1909, Margaretville came together...

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EVENTS:
2026 Calendar

APRIL 26
“Fleischmanns’ Field of Dreams and a History of the Mountain Athletic Club 1895-2025.”
–Collin Miller

MAY 17
“Happy While United: Daily Life for the Esopus Indians in the Catskills, 1730-1777.”
–Justin Wexler

JUNE 6
“The Nature of the Catskills.”
–Slide show by photographer John Lehmann

JULY 11-12
“Middletown and the Revolution: Voices from the Frontier,”
—A Revolution 250 Commemoration. Eight local characters tell of their Revolutionary War experiences.

AUGUST 20
“Calico Rebellion:
The Second American Revolution.”
—Film and post-film conversation with filmmaker Victoria Kupchinetsky.

SEPTEMBER 19
Annual Cauliflower Festival
—Photo exhibit in the History Tent.

SEPTEMBER 20
“Of Wood and Wild Things”
—Hunters and outdoor enthusiasts welcome to share stories and photos. Two short films will be screened.

OCTOBER 17
“No Stone Left Unturned”
—A field history program on bluestone quarrying with John Biruk.

NOVEMBER 7
HSM Annual Meeting
— Guest speaker Bill Birns, editor of “Peter Pan in the Catskills and Other Historical Essays.” Annual report, board election.

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“Man is a history-making creature who can neither repeat his past nor leave it behind.”

W.H. Auden, The Dyer’s Hand

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