 |
Season's Greetings and welcome to the holiday edition of the RJHS digital newsletter. Our mission is to promote the history and heritage of the towns of the Roe Jan Community including Ancram, Copake, Gallatin, Hillsdale, and Taghkanic. We're excited to share our message and expand our membership online.
|
|
|
Ron Vincent donated a 1938 Roe Jan School calendar to the Society a few months ago and we didn't have the heart to stash it away in a box in our archive. Some things just have to continue to see the light of day.
Originally published by the Roe Jan Art Department, we're delighted to offer a limited edition of the handsome old calendar for the new year. It features original block print illustrations of "places of interest in our district" designed by local students in 1938. Their names are listed on the last page. You'll undoubtedly recognize the scenes and the artists.
The 2016 calendar is on sale for $15 at three Roe Jan area shops: Ancramdale's The Farmer's Wife, Copake Front Porch Market, and the Hillsdale General Store. If you don't live in the area but want to order a copy or two for the new year, please email us at roeliffjansenhs@gmail.com today.
|
|
|
Remembering Copake Station
|
|
Though the Harlem Division of the New York Central Railroad stretched from New York City to Chatham in the early 1850s, the village of Copake was served by ancillary tracks for an altogether different railroad - the Central New England Railroad, originally the Rhinebeck and Connecticut Railroad. Service arrived in the early 1870s and struggled through multiple owners and name changes before becoming the CNE in 1927. Its original purpose was to connect the Hudson Valley farmers with markets in Hartford and along the Connecticut River. Tracks ran through Pine Plains, Silvernails, Gallatine, Ancram Lead Mines, Ancram, Cooks (Cooks?), Copake, and Boston Corners. Check out the crazy map.
The Copake station was built in 1876 and is pictured here in a photograph dated 1885. As one of the region's leading producers of hay, oats and milk, this was surely a busy little station. Though the station closed before the Second World War and tracks are long gone, the building still stands. Like the dozens of other forsaken gems, we speed by them all the time. Visit the Copake Station on county Route 7A, near Route 22. Can it be saved?
|
|
Chartered 40 years ago, the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society is grateful for your tax-deductible donation of $40.00 - or whatever amount you choose to give! As a non-profit, mission-driven historical society, your membership and contribution help the Society bring to life the stories and traditions of local folks, past and present! Please consider making a donation to 40 for 40 to support our work in 2016.
|
|
|
How the Baptist Church Became the Grange Hall
|
|
Columbia County is endowed with a rich heritage of wooden church architecture which covers the full design spectrum, from the simplest shelter to imposing structures. The old Baptist church in North Hillsdale, known to most of us as the Hillsdale Grange Hall, is among the most beautiful. Built in 1839 to serve a congregation that had been established in 1787, it was known to be a place where any member "was licensed to preach." We were interested to learn that the church was abandoned in the late 1800s and, after many years of neglect and more than a few efforts by the community to save the building, it was acquired by Ella Rodney King Masters of Copake Falls, wife of Francis R. Masters, in 1928. She promptly donated the historic structure to the Hillsdale Grange to serve as its community center.
Enjoy an old clipping published April 18, 1928, in the Chatham Courier. We admire this description: "In a beautiful valley surrounded by entrancing hillsides, woodlands, and meadows here is a spot which shows nature at its best and delights even him who is not so keen on scenery. The artistic old building, itself, rare in its distinctive class, seems something taken from the classics and placed there in this peaceful valley to be preserved forever."
More about Ella Master's and the Grange Hall here.
|
|
|
|
| |
Peggy Muskrat recently donated a lovely old bench that belonged to the first St. Bridget's Church on North Mountain Road. Apparently summer overflow crowds enjoyed sitting on the benches outside the main church, often under a broad canopy. "It was a cooler spot on a stuffy day," remembered Peggy. "As kids we'd try to be late so we'd get to sit outside on the benches." Peg donated the bench in memory of her parents.
|
|  |
|
|
|
SANTA AND HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE
|
Santa appeared at the Society's Holiday Open House on Sunday, December 6, and greeted more than a few very happy children (along with their tickled parents). The open house, a long-time December tradition at the museum, was part of the Third Annual Copake Falls Winter Walk. This year's Walk around town included caroling, crafty vendors, hot dogs and hamburgers, hot chocolate and, of course, plenty of Santa.
|
|
|---|
|
|
|
|
We believe that a community's future is richer when it celebrates and preserves its heritage. Please join us in our mission to celebrate and preserve local history. Your membership and contribution is greatly appreciated.
Happy Holidays - and a Wonderful New Year!
Your Friends at the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
