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
HSM is dedicated to preserving the heritage of eight villages and hamlets and the contiguous area:
Margaretville, Fleischmanns, Arkville, Dunraven, Halcottsville, Kelly Corners, New Kingston and Redkill/Bedell, as well as a community that is no more — Arena, lost more than half a century ago to the Pepacton Reservoir.
The Margaretville Covered Bridge,
which spanned the East Branch of the Delaware River on Bridge Street from the 1860s until 1933, is our logo, symbolic of the ‘bridge’ we hope to make between the past and our contemporary lives.
WE ARE BUILDING HISTORY — and we invite you to be part of the campaign to create a history center for Middletown!
Please support the campaign for a Middletown History Center and save our stories.
Recent Updates…
NEWS:
Recent Press Releases
Pepacton Cemetery Tour is July 9
A walking tour of Pepacton Cemetery, where the remains of 1,525 people from burial grounds in the Pepacton and Cannonsville Reservoir basins were moved in the 1950s and ‘60s, will be held Saturday, July 9 at 10 a.m.The cemetery, maintained by the NYC Department of...
Cemetery Tour Reservations Open
MARGARETVILLE – Reservations for the Historical Society of Middletown’s 9th Living History Cemetery Tour are now open. The popular tour will be held Saturday, June 18, 2022 at Margaretville Cemetery. Rain date is June 19. In addition to the walking tour, offered from...
HSM offers headstone cleaning
Memorial Day is right around the corner and the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown wants to help you pay tribute to your loved ones by offering a unique headstone cleaning service. A team of HSM volunteers is ready to clean monuments at cemeteries in and...
Historical Society names Cemetery Tour cast
March 21, 2022 MARGARETVILLE – The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown (HSM) has announced cast members for its 9th Living History Cemetery Tour to be held Saturday, June 18 at Margaretville Cemetery. In addition to the walking tour, offered from 4 to 6 p.m.,...
TIN HORN:
Observations & Discoveries
Return of the Victory Garden
The battle against COVID-19 has prompted the return of an initiative that helped the US get through two previous wars of the shooting kind: The victory garden. Whether fearful of shopping amid crowds at grocery stores, wary of coming food shortages, or desirous of...
La Grippe of 1890
“’La Grippe,’ or the Russian Influenza, is heard from all parts of the world and creates the greatest public interest,” reported the Delaware Gazette January 1, 1890. “The fatal cases are very few, but the number of cases is very great and many of them very...
A priest with a flair for design
In early 1937, the Catskill Mountain News gave us a glimpse of one man’s efforts to brighten up two local churches and a cemetery. “The interior of the church of the Sacred Heart at Fleischmanns (now a private home) is being repainted and made ready for the summer....
The day after Thanksgiving
This interesting article was taken from the Delaware Gazette, Nov. 16, 1825. Except for the Thanksgiving balls, it all sounds so familiar . . . The editor of the Connecticut Mirror makes the following remarks, introductory to the Proclamation of Gov. Clinton, setting...
EVENTS:
2022 Calendar
Saturday, Nov. 7 the History of Light
HISTORY OF LIGHT 2015 PHOTO GALLERYClick for a larger view of each image...
FEATURES:
Guest Posts
Brothers in Arms: Thomas Elliot and James Elliot
New Kingston Sons of William and Eleanor and grandsons of a Scottish émigré.Thomas: B. Jan. 22, 1840, joined the 90th NY Volunteers in 1864. Mortally wounded at the Battle of Cedar Creek , Va. which occurred Oct. 18 and 19, 1864. Died Nov. 6, 1864. One of 60 from this...
Histories and Photos of 16 sites listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places
Village of Fleischmanns Skene Memorial LibrarySee the Skene Memorial Library application for historic registration here Congregation Bnai IsraelSee the Congregation Bnai Israel application for historic registration here MaxBilt TheaterSee the MaxBilt Theater...
144th Civil War Regiment 1899 Reunion Roster
The Grand Hotel: An Architectural and Economic History
An illustrated lecture by Annon Adams.Sunday, July 25, 2010, 2:00 p.m.at the Skene Memorial Library,Main St., Fleischmanns.Greater Fleischmanns Museum of Memories (adjacent to library) open from 1 to 2 p.m. and following the program. Program admission free for HSM...
Start Exploring…
Collections
Publications
Communities
Middletown
Civil War Soldiers
History Links
Projects
“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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