by Shannon Butler It’s that time of year again, folks. Of course, this year has certainly been one for the books. It will be interesting to see what future historians have to say about the things we've done, or didn’t do. Some of our holiday traditions (like big family gatherings) will be put on hold for the sake of our own heath. However, there is one thing we can do (and clearly many of us have done) that will bring us some holiday cheer, and that is... decorating! Are you one of the many who decided to learn how to bake while on quarantine? Maybe you got super fancy with the sugar cookie designs? Or perhaps you decided to learn how to make your own ornaments, or take some extra time to wrap things up in order to make them look super pretty? Did you finally master the art of making a gingerbread house? Where does the desire to deck the halls and Christmas trees in our living room come from? It can be argued that the trend setter for this was none other than Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who first showcased their decorated tree in 1848. At first, decorations [...]

by Shannon Butler Growing up in the 19th century could be tough if your family didn’t have any money. It was even harder for those children who lost their parents either through death or just plain old abandonment. Before 1850, there was almost no place for an orphan to go to for safety, shelter, and food. Generally, they would end up in an almshouse (also known as the poorhouse) with adults who had also fallen on hard times. Ending up in a poorhouse meant no schooling or any kind of a proper education, at least until a group of concerned well-to-do women from the area decided to create an institution to house and care for children and homeless women (a.k.a. the friendless). It was in January of 1847 when a group of women - including local names like Adriance, Wilkinson, and Bartlett - got together and formed a society known as the Female Guardian Society. Their goal was to house, feed, educate, and care for children and women who were destitute. There was no real money to work with at first, other than what the ladies managed to contribute through donations, which remained the main source of income throughout their work. [...]

by Shannon Butler If you've been reading this blog since the beginning, you know that when we use the term "History Nerd," we mean it with the highest possible respect. To be a true history nerd, you must love the study of history. You read about it all the time, you brake for historic site signs along the road, you partake in watching documentaries on TV (love me some Ken Burns!), you might even volunteer some of your time and/or money to a local historical society. One of the area’s earliest history nerds would go on to become a nationally known historian and illustrator, a man of many talents: Benson John Lossing. Lossing was born in Beekman in 1813 and was orphaned at a young age. He did not receive much of a formal education (unlike modern-day historians), but instead, he was a quick learner and eager to take on different projects and skills. At the age of 13, he made his way to Poughkeepsie and began an apprenticeship with Adam Henderson making jewelry and watches. He entered into a partnership with Henderson within a few years. He then moved on to the printing business under the guidance of E.B. Killey, [...]

by Shannon Butler Historians have a habit of randomly researching something that sparks our interest. You discover something you didn’t know and soon find yourself going down a rabbit hole, searching for clues that give us answers which only lead to more questions, and finding lots of dead-ends. This leads us to this week’s Local History Blog post and a maddening series of discoveries and mysteries (ah! the joys of being a historian). Walking down Main Street in Poughkeepsie today, one would never know that a massive factory once stood on the northeast corner of Main and Cherry Street. Well over a century ago, the building you see on the right (image from the collection of the Library of Congress) was the workplace of over 400 men, and almost everyone in the city would own a pair of shoes or boots made by J.O. Whitehouse and Company. John Osborne Whitehouse was born in Rochester New Hampshire in 1817 and worked on a modest farm until he was 18 years old. He then made his way into Brooklyn to begin his business career and he appears to have succeeded rather quickly. By the early 1860s he began the firm of J.O. Whitehouse [...]

by Shannon Butler Do you enjoy cooking and baking? Are you getting ready to make some old favorites for Thanksgiving? Or are you looking to try something new this year? Many of us are rethinking the way we celebrate this old holiday in a new way because, well... 2020 (need we say more?). Here in the Local History room, we decided to dig into some of our collections of cookbooks and menus to see if we could find some inspiration. The cookbooks that we have stretch back to the early 19th century and some of the recipes sound quite familiar, while others have fallen out of fashion. Typical items on a Thanksgiving menu included turkey or ham, potatoes, green beans, rolls, and pies. The first menu on the right from the book Recipes of Yesteryear, compiled by the Antique Study Club of Poughkeepsie, shows a pretty standard Thanksgiving in the early 20th century. Flipping through a cookbook from 1913 published by the Ladies Aid Society of the First Baptist Church of Poughkeepsie, we find how to properly roast a turkey and a recipe for Oyster Dressing (see right). Interested in trying something new (but actually old?). In our collection is the [...]

by Shannon Butler Is it safe to say that we all miss going out to the theater? Whether it's going to see the latest blockbuster adventure film or that big hit musical, we are all looking forward to the day when we can buy a ticket to some sort of show. Americans have enjoyed the theater since the first one popped up in Philadelphia in 1809 (there were certainly plays being performed before that, but the Walnut Street Theater is the oldest structure meant for just that purpose). Here in Poughkeepsie, we have one of the longest running theaters in the country and the oldest continuously run theater in New York State. The Bardavon 1869 Opera House, once known as the Collingwood Theater, has a long history with some pretty famous performers in attendance. The Collingwood was originally the idea of Mr. James Collingwood, a Poughkeepsie merchant who made a good deal of wealth in the businesses of coal and lumber. The theater came of age when Poughkeepsie itself was in the process of morphing into a major hub for cultural activities. As most of us know, Poughkeepsie would soon be the home of several industries, as well as some prominent [...]

by Shannon Butler It's 8:30 AM, and you are trying to merge into the bottleneck that makes up the eastbound side of the Mid-Hudson Bridge. From the toll booths of four lanes, you manage to make your way into one of the two lanes that are open for the morning rush hour into Poughkeepsie. But along the way, you may find yourself saying things like, “Where did you learn to drive?” or “Get out of the way, grandpa!” or “It’s the pedal on the right!” You get the picture. When we are stuck in traffic in the middle of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Bridge, do we ever take the time to consider its history? The bridge is 90 years old, after all, and its construction is a work of considerable ingenuity. Even as automobiles became popular in the early 1900s, there were no bridge crossings over the Hudson between Manhattan and Albany, though there had always been a desire for such a project. In 1888, the Poughkeepsie Railroad bridge was finally completed, but it quickly became clear that this would not be used by the public, only for train crossings. As early as 1913, there were efforts led by politicians as [...]

by Shannon Butler In the mid-19th century, the Adriance family rose to prominence with their mowing and farming tools business. Reapers and mowers made this family one of the wealthiest in all of Poughkeepsie. It all started with John Adriance Sr., who dabbled in everything from the Dutchess Iron Works, to jewelry sales, to working on a mowing machine called the “Forbush.” He did well for himself, but it was his son’s strong sense of business and his ability to see a good idea (and buy up the patents for it) that made the family truly wealthy. John P. Adriance was born in Poughkeepsie in 1825 and educated locally. First, he attended the Dutchess Academy, located at the time on the site of what is now the Vassar-Warner Home on the corner of South Hamilton and Hooker Avenue. Afterward, he attended the Poughkeepsie Collegiate School on College Hill. He started as a young clerk at Storm and Uhl’s hardware store, where he learned the art of running a business as well as understanding the needs of industrialists and farmers alike. Within a few years, he made his way down to New York City, where he became part of Sears, Adriance, and [...]

by Shannon Butler Halloween has become one of the most popular holidays on our calendar. Regardless of the pandemic, Americans are still forging ahead, finding new ways to celebrate an old Celtic tradition. As a nation, we still plan on spending a lot of money (only slightly less than we did before the era of Covid), about 8 billion dollars between the candy, the decorations, and the costumes (that’s more than twice the amount of the yearly budget for the National Park Service, just to give you an idea). We spend almost half a million dollars on costumes just for our pets (guilty). As a lover of Halloween, I personally added another $25 to my budget this year for materials to construct a candy chute on my front porch. This will help with the practice of social distancing for anyone who ventures out for trick or treating. Back at the turn of the last century, there were a lot more tricks going on than treats. If you look through the local newspapers in the 1890s and early 1900s, you will find that most of the articles about Halloween are concerning the local parties and pranks from the younger generations. In 1883 [...]

by Shannon Butler Step back in time for a moment to the 1750s. Poughkeepsie is a rather small village with only a few streets, but it is growing quickly. In this early time there was a Dutch Reformed church and a Quaker meeting house. It would seem that there was a desire from several English speaking residents in the area to establish a congregation on behalf of the Church of England. That is what the Reverend Samuel Seabury (Sr.) said as he traveled by horseback from Long Island into the Dutchess County area in 1755. He was a missionary who baptized several people along the way and wrote down his thoughts on the need for a church somewhere around Poughkeepsie or Fishkill. Though he had his own church to keep watch over in Hempstead Long Island, it does make one wonder what called him on such a long and rigorous journey? He traveled into Dutchess County several times over the next 7 years and preached in private homes in Poughkeepsie and Fishkill. During each visit, he continued to expand the population of baptized members for the Church of England, but never got around to building the foundations of a physical house [...]

by Shannon Butler Living in this Covid era, we are all concerned with sickness and health, perhaps more than usual. So let us take a moment to look at a hospital that has been somewhat forgotten, though it has been repurposed for educational pursuits: the Bowne Memorial Hospital. At the turn of the 20th century, there was another health concern that had no cure, and was transmitted through droplets. This disease was known as Tuberculosis (or if you want the romantic Victorian term, Consumption). Patients with TB who went untreated had a 50% chance of dying within several years of contraction. People tended to avoid those with TB, and there was certainly a need for places to house these patients while continuing to work on therapy and finding a cure. Samuel W. Bowne was a merchant and chemist from New York City, and by the late 19th century, he had managed to make a good deal of money selling Scott’s Emulsion, which was said to help the immune system, amongst other things. When Bowne died in 1910, his wife Nettie wanted to find a cause to contribute some of her husband’s wealth to. Nettie found inspiration from her cousin, prominent member [...]

by Shannon Butler Can you imagine a time in Poughkeepsie when you were more likely to see a horse and carriage go by than a car? That was the case at the turn of the 20th century. Buying an automobile was mostly reserved for the super wealthy, and even many of those individuals were reluctant to move onto the horseless carriage. However, by the early 1900s, a small group of Americans were interested in bringing the automobile to our town. Not just any car, but “The Master Car,” an Italian car, which would somehow be made into something distinctly American, The Fiat. In June of 1909, officials from the Fiat company were looking at property in Poughkeepsie to build their factory. The president of this American venture, Ben J. Eichberg, had been a diamond merchant and he had every intention of catering to the same sort of people who spent money on diamonds (the cheapest American Fiat ever listed was the 1914 Light Thirty at $3,600, that's about $92,000 today). The rest of the team was made up of men who knew a thing or two about cars, but they were certainly all American. “A royalty was paid to Fiat in [...]

by Shannon Butler Over the past few months all of us have watched with great interest as day by day bits and pieces of the Cheney Memorial Building at the Hudson River State Hospital came crashing to the ground. Clouds of smoke, piles of brick, and chunks of steel mixing together in a massive mess that has now all but disappeared from our landscape. The building took two years to complete, cost over $9 million in construction costs, and stood for less than 70 years. So now that it’s gone and new creations are forming in its wake, let us take a look at the man the building was named for, Dr. Clarence O. Cheney. Cheney was born right here in Poughkeepsie on July 10th 1887. His father Albert O. Cheney had served in the 5th New York Infantry during the Civil War and later established a grocery on Main Street here in Poughkeepsie. His mother, Caroline was from the Adriance family and they lived at no. 88 Garden street. Cheney was educated in local schools including Poughkeepsie High School where he served as the Class President for the class of 03’ and then he headed off to Columbia University. He [...]

by Shannon Butler This year (and we can all agree, it has been one heck of a year) we are called to perform our civic duty, and that is to vote! The Presidential election of 2020 may be one of the most important elections in recent history and we all need to get out there and do our part. Imagine, for a moment, that you were ready and willing to head out to vote, but you were barred from voting because you are a woman. Of course we know, this is not some imaginary tale, but in fact it is a major part of our history. For most of this country’s history, women were not allowed to vote, or really even interfere with politics. In fact, as of this year (2020) it has only been 100 years that women have been allowed to vote, and our country is much older than that! One of the organizations that was spreading the news about women’s suffrage was The Equal Suffrage League. In the early 1900s, the ESL had several important meetings right here in Poughkeepsie to discuss the efforts made by various women and the work that was still needed to win the [...]

by Shannon Butler Once in a while a historic house will suddenly pop up in the news and remind us all of just how much history we have in Dutchess County and right here in Poughkeepsie. There have been recent debates and discussions as to what should be done with the old house and grounds at Wheaton Park. There are plans for building several units for apartments that would have easy access to the train station. Even talk of keeping the old mansion and renovating it to also serve as housing. But what was the original use of this property? And what other purposes did it serve? What we now know as Wheaton Park today was once the formal grounds and mansion of the Pelton Family. Built around 1860, this home was lived in by brothers Charles and George Pelton. It sits high on a hill just across the Fallkill creek where their factory was located. The brothers operated their factory on Mill street that produced carpets and pins (the factory still stands today!). They did quite well for themselves despite suffering a massive fire in their factory in 1854 (seen in a newspaper article to the right). During the Civil [...]

by Shannon Butler Everyone in the Hudson Valley has heard the name George Clinton (and no, I am not talking about the King of funk, sorry.) I mean the longest serving Governor of the State of New York (serving just under 21 years) and the Vice President of the United States under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. I mean the Revolutionary War General and one of the true Founding Fathers of our State and Nation. This George Clinton lived right here in Poughkeepsie, though there still seems to be some confusion over where his house actually was. Clinton was born on July 26, 1739, just across the river in Little Britain, what is now part of Orange County. By the time he was 18 he found himself doing a bit of privateering during the French and Indian War and later became a surveyor. In 1759 he became the County Clerk for Ulster County while studying law in New York City. By the 1760s he was learning the ropes of the General Assembly but also listening to the whispers of anti-Crown propaganda as many of his countrymen were growing tired of the King’s burdens on the colonies. After marrying Cornelia Tappen, he [...]

by Shannon Butler The very first yearbook for the Poughkeepsie High School, known as “PHOIS” was produced in 1909. The students who created it were sure to inform the readers that this was the first of its kind in the preface, “In preparing this book, it has been necessary to work without the guide of precedent, for the school has not in the past years published an annual.” This class was still going to school in the original Poughkeepsie High School building which was once located at the northwest corner of Washington and Lafayette Streets (the building seen in the photo on the right, built in 1872). Flipping through this small book, it becomes very clear that the Senior class of 1909 (who put the yearbook together) had quite the sense of humor about themselves and not much interest in the lower classmen. Another thing one will notice is the vision of the book’s artist, Katharine Kelly. “Kittie” as her friends called her, was born in Poughkeepsie in 1892 and she lived with her parents at 40 Conklin Street. While attending PHS, her drawings became very popular among her classmates and she quickly earned a spot on the staff of the [...]

by Shannon Butler Our last entry looked at a grand house from the Gilded Age that is somewhat forgotten today. However, there are a couple houses that still hold their gilded shine and attract people from all over the world who come to see the remnants of that glamorous era. Vanderbilt Mansion and Staatsburgh (also known as Mills Mansion) are both local sites that focus on the architecture and lifestyles of the Gilded Age, and they also happen to have fantastic views of the Hudson River and pleasant paths for strolling, just like the Vanderbilts and Mills families would have done. Both of the properties have histories that go back long before the Gilded Age. Vanderbilt had once belonged to Dr. Bard in the 18th century, and later by Walter Langdon. The Langdon house and property was purchased by the Vanderbilts in 1895 but they had determined the home itself to be in need of too many repairs. The architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White was brought in to build a sturdier and much larger house which was based very similar to the design of the Langdon home. Many of the rooms, including Mrs. Vanderbilt’s bedroom seen on the right, [...]

by Shannon Butler If you missed this week’s Local history presentation, Hyde Park in the Gilded Age, have no fear.  We thought we would share with you some history on some of the interesting mansions that were discussed. We will first take a look at a grand house that happens to still be standing. Archibald Rogers was a man who lived his life in a mix of grand comfort and rough backwoods adventure. Somehow he managed to combine it all at his grand estate in Hyde Park, Crumwold. Archibald Rogers had spent his early years growing up in Hyde Park, his grandmother took care of him for the most part and they lived in a house on Main Street that still stands today. After Archibald had studied at Yale he married Anne Coleman and it was her family’s money from the iron industry that helped the Rogers family build one of the grandest houses along the Hudson. First, Rogers needed to purchase enough land to pull off his vision. He no doubt had been planning such a property since his childhood, when he once roamed the grounds of Elias Butler’s estate, D.S. Miller’s land, and others, located just south of the [...]

by Shannon Butler While going through and transcribing the Vail Photography studio ledgers, it's fun to put names to faces. The name Charles Barnes has come up several times in the process and it turns out that there were actually two different men with that same name living here in Poughkeepsie, both born about the same time. One of these men had a wife and kids, the other had a beloved dog and enjoyed showing off his dog a bit like some of us obsessed pet owners today. At first, it was tricky to determine which of these Barnes was which and who actually owned the dog? Both were born in 1847 and both lived here in Poughkeepsie. One owned a furniture store on Main Street for many years while the other studied at Rutgers. One had a fabulous house designed by Arnout Cannon on Church street while the other lived with his brothers George and Maurice in a house on Cannon Street. After some digging I discovered that the first image on the right is Charles Haven Barnes and his wife Marianna. This Charles is the one who owned the furniture store on Main street and had two children, Gilbert [...]

by Shannon Butler If you read the newspapers from 1848 you might start to believe that there was something in the water in Pleasant Valley that year. Or, at the very least, people were on edge for some strange reason. As we saw last week, a man named Wesley Pine shot Elizabeth Russell in the chest, rather abruptly. Well, not long after that, another murder took place where once again, a man shot someone (this time in the head) rather abruptly! Only this time, the court had a hard time deciding the verdict. On the morning of May 25th, 1848, Richard Wall and several other men were employed by John Newcomb of Pleasant Valley to build a stone wall on his property. His next door neighbor, Dr. Joel Divine did not seem to approve of the location. Witnesses claimed that Dr. Divine was angry of the placement of the wall, that it blocked a road that Divine had access to. Dr. Divine had gone out to speak to the workers several times the day before and informed them that if they knew what was good for them, they would stop building the wall. Divine’s own workers were out in the field [...]

by Shannon Butler In the Local History collection there is a document box marked ‘Miscellaneous Murder Cases in Dutchess County.’ You have to admit, it does sound kind of interesting (any Cold Case Files fans out there?) Well, within the box are a few documents which tell the story of a murder, a trial, and a sentence which all took place within a few months in the winter/spring of 1848. The murder took place in Pleasant Valley in January, the trial began on April 12th 1848 in the courthouse on Market Street in Poughkeepsie, and by May 26th the prisoner would pay for his crime! Mr. Wesley Pine was rumored to have been a man with some problems. At least that is what the defense would claim. While on the other hand, he may have been a jealous man who wanted money, or love, it's somewhat hard to say. On January 9th, 1848, Mrs. Elizabeth Russell was at her home, just north of Pleasant Valley, while her husband and sister went off to church. Mr. Wesley Pine entered her home and claimed that she owed him $200. She professed to be unaware of any money that she or her husband may [...]

by Shannon Butler Recently in the Local History Room we have been transcribing the ledgers of the Vail Photography Studios. These ledgers allow us to put names to faces in our collection of thousands of Vail photos that, until recently, have been unidentified. The ledgers are quite helpful with names and sometimes even addresses attached, but every once in a while, you come across something that makes you ponder. As seen in the image to the right, the ledger shows us mostly common names with the exception of one entry, #9577, simply marked “Boots.” At first, I thought perhaps this was the name of a pet, as Vail studios was known to photograph dogs and cats from time to time. So, being the animal lover that I am, I thought we would check the number and see who “Boots” was. As you can see from the photo, #9577 is no pet, but an oddly dressed man! For those of you researchers out there, you will know that putting a common word like ‘Boots’ into any search engine will give you a ton of results and wear down your patience but nevertheless, I persisted. A search in Newspapers.com (narrowing my window to [...]