Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook Vol. 081 1997 1998

Dutchess County Historical Society Year Book Volume 81 1997-19.98

The Dutchess County Historical Society Year Book (ISSN 0739-8565) has been published annually since 1915 by the Dutchess County Historical Society, PO Box 88, Poughkeepsie, New York 12602.

© copyright 2000 by the Dutchess County Ifistorical Society All rights reserved.

Individual copies may be purchased through the Society. Selected earlier Year Books are also available.

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Publications Committee is now soliciting articles for future Year Books.

Articles should be no longer than 7500 words, double-spaced typescript or on disc, Word Perfect 5.1. Inclusion of photographs or other illustrative material is encouraged. Manuscripts, books for review, and other correspondence relevant to this publication should be addressed to: DUTCHESS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Publications Committee PO Box 88

Poughkeepsie, New York 12602

The Society encourages accuracy but does not assume responsibility for statements of fact or opinion made by contributors.

The Dutchess County Historical Society was formed in 1914 to preserve and share the county's rich history and tradition. The only county-wide agency of its kind, the Society is an active leader and promoter of local history in Dutchess County. Principal endeavors include the publishing of historical works, and the collection and safe-keeping of artifacts, manuscripts, and other priceless treasures of the past. The Society has been instrumental in the preservation of two pre-Revolutionary landmarks, the Clinton House and Glebe House, both in Poughkeepsie. In addition, the Society has educational outreach programs for the schools of Dutchess County.

The Society offers a variety of activities and special events throughout the year.

Contact the Society for further information: (845) 471-1630, or the address above.

Table of Contents MEETING s 1997-1998

-ODUCHON HORSE HIGH, SIIEEp TIGlrr AND HOG pRooF BruceBuckley

THE SAMPLER AND THE AMERlcAN ScHooLGmL: 'The Ann Beadle Map Sampler

iinFriedland KEEENG GOOD TIME

By James Storrow assisted by Armon Adams .................................... 42

ELENORRooSEVEir,VALKIIL,AND THE AMERICAN cRAFrs MovEMENT Mary M. Flad

TIIE VAL-KIIL INDUSTRIES OF HYDE IIARK Louis Torres

wEBATuac cRAFrs vllJLAGE - BullDING A CRAFT DRlvEN C0MMUNrlT

SITTING PRNan Fo8el

FmsT DUTalEsS Qtm:rms - cARR¥ING oN AMERICAN TRADITION Joyce C. Ghee

DO IT youRSEIF cRAFr TOuR OF DUTalEss cOuNTy ................. 114 OFFICERS AND TRUSTEES, STAFF MUNICIPAL IIISTORIANS of DUTCHESS CotJNTY ........................... 133

EHSTORICAL soclEriEs Of DUTCREss cOuNTy .............................. 134

IND"

135

ANNUAL MEETING, December 1997 St. James Church, Hyde Park, New York Prior to the call to order by President Lorraine Roberts, membersandguestsmetinSt.JamesChurchforabriefhistory and tour of the church. The parish historian, Mr. Amold Kopser, gave a fine history of the founding of the church, the historic figures who attended the church and an account of the tragic fire and rebuilding of the church. As the cold weather was a factor, only a few hardy members toured the St. James grave yard.

The President called the meeting to order and welcomed those assembled. Minutes were read by Secretary Margaret Zamierowski and accepted as presented. Finance Chair, SudhirDesaigavetheTreasurer'sreport.

MichaelEnglert,NominatingComlnitteeChair,presentedthe slate of officers and trustees to the members. They were: President, Lorraine Roberts, Vice-President, Anne Friedland; Secretary, Mary Parker; Treasurer, Joseph D.Quinn,III. Trustees for the Class of 2001 were Cecile Arnold, Rev. Dwight B olton, Joanne Lukacher and Frederick Stielow.

Therebeingnofurthernominationsfromthefloor,amotion was made for the Secretary to cast one ballot for the slate.

Motion was seconded and carried by unanimous vote.

PresentationsweremadebythePresidenttoretiringofficers and trustees, Margaret Zamierowski, Catherine Gerardi, Peter Krulewich,JohnWolfandMichaelEnglert.

Meeting adjourned.

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TheDirector,EileenMylodHayden,introducedspeakersfor the program, Joan Spence and Joyce Ghee, authors of Poughkeepsie, Half way Up the Hudson. Both tNIfhers reside in Hyde Park. They spoke of their reasons for producing this book, published by Arcadia Press. The photographs and visuals came from a variety of sources--DCHS, Adriance Library,VassarCollegeLibraryandmanyprivatecollections-and covered life in both the City and the Town of Poughkeepsie over three centuries. Following the presentation, both authors autographed copies of the book.

AnnualMeeting November 1998 Zion Episcopal Church, Wappingers Falls, New York The 83rd annual meeting was held at the Zion Episcopal Church in Wappingers Falls. The meeting was called to order

by President Lorraine Roberts at 7:35 PM. She provided a brief history of the Historical Society. The very first annual meetingwasheldonApril1,1915atthePleasantValley Library. The membership fee was one dollar at that time.

Programsandinitiativeshavechangedandthesocietyhasbeen involved in networking. Board members were introduced to themembershipfollowedbythereadingoftheminutesbythe secretary, Mary Parker. A motion was made to accept the minutes and was seconded. Motion carried.

Treasurer' s report was circulated. In the absence of the treasurer (Joseph Quinn). President Roberts and Vice-President Anne Friedland reviewed in addition to the Silver Ribbon Tour. The motion to accept the report was made by Carmen MCGill and seconded by Ray LaFever. Motion carried.

AreportwaspresentedbyEileenHayden,ExecutiveDirector; Themembershipwasinformedthatthecuratorleftforanother position. The DCHS has made a decision to open the Clinton 3

House by appointment. The new hours are Tuesday-Friday, from 10 am to 3pm. Other highlights noted: There was a visit to Clinton House from NYS Parks & Recreation; the state completed an accessible restroom in Clinton House; interns (2 from Vassar and 1 from Dutchess) assisted at Clinton House; DCHS sponsored a Leave A Legacy conference; Joyce Ghee and Joan Spence have a new book, HczrJeffl Vcz//ey Pczffe-

w¢yS,. Black History Committee arranged the ceremony for the JohnBoldingGravestonededicationandpresentedapanel discussion on black towns in Oklahoma; the Silver Ribbon Tour was held in the town of Clinton and an exhibit on William Slater'sWorldwasheldatCunneen-Hackett;achallenge grant (by an anonymous donor ) brought in $2000. Anne Friedlandwasthankedforprovidingaplaceforthemeeting.

Nominations Report: Carmen MCGill, Chairperson Nominations are: (4 yr. Term) Richard Reitano, Rick Steams, Barbara Van Italle; (3 yr. term) Edward Catuzzo; (2 yr. Term ) Clairmont Spooner. A motion to accept the nominations report was made and seconded. Motion carried. Another motion was made and seconded that power be given to the board of trustees to approve two remaining trustees. Motion carried. President Roberts acknowledged those trustees who have served on the Board: Annon Adams -4 yrs.; Joyce Ghee-6 yrs. ; Stephanie Mauri -7 yrs. ; Ed Shaughnessy -8

yrs. Eileen Hayden was thanked for her hard work as director.

Meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.in.

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DUTCRESS COUPITY HSTORICAL SOCETY STAThRENT 0F REVENUE & EXPENSES DECEMBER 31, 1998

Revenues: Investment Income Membership & Other

Gfts, Grants & Donations Silver RIbbon Tour

TOTAL REVENUE

Expenses: Payroll & Employee Benefits Insurance Utilities & Maintenance Office Misceuaneous Expenses & Security rmstoric Publications & Year Book Affiliations & Professional Fees Depreciation

Museum & Library Genealogy, Mscellaneous Sales/Service Excise Tax Silver RIbbon Tour

$ 1,847.00 30,800.00 6,191.00 12.668.0_0_

$51'506.00

$33,901.00 3,865.00

4,644.00 5,484.00 2,020.00 2,324.00 1,154.00

2,256.00 5.00 98.00 122.00

_7_.598.OQ

TOTAL EXPENSES

$63'471.00

REVENUE OVER (UNDER) EXPENSES

($11,965.00)

INTRODUCTION The Publications Committee of the Dutchess County Historical Society has chosen "Craftsmanship" as the focus of the 1997-1998 edition of the yeczr Book.

OurpartofNewYorkStatehasbeenblessedwithmany talented and creative craftspeople whose attention to high standards of workmanship and concern for the usefulness, durability and beauty of the products they have wrought has brought them success in their chosen fields of endeavor, the respect of clients and a place in history.

"Craftsmanship"hasundergonechangesinmeaningfor the general public since the beginning of the Industrial Revolutionandescalationofthedevelopmentofmachinemade

products. For a time America's love of "progress" cast a shadow over handmade objects. Purchasers equated "handmade" with "homemade" which was translated to amateurish andrough.Mass-produced,machinemadeproducts,uniformly

perfect, absolutely similar to each other, and more quickly availabletopurchasers,caughtthepublicfancy.

Fortunately,inmorerecentyears,theemergenceofthe

popular crafts movement has brought the crown of craftsmanship back to the brows of those who espouse its demands. Renewed interest in thoughtfully designed, finely finished pieces marked by the individuality of an artisan has created a new market for well crafted and useful tools, furnishings and decorative pieces for homes and museums.

True craftsmanship, never really out of style, demands the vision of an artist, the physical strength of a construction worker,andtheeyeandfinemotorskillsofasurgeon.Itcanbe appliedacrosstheboardinmanywaysthroughmanymediaby those who use their skills to earn a living or by amateurs who work purely out of love or to fill a need that their own fortunes will not support.

This edition does not pretend to be encyclopedic. It highlights significant craftsmanship and crafts that have impacted Dutchess County history and the lives of its citizens.

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Someofourexamplesofcraftsmanshiparepartofanongoing centuriesoldtraditionandsomeareillustrativeofabrieffashion of primary interest today to antiquarians. All share one thing: a commitment to and pride in the work.

As in several of the most recent yeczr Books, we have includedado-it-yourselfdrivingtourthatwillguideyoutothe settingsofarticlesinthiseditionoftheyearbook.Thetouralso includes a few of the other most obvious sites in which craftsmanship has been practiced or shared with the public.

We dedicate this edition to the author of the first article, Dr. Bruce R. Buckley of Cooperstown, an architectural folklorist, whose death in August 1997 leaves a vacant seat in scholarlycircleswhichwillbehardtofill.Althoughnotfromour county, Bruce helped us to see and understand a craft constructionofstonewalls-thatisnotonlyavisualhallmarkof our landscape and part of its charm, but also often implies the legal and historical roots of many property divisions. Bruce spentthebetterpartofayearvisitingtheareaunderagrantfrom the New York State Council on the Arts written by me as former county historian. He studied the walls, spoke with property owners, developers, amateur and professional wall builders, preservationists, and local folklorists. The result was a fascinatingpaper,oneofthefewseriousstudiesinexistenceof DutchessCountystonefences.Itwasthecoreofasmallbooklet illustrated by renowned photographer Douglas Baz that was published in 1989 in a very limited edition due to budgetary constraints. The original manuscript was among those of his

papers donated by the author' s family to the New York State Librarymanuscriptcollections.Becauseofitsimportancetoan understanding of county history, Dutchess County Historical Society, with the perlnission of Dr. Buckley' s wife Mona, has chosen to reprint this main article of the book as a public documenthavingwidepublicbenefit.

Joyce C. Ghee Chair DCHS Publications Committee

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Bruce Buckley, Ph.D. Dr. Bruce R. Buckley, retired Associate Dean of the Cooperstown Graduate Program, considered by many to be the

premiere museum studies program in the United States, was betterknowninmorerecentyearsasadown-to-earthandhighly productive consultant to institutions undertaking field work in folkloric studies. Degrees in classical humanities, English and history, were capped by a Ph.D. in folklore, anthropology and communicationsfromtheFolklifelnstituteatlndianaUniversity.

Bruce was an academic who looked and behaved more like a friendly next-door neighbor. He was a balladeer who had his own radio program and recorded for Folkways Records. He knew many of the legendary stars of American folk music and Jazz from Roy Rogers, Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie to George Lewis. As researcher, interviewer, writer, performer, lecturer and teacher he found a welcome in many quarters through his uncommon ability to reach out to people at every level of society and to convey what he learned from them of American folkways. Cooperstown' s communicator par excellence died in August of 1997 in his 69th year. Dutchess County isindebtedtohimforcapturingararepictureoftheessenceand meaning of its thousands of stone fences.

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HORSE HIGH, SHEEP TIGHT, AND HOG PROOF

By Bruce R. Buckley

Foreword When an old-timer from the area was asked what makes a good fence, he replied, " It' s got to be horse high, sheep tight andhogproof."Thistraditionalformulaforthestonewallmason has been passed down from generation to generation as a yardstick to judge his work. Much of what the stone mason knowsaboutbuildingheleamedbyobservingotherinasonsand listeningtotheirinstructions.ThisprojectoftheDutchesscounty Department of History is based on the oral history of stonewall construction as practiced by these local masons.

The craft of stone wall masonry is an ancient one. Since prehistoric times stone has been used for protective walls and buildings. In modern times new techniques of construction and exotic building materials have been developed and traditional stone construction has almost been forgotten. What was once a skill every farmer of the area practiced has become a lost art.

Today this art is practiced by only a few masons and their expertiseiseagerlysoughtbythoseinterestedinmaintainingthe old traditional stone walls.

Today, the stone wall masons learn their art in two distinctive ways: the formal process and the folk process. The fomalprocessofleaminginvolvesaformaleducationalsituation where the student reads about masonry and related information andisapprenticedtoamastermasonwhoseresponsibilityisto teach him the craft. The folk process of learning involves the everydayobservationofamasonwhilepracticinghiscraft.Asa memberofthemason'sgroup,thenewmasonslowlylearnshis skillsbyobservationandimitativepracticinguntilhemastersthe craft.

Thestonemasonsinterviewedforthisprojectaremostly folk craftsmen who have learned their skills by working with

9

their fathers and grandfathers. Only one mason had formal training in stone wall construction. The ethnic background of the masons was about evenly divided between Yankees and Italians.

Historically,thesetwogroupswerethemajorstonewallmasons of the Dutchess County area.

This project is only a small sample of the stone wall construction in the area. It is hoped that it will serve as a stimulus :±orotherstocontinuethefieldresearchandfindmoretraditional masons active in the county. This booklet is dedicated to those masons who gave their time because they feel deeply that the stone walls of Dutchess County are an important part of our history and need to be restored and maintained for future generations.

Introduction Erecting new fences and repairing of old ones ,... is something that demands the vigilance Of the

farmers, from the conunencement to the close Of the year. (1860)

Fences on the landscape have been an integral part of American history from its beginning. Fences helped defineafamily'sland;somethingthatbelongedtothem,towork for,tofightforandtopassontothenextgeneration-theprimary reasonmanylefttheiroldwayoflifetocometotheNewWorld.

The fences they found in America have their origins in Europe where they were not found in such abundance. In the Old World few individuals owned their own land and fencing was not common in many areas. The Dutch had few fences except as protection of gardens from animals. County by county the English agricultural land system was in the transition from open common fields to the enclosure of land. The use of fences dependeduponwhichareaoftheBritishlslesyoucamefromand when you left. Most of the Southern Germans were still living in a feudal system and there wasn't even a word for "fence" in their regional dialect. Yet in the New World the ubiquitous fence,

10

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stone or wood, covered the landscape and European travelers weredismayedbythem.IsaacWeldwroteofhistravelsin1795:

With regard to American Landscapes in general, it is to be observed, that their beauty is much inpaired by the unpicturesque cLppearance Of the angular fences, and the stiff wooden houses, which have at a little distance, a heavy, dull, and gloomy aspect.

Why were fences so important to the early settlers in America when they were not in Europe? Primarily fences provided a sense of stability and permanence in a new world which was dangerous and uncertain for the early settler. The forests,whichsurroundedtheirsmallclearings,weredark,fullof wild animals and possibly Indians. Fence enclosures provided a psychological,ifnotphysicalbarrierbetweenthefarmerandhis hostile world. Fences were also a symbol of possession. It was thefirsttimemostnewworldsettlersownedtheirownland.They were proud of this ownership and built fences to mark the boundaries of ffeez.r land. This desire to o.wn your own land has remained one of the cornerstones of the American dream.

The old World Fence The word "fence" is derived from the Latin "fenders" meiningtowardoffortodefend.Itse+emsunbelievablethatthe greatwallswhichoncedefendedcastlesandcitiesintheMiddle Ages evolved into the low decorative borders around

grandmother' s flower garden. It is true that our fences are no longer defenses against our human enemies; however, they are still more than decorative.

Thehistoryofthefenceactuallyrevolvesaroundwarfare between two major kingdoms:-.the animal and vegetable kingdoms. Animals will always win this war unless man intervenes and defends the vegetables. In the early days of agriculture, the animal was the most important part of man' s

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economy. Animals were not only a part of the food chain, but provided power and transportation as well. In many areas they were allowed to roam free in a common community herd and foragetheirownfood.Ifyouwantedtoprotectyourgardenand crops you were responsible for "fencing out" the animals. This became part of English common law and was accepted by the American Colonies.

Every Person interested in the improvement Of Common fields enclosed for Corn and other Necessary use shall from time to time, make and keep his

part of the fence Sttfficiently strong and in constant repair, to secure the Corn and other fruits therein, and shall not put, cause or permit any Cattle to be put in so long as any Corn or other fruits shall be growing or remain upon any part Of the land so Enclosed...(Duke Of York Laws,1665)

With the growth of non-agricultural cities and towns, vegetable crops become more important to the economy. Laws werepassedrequiringaniinalstobe"fencedin"toprotectthe crops. This conflict between fencing in and fencing out extended tothecattleranchesintheWest,culminatinginthe19thcentury RangeWarsandinspiringthepopularTexassong"Don'tFence Me In."

Fence in America ThefenceservedmanyfunctionsinearlyAmericanfarm life.Fencesprotectedcropsfromnature,thesnowdriftsofwinter and the winds of summer. They were .an economical method of using the materials which resulted from clearing the land and practicing the traditional folk wisdom " waste not, want not."

Most importantly, however, fences represented order. t=

There is nothing can give a man, that only travels through a country, so bad an opinion of the has-

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bandy of it, as to see two circumstances: first the fences in bad order; and secondly, the corn full Of weeds. (1775)

Fencesmaintainedingoodorderbeautifyanarea,while ill-kept fences are an eyesore and blight on the landscape.

Nothingdistinguishesagoodfarmerfromabadfarmerquicker than the condition of his fences. In addition, as the famous poem celebrates,awell-keptfencemeansagoodneighbor,someone who takes responsibility for himself and his community.

Therefore, a good fence enhances the reputation of the landowner as well as the value of his land.

Enclosures throughout estates, in the present improved conditions Of agriculture prevent the trespass Of man and beast, shelter corn and cattle against some inclemencies Of weather, afford foocks prosection and peace while they. are feeding or at rest, beauttfty the face of the coirhiry, enhance the value Of land, relieve the farmer' s mind from care as to the scifety Of his crops and flocks, and impart corifidence to the landlord that, so long as he maintains them, they wil,l secure the conservation and even the improvement of his estate. (1848)

Fence Types (

The American fences of the 19th century were primarily madeofwood.Verticalpalisadeandhorizontalpostfenceswere made of logs. Logs were splitto make stake and rider and single ordoublepostandrailfenceswhichbecamethesymbolofthe American fariner conquering the wilderness. Twigs and branches were woven into wattle fences and stumps were stackedalongtherivertoformabarrierfence.Sawnlumberwas made into solid board ferices, spaced to form pickets or horizontal animal fences and interwo.ven into lattice work.

Occasionallyotherconstructionmaterialswereusedfor

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fencing by our ancestors. Brick was used especially for garden fences.Thetypeoffencewasoftendeterminedbytheareaofthe country. Sod was used in the Western plains and adobe in the Southwest. The Northeast was known for its glaciated areas where stones of many types and sizes were readily available for the building of fences. Dutchess County is a part of this area of

glaciated and weathered fieldstone and much of the stone construction of the area uses these types of stones.

STONE WALLS OF DUTCHESS COUNTY Early Walls of-Dutchess County PermanentsettlementofDutchessCountydidnotreally begin until the late 17th century. The newly formed patents from the English Crown were controlled by New York City merchants, a few Dutch large farm owners and Dutch pardons whowereintermarriedwithEnglishlandedfamilies.Thecounty's growth was slow until the middle of the 18th century. The earliest extant buildings are of stone and date from the 1730s and dry stone wall foundations of early houses, barns and mills are still found on the landscape.

The Albany Post Road, which began as the King's Highway in 1703 , ran from Albany to New York City. Along this road,nowRoute9,maybefoundtheremainsofmanyoftheearly stone fences of the county. This major colonial highway was also marked with milestones after 1797. Twenty-two of the original forty reddish sandstone markers in Dutchess County have been restored.

Earlystonefencesinthecountywereprobablytheresults of clearing the fields of stone to plant crops. No skill was necessary to make these rubble walls. From 1685 to 1731 a series of patents were issued by the Crown for the newly formed County of Dutchess. Stone markers were a common English system of making boundary lines between properties and were

probably used for marking patent lines. Later after the land had been surveyed these marker stones became the basis for stone 14

boundaryfencesorpatentwalls.Althoughitisdifficulttodatea stone wall, recent research by LaGrange Historian Emily Johnson has located sections of these patent walls and a new historic marker, erected in 1985, marks a section of the old Rombout-Beekman Patent wall. Stone boundary walls have endured the ravages of time and are still accepted as legal boundaries when settling property disputes. Although many of these "old" fences may not be original, they are considered as originaldespitetheirconstantrepairthroughtime.Theyaremuch like George Washington' s legendary hatchet which may have hadthreenewcuttingheadsandtenreplacementhandlesbutstill is the "original" hatchet.

Stone field fences are the most abundant of the old walls of the area. These st'one walls delineated the corn fields,

pastures, gardens and farm lanes. On a typical farm a farm lane defined by stone fences would run from the barnyard to the pastureland. At the end of the lane would be a bar way or gate thatledintoaholdingarea.Thisareawasgiventhename"Devil's Half Acre." From this area the iivestock could be turned into one of several fields for pasturing. Other stone walls protected the cash crops of the farmer as well as enclosing the barnyard and animalpens.

Modern agriculture technology is sometimes hampered by these small fields surrounded by stone and the farm lanes are too narrow for the tractor and other machinery. The farmer is slowly getting rid of his stone walls to make way for progress. It isnotalwaysaseasyasitmightseem.Onestorytellsofafarnier having a large hole dug to bury his stone fences. After the workmen had completed the hole there were so many stones from the digging that there was no room for the fence stones.

Today many farmers are actually giving their stone fences to anyone who will carry them away.

Farms were not the only areas surrounded by stone walls.

The towns and villages used stone walls around their houses, churches, cemeteries and public buildings. These walls not only defined the property but protected the areas from animals and other intrusions. At a town meeting in Hyde Park in 1830, the

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town passed an ordinance which defined a proper fence as: ...a substcantial stone wall Of the full height Of

four feet shall be a surfficient fence, and that a stone wall less than four feet high shall be a sufficient fence if there is one rail laid on the wall and with stakes and rider Of the height Of four feet and a half, that no ram or boar shall be suffered to run at large from the first day Of August to the tenth day Of November, under the penalty of Five Dollars. That no hogs nor pigs shall be found going at large, contrary to the foregoing regulations...

Fence viewers were appointed in every town to inspect fences, enforce fence laws and settle boundary disputes. They were compensated for their work in the Town of Hyde Park in 1830 at one dollar a day.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Dutchess

County became an area of large estates for many wealthy families. Elaborate stone walls surrounded these estates and many garden walls and stone pathways dotted their landscape.

Estate walls were usually higher than field fences and were constructed of quarried stone or mortared fieldstone.

Fieldstone walls were occasionally veneered with quarried bluestone from nearby Ulster County. These high walls were entered through large stone pillars which held decorative iron gates. It took many masons to build these estate walls and some remained in the area after their construction to help maintain the stone construction and build other stone structures and walls in the County.

Stone in Dutchess County Stone was recognized as one of the early natural

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resources in Dutchess County. The Natural History Survey of New York of the late 1830s listed many local sources for constructionpuxposes.

Theseresourcesincludedslateforroofing,graniteandmarblefor building and grayback, a type of sandstone suitable for stone walls and foundations. Nine quarries were in operation in the county at this time and five locations were indicated as usable rock formations for stone walls.

Stone walls are made from both fieldstones and quarried stones. Due to the weight of the stone, the stone walls on most farmsweremadeofmaterialsfoundonthepropertyorverynear by. One of the few studies of stone construction in Dutchess County, " Stone Wall Inventory of the Town of Hyde Park" prepared in 1983, reported the native stones used in the fences of the Hyde Park part of the geological coastal zone area were

grayback with black and grey shale from the Normankill formation. Stones of natural slate are found in the fields as a result ofglacieractivityandtheresultingcrackingofrockshundredsof years ago.

The Geological Map of the county indicates this northsouthbedrockalongtheHudsoniscalledAustinGlenGrayback Bedrock. This is one of the five bedrock systems which underlie

the county ruhning generally from north to south. The eastern most systems are the Hudson Highlands Gneiss Range and the small poughquag Quartzite Rangejust west of it. The system in thecenterofthecountyisPeliticRockformationinterlacedwith theWappingerGroup.Eachoftheseformationscontributetothe stone fences of the county and produce the changing landscape of fences from east to west.

Ifyoureallywanttoknowaboutthestonesinthecounty, youaskthefellowwhobuildsthestonewalls.Accordingtothe local masons, if you need bluestone for face stones, go to the northern part of the county; for rubble stone and slate, go south and west; for marble, go to the southeast. Blue shale is found alongtheriver,limestonealongtheborderwithConnecticutand beautifulcoloredglaciatedstonesarefoundinthenortheastem

partofthecounty.WhentheCiferrisneededstoneforthegates 17

of an estate north of Millbrook, their father was able to find a large outcrop of granite within two miles of the location. Enough stone for building a drywall is usually found on the land you are building on. If necessary you can use the stone from the fences that have fallen down in the area. Some quarried stone for late 19th century estate walls were brought by barge from across the Hudson.

Masons of Dutchess County It is impossible to know who built the earliest stone walls in the Dutchess County area. The first settlers of the patent areas were Dutch farmers who had only a limited knowledge of stone wall building. In addition there were black slaves and a few English landowners. It was not until the early 18th century that

QueenAnnebroughtpalatineGermanstotheareasforherNaval Stores experiment. When this venture failed, some of the Germans settled on the farms in the Rhinebeck area. Although the Palatines were not fence builders, they were familiar with stone masonry construction especially dry wall foundations for framed houses and barns. It would not have b.een difficult for them to adapt their skills to stone wall building.

The southern section of the newly formed county was settledbyEnglishwithtiestoNewEngland.Thegroupsfromthe British Isles: Scots, Irish, Scotch-Irish and English were familiar with stonewall construction while the New England settlers had hadalmostacenturytohonetheirstonewallbuildingskillsinthe New World. It is probable that these groups built most of the early walls in the area. After the Revolution the area was opened to New England settlers and many of the older extant stone walls seem to date from this period.

During the early 19th century skilled masons came to the NewYorkareanotonlyfortheconstructionoftheErieCanalbut to fill the construction needs created along the Hudson by this new commerce route. Among them were Irish and Welsh stone workers and masons who were known for their stone construction in the British Isles. Itinerant stone wall builders

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werereportedinnearbyDelawarecountyduringthefirsthalfof the 19th century and they probably also worked in the Dutchess area. During the last quarter of the 19th century southern Italian immigrants began to settle in Dutchess County. They were not only skilled masons but quarry workers, stone carvers and stone cutters, all well defined crafts in the Italian stone trade. The Italiansarrivedaboutthetimeoftheexpansionoflargeestatesin the area and were the primary builders of many of the walls and stone work required by the new land owners. Many Italian mason families came specifically for work on the estates and remainedintheareaafterthemajorconstructionwascompleted.

The masons interviewed for this project were about evenlydividedbetweencraftsmenofEnglish/NewEnglandand Italian ancestry. John Craft of the Stan ford area came from a mason family and learned his stone craft at the age of fourteen working with his uncle. He presently works for the Highway Department and specializes in repairing and building dry stone wats.

1

Timothy Smith is from New England where he learned traditionalstonewallmasonryfromold-timeltalianmasons.Mr. Smith then formally studied stone cutting and masonry in New YorkCitywhileworkingontheCathedralofSt.JohntheDivine.

He is presently the supervising mason on the Mills Mansion Restoration project.

Fred Steuding is a young native mason who learned his trade from local craftsmen over the past fourteen years. He works primarily in stone and brick masonry restoration and is presently employed at Montgomery Place.

Stanley Willig is a local farmer and historian who representsthetraditionalfarmstonewallrepairer.Hehasstudied many of the stone walls of the county and is familiar with early building tools and techniques.

The Italian craftsmen of the area are represented by two major mason families, the Longbards and the Ciferris. AI Longbard worked with his father, Lewis, from age thirteen. His fatherwasbominsouthemltalyandcametothePoughkeepsiearea in 1891 at the age of three. He started his own stone business

19

in 1928 and helped build the Poughkeepsie Post Office and did stone work for both FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt. Al worked with his father locating stone throughout the county until he was twenty-two when he started his own automobile repair shop.

Jim and Ernie Ciferri of Millbrook are both in their seventies. Their father and his brother came from southern Italy in 1898 and started their own stone construction company in 1906. They worked on the estates in the Millbrook area and had alargeconstructioncrewwhichtheybroughtoverfromltaly.Jim and Ernie both worked with their father when they were barely in their teens. Jim became a master mason and Ernie became a carpenter. They formed Ciferri and Sons Construction after WorldWarll.Theirfatherretiredintheearly1960sandthefirm is now run by the fourth generation of Ciferris.

JosephSaccogrewupinthebrickyardsofHudson,New York. His family, from southern Italy, were all masons including his mother who made bricks in the Old World. He notes with pride that when you are Italian, masonry comes easy .... it' s just natural. Presently he is the stonemason on the Mills Restoration.

Stone Construction The ways of building a stone wall vary as much as the builders who make it. Each stone wall is also different because of the stones used, the lay of the land and the function of the wall.

Two basic construction methods are used: dry wall and wet or mortared wall. Dry walling or laying up stones without mortar is a masonry technique which has been employed since the second millennium 8 .C. Walls were called wet walls when the mortar was used as a bonding material.

DryWalls The simplest dry wall is the r#bbJe/e73ce. Many dry walls hadtheirbeginningsfromclearingthelandofthestonesandpiling them along the edges of the fields. After the stones had been ``picked," they were usually loaded on a stoneboat, pulled

20

by horse or ox teams and dumped along the field lines.

A good stoneboat is indispensable for hauling stones to a wall, and if the distance is long, it is a good plan to suspend the boat between the wagon wheels just so it wi,ll clear the ground.

(1797)

Today,westillhaveproblemsofclearingstonesfr6mthe fieldbutusetractorsandbulldozers.Aftertheimportantworkof plantingiscompleted,thefarmermightarrangetherubblestonesinto moreconsistentpileswhichservedasacrudetemporaryfence.

...thelond,wasreadyforharrowingandreceptionofseed;after which the fences could be made with pleasure. ( 1840) Todaywealsohavemanyrubblewallswhicharetheresults ofolddrywallswhichwerenotproperlymaintainedandhavefallen intopilesofrubble.Thetruedryi4/¢JJ/e#ceisamasonrywallwhich usesnomortartobindthestonestogether-essentiallytheweightof thestonesholdsthewalltogether.Thedrywallfenceisanindividual expressionofthemason,usingthetraditionalwayheleanedtobuild adrywall.Thewallwillvarywiththechoicesmadebythemason, the stones available and the desires of the property owner.

Building a Dry Wal,l `Ihe selection of stone for dry walls is based upon r

the material available in the immediate area, especially those made from existing rubble walls or stones picked on the farm and hauled to the wall areas. Irregularly rounded boulders deposited by glaciers called fieldstone are found on the ground orjust below the surface. They are brought to the surface by plowing or heaving of the ground during the freezing and thawing process. Most farmers in Dutchess County reap two crops a year, the one they plant and the stones which mother nature grows. Fieldstone can be used in its natural form or can be shaped by breaking off 21

unwanted bumps or uneven edges. Besides the gathering of fieldstone,anothersourceisthatofquarrying.

Moststonewallbuilderspreferflatstonesforbuildingdry walls; in fact some will not build walls from cobble or round boulder type stones. Flat stone could be most easily quarried from exposed ledges and outcroppings usually near creeks or streams. When the right stone is not available at the location, the drywallmasonmustfindtheappropriatestoneelsewhere.Stone may be purchased from local farmers who have stone from clearingfieldsorarewillingtohaveselectedstonewallsontheir farms removed to make larger fields. Local stone supply companies are also used especially for commercial quarried stone which comes from subterranean sources.

When planning a dry stone wall the owner has the choice between a single or double width wall. The single width wall rangesfromeighttofifteenincheswideandisusuallyconstructed ofstonesaboutthesamesizewithafaceontwooppositesides.

Asinglewallisusuallynotashighasadoublewallandisusedas a low decorative fence around the house or flower garden or as a boundary line wall.

Adoublefenceisreallytwofencestiedtogetherandmay befromtwenty-fourtoforty-eightincheswide.Eachfencehasan exterior face. The wider fences can be built to three to five feet highandareusedasfieldfencesstrongenoughtoactasbarriers for animals in pasture fields. After the stones are delivered as closelyaspossibletothesiteofthewall,thedrywallmasonsorts the stones into appropriate sizes and grades including large flat stones for foundations and caps, one face straight, two face straight,cornerfacerightangles,andregularwallstone.DuriFg this process the mason learns about the stones he has available andbeginstovisualizehiswall.Healsoselectsthehighestquality stone for use in the wall and discards weak stone into a rubble pile. The rubble will be used as fill in wide double walls and as shims to level the wall when necessary.

The mason then lays out the fence line on the ground. If itisaboundarylinewall,theestablishedboundarymarkersare used as reference points. Some dry wall builders say they

22

-+, :`3?i,`:+::;.i-i.``it-`

"eyeball" their walls and do not use aids in laying them out. .r However, most masons use either a single or double "draft" line to maintain the horizontal straightness and width of the wall.

Stakesforthelinesaredrivenabouteveryfiftyfeet.Thelinesare also used to maintain the plumb or vertical straightness of the wall since the mason's level is difficult to use in stone wall construction.

Thenextdecisionpointisthebuildingofthefoundation for the wall. The different attitudes of masons and local builders rangefromconstructinganextensivefoundationbelowthefrost linetolayingthewalldirectlyontheground.Theselectionofthe "proper"meth.odisbasedupontheirbeliefsaboutkeepingawall

from being weakened and eventually destroyed by mother nature.

Below ground foundations are needed, according to one group of masons, to provide proper drainage and to prevent "heaving". Water drainage away from the wall is essential to

keep the water from becoming trapped within the wall and expandingandcontractingduringthefreezing-thawingprocess.

This heaving of the wall pushes out stones and breaks the integrityofthedrywallconstructionallowingittocrumbleinto a rubble heap. The other point of view, held by most of the old timestonewallbuilders,isthatadrywallisa``1iving"objectand needs to have the ability to shift and heave with the freezing terrain. It will maintain its integrity as long as water can drain throughthewall.

Wh6nadeepfoundationisused,atrenchisdugtobelow the frost line (sixteen to thirty-six inches) about six inches on eithersideofthewall.Largeflatston;sareplacedonthebottom withtheroughsidedownwardandembeddedintheground.The stones are usually tilted away from the wall to help drainage.

Other large stones are laid flat side upward, breaking thejoints until grade level is reached. Today, some masons use more modemtechniquesincludingdrainagetileorsandandgravelfor drainage before laying the large foundation stones or pouring concrete footers. Those masons using a shallow foundation to "anchor"thewalldigatrenchaboutsixtoeightinchesdeepand

23

ju§!afew!f!€he5widefsfaaf!fhew.a!.I,A!£fig#gh]`arger6toflg8are usually used as the base, a few fflagofls lay the Baffle size gtofle

in the remainder of the wall.

In the other method, the dry wall builder lays the foundation on the surface when the earth is solid or bedrock is not far below the ground. The stones are laid directly on the ground using large base stones or the standard size stones used in the wall. If the wall is on a hillside, the wall tends to become a dam for runoff ground water. "Weepers" or drainage tiles through the wall are used to provide proper drainage and

prevent freezing of trapped moisture. These "weepers" are placed every two or three feet at the base of the wall.

The laying of the stones for a dry wall is similar whether you are laying a single or a doubl.e wa.11. The horizontal laying of stones may follow three methods: random, random course and coursed. In random laying no pattern is followed and each stone fits into the wall without regard to horizontal lines. This method is used primarily for round or irregular stones and cobblestones. Random courses refer to a method of laying stones which attempts to maintain horizontal lines but does not have regular course lines. This is used primarily with irregular field stones which have at least one straight surface. Coursed layingofstonesreferstolayingstonesincoursessimilartobrick and concrete block masonry. This is especially used in flat stone walls which have stones of similar width.

The laying of stones by any of these methods follows standard masonry practices of overlapping or "breaking" joints. This means the upper stone is laid over thejoint of the two stones below it. Breaking the joints adds strength to the wall by distributing the weight of the stones over the complete wall. If the external joints between stones are too`1;arge, they are filled with small wedged stones to assure the wall is small animal proof.

It requires the exercise Of good skil,l and judgment to place every stone in the best position, so it will not roll or rock about at the slightest touch-

24

|=ft!;i-~'i`+£^,

The Young Farmers Manual, N.Y., C.M. Saxon, Barker & Co. -1860

The true skill of a dry wall mason is the ability to rememberthewallpattemandthestonesavailable.Talkingashe works, he may casually walk to his pile of stones and select the piecewhichfitsexactlywherehewantsit.Hewilllayafewstones then step back and check his work to see if it looks right to him.

Ifitdoesn'tsatisfyhim,he'lltearsomeofitoutandrebuildit.A mason tries to establish a pattern for each wall adding larger stones to the wall every so often to keep the design from becoming monotonous. Occasionally, he may use a "coping" stone, a stone extended out from the wall for decorative

purposes. Each dry stone wall is an individual work of art to the mason,andatraditionalmasonnevercopiesanotherwall,hehas his own style.

The mason starts a wall using corner face stones or stones which have straight edges at a right angle. These may be builtuplikeapostbutusuallyarelaidaspartoftheregularwall.

When right angle turns are required in a wall, the same type of stones are used. Most masons prefer, however, to make a round cornerofregularstonesratherthanrightangles.

Asinglestonewidthdrywallisaboutafootwideandtwo to four feet high. Stones are selected to produce a two-faced wall, one stone wide and are random, random coursed or coursed. Single stone width walls usually use flat or straight edged field stones. Rubble stones are used occasionally to level the top of a wall before laying the next course.

A double stone wide dry wall is two to three feet or more in width. It is actually two or three parallel walls tied together.

Stones are selected to build two single-faced walls and longer stones called "keystones" or tie stones are used to bind the two walls together.

The most inportant idea to be kept in mind in laying xp a stone wall is to have all laid in such a manner as to bind the wall 25

together, from face to face, so that the faces will not separate.

(1860)

Thesestoneswhichrunthewidthofthewallorafewinches longerareinsertedasoftenaspossiblebutshouldbeusedevery two or three feet, every second or third course. To complete the construction,rubblestoneisusedtofillthespacebetweenthetwo largewalls.Thedoublewallmaybebuiltverticallystraight,i.e., "plumb"ortilted,i.e.,"battered"towardthetop.Thisisonceagain basedonbeliefsaboutdrainageandheavingofawall.Astraight wall allows proper drainage according to some builders while others say battering a wall on both sides one inch to each foot of heightisrequired.Abatteredwallalsomakesahigherwallmore stable according to other masons.

In making a wall up or down a slope, the mason always worksuphill,layingthestoneslevelinsteadoflayingthemparallel withthesurfaceoftheground.Onunevengroundtwomethodsare used:makingthetopofthewallfollowthecontouroftheground orkeepingthetoplevelandmakingthewallhigherintheareasof depression.Inextremelyunevenareas,stairsteppingofthewallis sometimes used.

The walls are topped with large cap stones if they are available or a course of even sized stones, making a uniform appearance. These caps shed water which could run down inside thewallandfreezecausingbulges.Theweightoflargestonesis essential on animal fences to prevent the animals from pushing them off the wall and destroying the fence. Sometimes another fenceofwood,usuallyastakeandridertype,isbuiltoverthestone wallformoreheightandtoprotectthetopstonesofthewallfrom beingpushedoff.Decorativecapsonsinglestonewidedrywalls are.madebylayingacourse.offlatstonesverticallyorataslight angle (herringbone) on the top of the wall.

We, W¢''s Mortar in early American masonry meant any bonding material used to make the wall watertight, to fill voids between

26

j.

masonry units a`nd.to act as a cushion for the gradual settling of themasonry.Thebondingmaterialsusedwereclay(calledmud), several forms of lime mortar or natural cement.

When the mortar dried or hardened, a rigid wall was created.Unlikethedrywallwhichwasflexibleandcouldadjust to the changing elements, the wet wall has to be protected from the elements. Therefore, a foundation below the frost line is essential as is proper drainage to prevent trapping water within thewall.The freezing/thawingprocesscandestroyawetwallby heavingandproducingbulginginthewall.

Mortared Dry Walls A common type of wet stone wall very popular today is the"mortared"drywallorfckedrywall.Thistypeofwalllooks like a dry wall on the exterior but uses mortar on the inside to strengthen the wall and level the stones more easily. A mortared drywallcanbefivetoeightfeethighwithouthavinganenormous base width to stabilize the wall.

A foundation below ground is necessary since the wall cannot move with the elements. The wall is built like a dry wall (singleordouble)exceptthestonesarebondedwithmor[arinthe center. In a double wall the rubble stones in the center are laid with mortar and then the entire core is filled with mortar. This preventsdrainageofwaterintothecenterofthestonewall.Since drainage is essential, weepers may be necessary every three or four feet. Weepers may be small drainage tile but usually are shaped from small flat stones. One mason lays glass bottles into the wall and after the wall is up he inserts an iron bar and breaks the glass creating his weepers.

Although tie or keystones are still used to bind the face wallstogether,chickenwireissometimesmortaredoveraseries of courses to bind the wall and seal the top from moisture. A mortareddrywallmayalsobebatteredtopreventthecollection of moisture. Before the capstones are put on, the top of the wall must be sealed with mortar. The caps are mortared on and the

27

jointsbetweenthemaresealed.Thecapsusuallyextendoverthe wall a few inches and are tilted away from the wall for drainage.

Today some masons use a concrete cap since large stones are hard to find and are expensive. However, old time masons say this cheapens the wall and destroys its beauty.

Mortaredwal,ls Mortared walls are the easiest walls according to most masons. The problems are similar and the stones used are the samebutthetimetobindthewalltogetherisalotless.Fieldstone wet walls may be constructed of flat stones, mixed stones, or weathered round or cobblestones. A foundation a few inches wider than the base of the wall is dug well below the frost line

(some down to four or five feet). Sand and gravel and stones are usedtobuildtogroundleveltoallowproperdrainageawayfrom the wall (concrete footers are sometimes used today). Mortar usedbetweenthestoneandthejointisfilledtotheoutsideofthe stone. Cobblestones may bejoined at the face of the stone wall which allows the contour of the stone to protrude. Joints are broken as on dry walls. Double walls are filled with small stones and mortar and they are tied with keystones at least every three feet and every second or third course. The pattern of the wall is just as important as with the dry wall and the mortaredjoints are part of that pattern. This is especially true with cobblestones.

Five Banded Walls A special patterned mortared cobblestone wall is found in the Millbrook area. The stones in this wall are weathered fieldstoneandalocalwhitequartzcobblestone.Theyareusually laid up as a wet walil in five courses. The bottom course is of fieldstone and the next course is of white cobblestones. The remaining three courses alternate between the two types of stones.Thewallisaboutthreefeethighandisusedasaboundary around the small estates of the area. It is not known how this strikinglyuniquefencewasdesignedbutitisconfinedtoasmall

28

fti.¥-Lt,-a, I

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area of the center of the county. One other example has been reported in the town of Perry in western New York. These five bandedfenceswerefirstbuiltaroundthetumofthe20thcentury

by Italian masons. The Ciferris reported their father built one of the fences but they do not know where the pattern originated.

They speculated that it was the idea of one of the owners since they usually built their fences to the owners' specifications.

AnothermasonhadbeentoldtheywerebuiltbyChinesemasons during the early 1920s.

Cut Stone Wal,I,s

Cutordressedstonemasonrywallsaremadeofquarried stone. The stones may be pre-cut at the quarry to standard sizes and then laid up like bricks. Older quarried stone type walls are eitherroughlycutintovarioussizeswithrectangularfaces,more carefully shaped and selected to lie in horizontal courses, or cut and shaped so that the edgetrys of the blocks form accurate rectangles (ashlar). The final size of the stones is determined at the site as the "cutter" shapes each stone for its place in the wall.

Newly quarried or "live" stones are preferred by the cutter since the quarried stone hardens as it ages.

The pattern of the stones is determined by the masons. A standard pattern in the Dutchess County area for cut stone walls is a "two to one" pattern. This means two small stones are laid next to one large stone to create a course. The small stones must equal the height of the large stone in order to keep the courses straight.Thejointsofthenextcoursemust"break"thelowerjoint byatleastfourinchesoverlapinordertodistributetheweightof the wall. The mason makes the final adjustments for the stone to fit snugly, allows space for mortar and maintains the level of the courses and the pattern of the wall. He may further cut or dress the stone in place to provide a finished look to the wall. Usually only the "public" side of a wall was built of dressed stones; the other side might be less finished or in some cases it is a mortared rubble wall.

A mason can lay about two courses, five or six feet long

29

of mortared cut stone wall in a day. Slickers are used to force mortar into thejoints between the stones. Thejoints are shaped to the taste of the mason or the owner. Normally they are finished flat or concave. One mason uses his rule to finish thejoints while another uses a piece of shingle. During the early 20th century, beaded or convexjoints were used to make beads up to one half inch or more in width. The mason then allows the wall to set, or dry before adding new courses of stones. When the wall is completed, it is washed with a 2: 1 acid solution to remove stains and dried mortar.

Cut stone walls may be capped with large molded concrete slabs but usually more elaborate large dressed stones are used. The top of the stone wall is sealed with mortar before laying the caps which extend about two inches out from each surface of the double wall. Today metal flanges are used under thecapstoprovideamorepermanentwaterseal.Thebuildingof a cut stone wall is obviously more complex and expensive than

putting up a fieldstone wall whether wet or dry. These cut stone walls usually were prestige walls. built around large estates or publicbuildings.

Entrances and Gates High stone walls not only provided a barrier for animals but made it difficult for people and machinery as well. Breaks in thewallhadtobeprovidedforthefarmertopassthroughbutstill restrain the animals. A simple solution was to leave small narrow openingswhichwouldadmitapersonbutwerenotwideenough for cows and horses. Occasionally parallel walls were constructedwithanarrowopeningoraslightbendwhichwould not admit large animals. However, for wagons and machinery a gate in the wall was necessary. The earliest type of gate was the barway. The fences were finished with an opening wide enough foraroad,usuallyabouteightfeet.Hcheswereleftatequalheight in the end of each wall and split rails were inserted into the hole.

When the gate was to be opened, the rails were pushed into one wal'l which freed the other end and the rails could be

30

removed. Later iron rings were mortared into the sides of the wall to allow the rails to be slipped through.

When it was necessary to allow only a man to scale over the wall, a "stile" or steps were built. Most of the time the stile was a set of small wooden steps which straddled the fence.

However, occasionally, the steps were made of stones set into the wall. these large flat "coping" stones were incorporated into the wall like tie stones but allowed to protrude a foot or more from the surface of the wall. The number of stones used on both sidesofthewalldependedontheheightofthestonefence.There are two surviving examples of stone stiles in the northwestern part of the county near Red Hook.

Hingedfarmgateshavebeenusedsincethemiddleofthe 19th century. To hang these gates, it was necessary to square off and mortar the end of the fence or build mortared stone piers.

Elaborate stone gate posts were made of cut stone to hold the decorative iron gates of the estates of the area. These posts might be made of a different stone from the cut stone fence such as granite or marble. One set of four gate posts in the Millbrook area was cut from a single piece of local granite. :

Non-Fence Stone Walls

The stone wall mason was called upon to use his wall building skills for non-fence construction as well. The dry wall masonbuiltmostofthedrystonefoundationsforframedhouses, bamsandoutbuildings.InthehillyterrainofDutchesscountythe stone wall retaining wall was an essential part of the mason's work. Retaining walls were needed around the house and barnyard as well as along farm lanes and roads. This prevented erosion and the filling in of the land by wash-fallen dirt. The retaining wall was also an essential part of the mill race in order tochannelthewaterandmaintainthewidthofthewaterway.The buttresses for bridges were also stone retaining walls which

prevented the erosion of the bridge supports by the rushing waters.

31

Theretainingwallisastonewallthathastowithstandthe weight of the dirt behind it. It is therefore battered i:n or tilted back against the bank. The wall may be either dry or wet and followsthesameconstructionasthenormalfreestandingwall.It is usually eighteen to twenty-four inches thick at the base which is formed with large stones. Twice as many tie stones are needed into the bank as in a regular wall and many of them are three feet long.Asthewallisbuilt,thedirtispulledinaroundthetiestones to distribute the weight down as well as out. Weepers are essentialthroughoutthewalltopreventfrostpushingthewallout.

Retaining walls are capped in the same manner as free standing walls.

The stone wall masons interviewed for this project are justifiablyproudofthewallstheyhavebuiltinDutchesscounty.

Many o.f the walls are works of art. They share with many others their concerns about the fate of their walls and the hundreds of old walls built by masons and farmers of the past. These concerns include the lack of knowledge for the proper maintenance of bo"th dry and wet walls, the influx of new residential housing, which is breaking up the old farms and destroying their fences, and the lack of interest by young craftsmen to learn the skills of the stone wall mason and to continue his art form. We share these concerns and hope the problems can be solved and the stone walls of our ancestors continuetobealegacyforfuturegenerationsinDutchesscounty.

32

THE SAMPLER AND THE AMERICAN SCHOOLGIRL: THE ANN BEADLE MAP SAMPLER

By Ame Friediand Anne Friediand, an accom,plished needleworker herself, is interested in historical needlework and its social aspects. She is a member Of the Skykill Chapter Of the Embroiders Guild Of America and has studied at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. A trustee Of the Society she is the

author of an article on the same subject which appeared in the Dutchess County Historical Society Year Book, 70 (1994).

When the Ann Beadle map sampler was presented to the Dutchess County Historical Society there was no provenance to accompany it. I was delighted to have the opportunity to research the sampler, namely to identify the embroidefer and to locate the school. For someone who is very interested in the historic, educational, social and religious values of samplers, this was indeed a challenge. Research on the map sampler has been slow but nonetheless rewarding and has proved successful.

The map sampler measures approximately 24" wide by 20" high and is of North America; the map outlines are printed on a plain weave silk ground fabric. All outlines and printing are embroidered either with chenille or fine black silk, and the coastlines are water colored. The oval medallion (or cartouche) bearing Ann Beadle' s name, date of 1806 and title of map, North America, is embroidered in the lower right-hand cornerinaverycoiorfulsettingofatree,flowersandleaves.

The map is a wealth of information, and among the interesting facts shown is Califomia named "New Albion" which was the name that Sir Francis Drake gave to the area •`when he circumnavigated the world in 1572-1580. The "Western Territory", the "Louisiana Territory", and Tennes-

33

see, which was admitted to the Union in 1795 , are shown; "Upper Canada" and "Lower Canada", "North Wales" and "New South Wales" in what is now Canada are also shown.

Scatteredthroughoutthewesternportionofthemapare names of Native American tribes: the Long Hair, the Blood, the Otter, the Snake, the Bear and many more. Rivers are shown, and territories and states are outlined. In a letter from the Library of Congress regarding the source of the map it is statedthesamplercouldbea"compositeofseveralmaps."I. This is a very colorful map with states, territories and the outline of map being worked in beige, green, gold and orange chenille. The lettering, rivers, degrees and lateral lines are worked in fine black silk. The expertise of the embroiderer would suggest that this was stitched by an older student.

The sampler was in very poor condition and in the fall of 1984 a grant was received to have the piece conserved; this was done at the Textile Conservation Workshop in South Salem, New York. In the written report from the Textile Conservation Workshop they say that "the map may have been commercially printed on the fabric."2 To add to the certainty that the map was printed commercially one only has to look to the map sampler made by Sarah Willis of New Bed ford in 1803 . The information on the map is identical to that on the Ann Beadle sampler; the embroidered floral border and the shape of the cartouche are the only differences between the two samplers. In her book Afflerz.ccz# IVcedJeworfe, Mrs. G.

Brown Harbeson states:

ThetractofLouisianaextendsalmosttheentirelength toward the northwest. "New Albion" occupies California' s place and Washington, Oregon, and other far western states do not exist. This area called "Western Territory" extends above the Ohio River to the Mississippi and Great Lakes. Illinois is mentioned only as a river. There is no mention of the state of Michigan.

Canada extends above the St. Lawrence River only, its boundary stopping Short of the Great Lakes. In this

34

small section is lettered the title, "Lower Canada", "New Britain", occupies all land either side of the Hudson Bay. "New South Wales" is at the lower western end, to the left of the Bay, and "North Wales" is the name applied to northwestern land on the oppoSite side.3

Althoughtherewasnoinformationaccompanyingthis map sampler, it was thought to have been stitched by a student at a Quaker school. Research focused on locating a Quaker schoolthaltaughtneedlework,particularlymapsamplers.The biggestbreakthroughwasfindinganadvertisement fora Quaker school in Pleasant Valley dated 1805. The advertisement in the Co#7eecfz.cz4f Co#j'cz7?f dated Wednesday, June

1 (?), 1805, was for a boarding school that would be run by Robert Abbatt and his daughter Agnes Dean and would offer the following:

Reading, Grammar, Writing, Arithmetic and most kinds of Needle-Work at 25 dollars per Quarter. Geography, the Use of Globes, Working Maps, Filigree-work, Embroidery, and Drawing, at 39 dollars per Quarter, with the addition of One dollar per Quarter for Books andStationary.4

If the school advertised in a Connecticut newspaper, surely there would be an advertisement in the Poughkeepsie paper. Indeed, I was able to locate two advertisements in the PoJz.fz.c¢/ B¢J.oJ73efer for a school in Pleasant Valley. The first

advertisement was dated 1803 and the school was then operated by Ann Shipley, Agnes Dean and Phoebe Shipley. The second advertisement states that the school would be run by Robert Abbatt and Agnes Dean. The proof that this was a school run by Quakers was in the dating of the advertisements, eg. 6th month, 1 st,1803. For religious reasons Quakers did not use the names of the months or the names of the days of the weeks, because they were associated with names of pagan

35

gods; only numbers of months and days were used.

There was now proof that there had been a school run

by Quakers in Pleasant Valley, but not a school set up by a Friends Quarterly Meeting as was the Nine Partners School.

Who were the Shipleys, Deans and Abbatts and why did they set up a school? Why was the school advertised as far afield as Hartford, Connecticut? One answer to this last question could have been the commerce between Quakers in New England and New York. The answer to the first question lies inthehistoryofpleasantValley.

Four names which seem to be linked to the history of Pleasant Valley are the Shipleys, Abbatts, Deans and Beadles.

In 1795 an advertisement was placed in the Po#gfefaeepsz.e Jo#r#czJforthesaleofthe"farmandmillsatPleasantValley."5 This property was bought by Daniel Dean of Beekman who in turndividedthepropertyintothirds;keepingathirdforhimself he then sold one third to Maurice Shipley and one third to RobertAbbatt.Inhispublication"PleasantValleyManufactory," TomRinaldistates: Mr. Shipley soon passed away and the heirs to his estates inherited his one-third share in the property.

Dean sold out his share to Abbatt and the Shipleys, and by 1803, Robert Abbatt held sole possession of the mill site while Mrs. Shipley (the late Maurice's wife) owned the now 74 acre parcel across the street. In 1805, Mrs. Shipley sold her property, on which existed the farm and dwelling house .............. to Israel Dean.6

The farm and the mill site were finally split. In the deeds at the Dutchess County Court House is an indenture between Daniel and Ann Dean and Robert Abbatt for ``4,250 current money of theUnitedStatesofAmerica"forlandnearthemills"beginning attheSEcornerofthegreatbridgeovertheWappingers Creek."7 This was dated 13th August,1799. There are many references to land sales between the Abbatts, Shipleys and Deans, all of whom were Quakers. In one of the deeds Robert

36

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-..

J`f=£-&l` ,..-S;;?i =

Abbatt is listed as "of the City of New York."8 Also listed in the deeds at the County Court House is a sale of land on the 12th March 1805, "in the Great Nine Partners"9 and Agnes is also the wife of Israel Dean. A third advertisement for the school was found in the PoJz.£z.cczJ Bczrofflefer dated 7 month

1 st, 1806 with Robert Abbatt and Agnes Dean running the school.

James H. Smith in the Hz.sfory a/D#fcfr.eSS Co##ty states:

Thevillagebecomingquiteamanufacturingcenterand increasing in population, Israel Dean a Quaker and sonin-law of Robert Abbatt, organized a boarding school in 1809 similar to the "Nine Partners School." It was well attended by youth of the place in addition to about 20 boardingpupils,andwaskeptinoperationtenyears.]°

So far records have not been found that could give the number of pupils in attendance, and Mr. Smith' s dates are not accurate according to the advertisements.

Thatthismusthavebeenasignificantschoolwithan emphasis placed on embroidery is shown by the samplers that have been identified with it, so far all map samplers. Although AnnBeadle'ssamplerdoesnothave"PleasantValley"embroidered on it, it is attributed to the school. A map sampler work6dbyceciliaLewisisalsoattributedtotheschool;a CeciliaLewisislistedintherecordsofthePresbyterian Church, Pleasant Valley. The samplers of Mary M. Franklin andAnnTownsendhavebeenidentifiedasPleasantValley samplers. Mary Franklin' s map sampler of North and South America is shown in A Wz.#ferffez!r G#z.de fo Afflerz.ccz#

IveedJcwork I I and Ann Townsend' s two hemisphere sampler is owned by the Dutchess County Historical Society. The samplers are dated 1808 and 1807 respectively.

The school was situated on what is now Route 44 in PleasantValleyandislistedin"TouringOldPleasantValley" Book 1,1987. At that time the owner was Mrs. Albert Husted

37

and the house was where Israel Dean and Robert Abbatt operated a Boarding and Day school from 1809-1819. Robert Abbatt owned and operated the Pleasant Valley Finishing Mill at that time. On the west wall of the house, a patch is still visible where an outside staircase went up to the school on the Second floor.12

In January of 1815 a terrible fire destroyed the business that Robert Abbatt had made so successful: the extensive cotton manufactory at Pleasant Valley, together with the grist mill, and small dwelling house, the property of the Pleasant Valley ManufacturingCompany,wereentirelyconsumedbyfire.13 One of the trustees of the company at this time was John Beadle.

In the spring of 1817, and through the summer of that

year, another advertisement for the school appeared in the P ouglckeepsie Journal and Constitutional Republican..

Robert Abbatt and his daughter Agnes Dean respectfullyinformtheirfriendsandthepublic, that they have taken the spacious home and grounds known by the name of Rose Hill, seat of the late General Gates, situated about 2 miles fromCityHa||,N.¥.14

.

The lessons to be taught, which were similar to those in the previous advertisements, and the costs were then listed. The schoolhadleftPleasantValley.

The Presbyterians as well as the Quakers were important to the settling of Pleasant Valley and one name that is quite evident is that of "Beadle." John Beadle was a trustee of the PleasantValleyManufacturingCompanyandalsoavillage trustee. When the village was being incorporated John Robert Abbatt, John Beadle, Israel Dean, Hubby Adee and Joshua Ward, be hereby appointed the first trustees in and for the said Villa8eofpleasantva||ey.15 In the 1800 census of Clinton, John Beadle is listed as having three daughters under the age of ten.16 In the records of

38

thePresbyterianChurch,PleasantValleythereisalistingofthe marriages of three daughters of John and Sara Beadle: Nancy who married in 1810, Eliza who married in 1812 and Marie who married in 1819. Could "Nancy" be a nickname given to Ann? Finally going through a word-for-word paper written by John for his grand-daughter Ann Maria Van Vliet, I feel that the mystery surrounding Ann Beadle is solved and I quote: John Beadle was born January 7th, 1765, married to S arah Ward, daughter of Daniel and Mary Ward, on the 19th October, 1789, by the Reverend Wheeler Case. Sarah was born June 6th,1766, died, June 15th,1846, aged 80

years and nine days. She had seven children, Polly, Ann, Daniel, James Morgan, Maria, Edward and Eliza.17

Ann Beadle was born 1792, and would have been 14 years of age when the map sampler was completed. In the church recordsAnnislistedashavinginarriedJonathanLockwood on the 29th of December,1810 when she would have been 18

years old.18 The name written on the frame on the back of the sampler is "Mary Ann Lockswood" who was probably related, Ann and Jonathan had a daughter, named Sally Ann. This has been a very interesting project and I have come to feel very close to Ann Beadle.

ENDNOTES 1. Letter to the Textile Conservation Workshop, South Salem, New York, from the Library of Congress, dated March 18, 1985 . Dutchess County Historical Society Archives.

2.TreatmentReportfromtheTextileConservationWorkshop to the Dutchess County Historical Society9 dated October 30, 1984. Dutchess County Historical Society Archives.

3. Georgiana Brown Harbeson, Afflerz.c¢7® IveedJeworfe

(Coward-Mccann, Inc,1938), 93.

4. Advertisement, Co##ecfz.c#f Co#7.cz7ef, June 1 (?),1805,

Dutchess County Historical Society Archives.

39

5.TimRinaldi,"PleasantvalleyManufactory"(Pleasantvalley Historical Society,1996), 2.

6. Ibid.,3 .

7. Deeds, Dutchess County court House.

8.Ibid.

9 . Ibid .

10. Iilmes H. Smith, The History Of Dutchess County (Heart of the Lakes Publishing,1980), 313.

11. Susan Burrows Swan, A Wz.#ferffe#r G4!z.de fo Amerz.ccz73

Iveed/ework (Crown Publishers, Inc.,1976), 20.

12. "Touring Old Pleasant Valley", Book 1, 1987 (Pleasant Valley Historical Society), map 10.

13. Rinaldi, 3.

14. ALdrertiiserneat, Poughkeepsie Journal and Constitutional Republican, 1817. Adr±aLnce Mermor±al Ubrary Archives.

15. Smith, 314.

16. Census of 1800, Adriance Memorial Library Archives.

17. Letter written by John Beadle to his granddaughter, Maria Van Vliet (undated), Vcz# VIz.ef pczpcrs, Dutchess County Historical Society Archives.

18. Records of the Presbyterian Church,Plea;sa;atv aLI]ey , Adriance Memorial Library Archives.

40

KEEPING GOOD TIME

by James Storrow assisted by Annon Adams Dutchess County resident, James Storrow, working with volunteers from the Mid-Hudson Clock Club, has recently completed the restoration Of the Newburgh Town Clock which is located in the tower of Ebenezer Baptist Church. Annon Adams is the volunteer historian at the Bardavon 1869 Opera House. She has served on its Board

Of Directors and has prepared slide shows, articles and exhibits on the history Of the theatre.

Forward Modern cities and towns are expected to supply their citizens with water, sewer, police and fire services, street maintenance and snow plowing. There was a time that such civicservicesevenincludedthetimeitself,howeverpeculiar that may sound today.

I:nthe 1974 Dutchess County Historical Society Year Bookt, Michael D. Gordon wrote about the care that the Zimmers provided for Poughkeepsie' s Town Clock; however, Gordon writes, for the most part, about the latter stages in the life of poughkeepsie' s Town Clock. The Town Clock in the nineteenth century will be the focus here.

Before quartz watches, before television, before radio or telegraph, having the accurate time was a privilege, a luxury, that was available only to astronomers or the wealthy.

Even after clocks and watches became commonplace, g±ggi= §iQg timekeeping was not, and so it was necessary to have a time standard, a known and trusted source, that one could count on to regulate other, lesser clocks and watches. Thus came about the Town Clock: as accurate as possible, publicly accessible, universal, independent, unimpeachable and even audible. Town time was ajustifiable expenditure of tax dollars, and a badge of honor and a claim to fame of any town

42

with pretensions. And, as you will see, any failing in it was a source of civic shame and public comment.

The story will be related, for the most part, through Village of poughkeepsie Minutes and Financial Records and alsothroughreportingbythe"Locals"atPoughkeepsie's papers: George Washington Davids of the Poz4gfekeepsz.e Eagle, Edwa;rd H. Osborne of the Poughkeepsie Daily Press, and Egbert 8 . Killey of Zlfee D#fcfeess Fclr7„er. Every day their eyes, every hour their ears, and on occasion their newspaper columns took notice of the Town Clock.

Town Clock in the 1830s ` Poughkeepsie had town time at least as early as the 1830s. The Minutes of the proceedings of the Trustees of the Village of Poughkeepsie record that at a Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees held at Jacob Van Benthuysen' s office on June 30,1831 " .... John B.`.,Forbus and A. J. Coffin be a

Committee to wait on the proprietors of the clock now in the Dutch Church & see & what way it can be obtained as Village Property & report to next meeting of the Board."2

A year later at an Annual Meeting of the Freeholders andlnhabitantsoftheVillageofPoughkeepsieheldatVillage Hall pursuant to public notice 15th of May 1832 at 3 P. M. "...AndonmotionofPeterP.Haysthefollowingresolution

was passed. Resolved that the Trustees be authorized to settle and pay off the demand against the Town Clock to an amt not exceeding $50 and that the said Trustees be empowered to employ some suitable person to put said clock in operation and keep to keep it running for the Ensuing Year at anexpensenotexceedingtwentyfiveDollars,peryear."3 0n May 17th,1832 at a meeting of the Village Trustees they voted "On motion resolved that 8 . C. Van Vliet be employed to take down and clean the Town Clock and keep her in order of the ensuing year at an expense not exceeding Twenty-fiveDollars."4Invoicesindicatethat8.C.VanVliet

43

was paid $20 for the next five years for cleaning, winding and regulating the Town Clock for a year. For the next two years he was granted $25 t.o do the samejob.5 The Town Clock was located in the third Dutchess Reformed Church which was erected in 1822 at the corner of Main and Washington Streets.6 0n Sunday, January 18,1857 this church burned down on an intensely cold day in a spectacular fire that residents long remembered. The Church was rebuilt in the same location and dedicated on September 7, 1858.7 It was in this building' s tower that the Poughkeepsie Town Clock resided until the church was torn down in 1919.

Town Clock in the 1860s In the 1860s George Stevens made a clock that caused considerable difficulty and comment. In Mr. Stevens' s defense, it must be understood that his clock was made at a time when accuracy was important but technology was immature. Tower clocks usually labor in unheated steeples. The Poughkeepsie Town Clock had four sets of hands, all several feet long, which were exposed to the weather, to wide tem-

perature swings, and, of course, to birds. The basic design that permitted accuracy in a town clock did not come to Poughkeepsie until about 1890.

The Locals of the Poughkeepsie newspapers provide the next installment of the Town Clock story. From their reporting it appears that the Dutch Reformed Church, dedicated in 1858, made provision for the installation of a clock, but that this clock was not actually installed until May of 1866. In nineteenth century voice, the Locals will tell the Story:

NIove;froer 30,1865, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. AL

TOWN CLOCK.--We wish to speak about a town clock.

Thismatteristalkedofconsiderablyoflateamongourcitizens, and some have gone so far as to enquire particularly i:n regard to it. It is estimated that a town clock with illuminated

44

:.,::t-3;:,f.,`lii

dial, six and a half feet in diameter, warranted not to gain or loose over a minute in a month, can be put in the place assigned for a clock, in the Dutch Church tower in Main St„ at the cost of $800. This should be done immediately. But, says the reader, how will you pay the expense? We answer, by dollar subscriptions. Who is there in this city that will not give a dollar towards such an object? The convenience of the clock both day and night, cannot be over estimated, and we sincerely hope that the thing will be pushed forward to a successfultermination.

Dece;rhoer 15,1865, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. A

TOWN CLOCK.--We are glad to hear that our suggestions in relation to the erection of a town clock have taken hold of the public mind, and that arrangements are already in progress for their consummation. We are informed yesterday that the moniedmenofthecitywillsubscribeliberallyinthematter, and that it will not be necessary to resort to the slow method of a dollar subscription. The first step necessary is to get the consent of the 1 st Dutch Church folks to have the clock placed in the tower of that edifice, which consent we think will be readily granted.

Ia;oua;ry 13,1866. Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. THE:

NEW TOWN CLOCK.--The New Post Office looks incomplete without a Town Time Piece. Will not then our citizens add the little pieces together to complete the big piece so muchneeded!--Press We are able to inform the Press that matters connected withtheerectionofatownclockareprogressingfavorably, and the thing is bound to succeed. Our citizens generally are interesting themselves in the affair, and we shall soon be able to glance at the new time piece.

Ia;oua;ry 30,1866, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. THE

TOWN CLOCK.--What has become of the town clock enterprise ! Matters connected with its purchase and erection seem to be at a stand still.

MaLrch20,1866, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. THE]

45

1

NEW TOWN CLOCK.--Affairs connected with the erection of a town clock in the tower of the First Reformed Dutch Church in Main St. are progressing favorably, and in two weeks time it is expected that the clock will be in the place designed for it.

A:pr.113,1866, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. A:RRIVED.--That long looked for, anxiously expected, much desired and valuable addition to present city improvements, the town clock, minus an illuminated dial has arrived, and workmen are busily engaged putting it to place in the tower of the lst Reformed Dutch Church. Three of the dials are already in position. In our opinion the dials are too small, and if we would not be considered as meddlesome we would suggest the propriety of cutting a larger hole in the tower and theprocuringoflargerandilluminatingdials.

ALprL17 ,1866, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. OTJR

NEW CLOCK.--The new town clock is at last placed in position, and is in good running order, tolling off time for the benefit of us poor mortals below. High up in the steeple crowned turret its face beams with satisfaction over the event, and it holds its hands up with apparent delight upon the upturned faces which daily gaze at it from below.

To the writer who sits nightly under a dazzling gas light, transferring from the electric wire to paper the sing-song Congressional debates, as they arrive from nine in the evening until two, three and sometimes four o'clock i`n the morning, the deep clang of the bell as it tells the time of night, is com-

pany. Even the guardians of the night hail the advent of the new clock withjoy, and as the bell taps the small hours, think of the dawning of day and their homes. As we sit here, past thehourofmidnight, "The clock in the steeple strikes one," the sound reverbrating in the air, ceasing only to make the stillness which prevails almost felt. Many watchers, no doubt who, with us, hear the mournful tone, are either suffering in a bed of sickness or watching by the dying couch of friends, the hoarse clang reminding them that relentless time has changed

46

•.L`i.;r:;,?.i...:-;..;.:i``

I.,:. i

another hour of their life. May, the measured strokes of the new clock keep vividly in our minds the fact that it is our duty to crowd into each passing hour all the good we can, so that whenthefingeroftimeshallpointtothe1stmomentofour lives, we can look back upon the past, feeling satisfied that our voyage o ' er life' s tempestuous sea has been the true course to happinesshereafter.

A;pr.il7 ,1866, Poughaeepsie Daily Eagle.. A:IN

ILLUMINATING DIAL.--We speak the opinion of a large numberofcitizenswhenweadvocatetheplacingofanilluminating dial in the city clock, and as the proper persons are to put in a larger dial, why not procure an illuminating one at the same time? Don't let us have any half-way work about the matter. What say the committee?

ALpr.119.1866. Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. THE

CLOCK AGAIN.--In connection with the clock subject we wish to speak of Mr. Bloom and Mr. Charles Carman. Both of these gentlemen have sacrificed a great deal of time in carryingoutthewishesofalargenumberofourcitizenstothe end that all classes might enjoy the convenience and comfort of "a town clock." Their labors have been arduous and they have the satisfaction of knowing that success has attended them, and that the public feel grateful towards them. Now then let us carry this clock business a little further along. Let us have a larger and an illuminating dial. Supposing it costs three or four hundred dollars more? What' s that among so many of us? We know that Mr. Carman and Mr. Bloom can put the thing through in a short time, and that our citizens are ready for the sacrifice. Let us have a larger and an illuminating dial by all means.

ALpr[130.1866, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. A:R-

RESTED.--The hands on the town clock were arrested in theirprogressbetweeneightandnineo'clockSundaymorning.--They were shortly after released by the Henderson Bros., and went on their way.

May 8.1866, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. M:YSTERI0US: TELEGRAPH OFFICE, MAY 7, 11 P.M. The city 47

clock is in trouble. Itjust commenced to strike eleven and has tolled out only four raps. A terrible racket is heard emanating from the bell tower. The police are assembling and the "deuce" is to pay generally. Whar's the committee?

Iuly 13,1866, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. V`JHA:T'S

THE MATTHR.--The "clock in the steeple" is all out of kilter again. In vain has Mr. John Henderson endeavored.to keep it in shape. It won't stay. Wonder if it' s in a fizzle.

Iuly 24,1866, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. T{T]-

MORED.--That the town clock is going to be swapped for a dog.

Iuly 24.18..66. Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. SuNIDALY

DISTURBANCE.--Winding up the town clock on Sunday morning and trying to make it go.

Ia;unaily 10,186] , Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle..

KEHPING GOOD TIME.--The town clock. Let's all take our hats off to the committee.

MaLrch 16,1867 , Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. THE TOWN CLOCK.--Nearly everybody (ourselves included) has

cracked ajoke at the expense of the town clock, or the "clock committee." The committee took it all good naturedly and the clock held up its hands with delight, knew they werejokes "in the face of them," but was satisfied they had no weight with the public, therefore it continued to be a well-behaved clock, and for the last three or four months has kept excellent time, experiencing but one mishap and that was caused by the City Hall bell ringing the noon hour at a time, when the clock showed our citizens that it was only twenty-five minutes past eleven.

Those who were gazing upon its radiant face at the time can bear us witness that the clock did all in its power to make up the lost time, for in less than two minutes the hour and minute hand saluted each other at XII, and from that day to this the "Town Clock" and the ``Town Bell" have been on the most intimate terms. Thus do we find them.

Now then, inasmuch as the aforesaid clock is now, and has been keeping first-rate time, it is only a matter of justice

48

for the city to take from the committee' s hands the work of keeping the clock in order for another year. The cost will be about fifty dollars, a sum, which the committee has freely paid themselves during the past year.

Let some Alderman broach the subject at the next meetingoftheCommonCouncil. ]une 5 ,186] , Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle .. The fdrlowingsuggestionmeetsourmostcandidapproval: MESSRS. EDITORS.--As there is funds being raised for the erection of a Soldiers' Monument, and as a number of ourcitizenssubscribedliberallyforacityclock,andtherebeing some two hundred dollars surplus in hands of the Treasurer, andtheTreasurermakingenquiriesofsubscriberswhatshould be done with the surplus, I proposed that said surplus be given to the Soldier' s Monument fund.

M. VASSAR, Jr. June 4th, 1867

lure 6,186] . Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. I would suggesttotheclockcommitteethattheyappropriatethemoney theyhavecollectedforlargerandplainerDialsforsaidClock, therebygivingbettersatisfactiontoanumberofthesubscribers.

A SUBSCRIBER ALngnst 12,186] , Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. THE TOWNCLOCK.--Itisrunningfirstrate,keepsfirstratetime, strikes first rate and therefore the committee feel first rate and every member thereof is in first rate condition. This is a first rate

puffforthecommittee,andtheygetitbecausewefeelfirstrate inregardtothematter.

A:ugust 15 ,186] . Poughkeepsie Dally Eagle.. RTE:W

DIALS.--We are informed that new dials are in process of construction, to be placed on the town clock, and that after they arereportedtopositiontheclockwillbehandedovertothe careofthecity,bythemuchabusedclockcommittee.

September 13, 1867, Po#gfekecpSz.e DCH./y E¢gJc: THE

TOWN CLOCK.--The hands on the city clock were removed yesterday to be replaced by much larger and better ones.

49

Other improvements are also to be made to it when it will be turned over to the city authorities.

Septemtoer 14,186] , Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle..

THE TOWN CLOCK AGAIN.--Very busy was the Clock Committee yesterday. New dials for their charge was the cause, and they are beautiful ones. The following are the dimensions: Eight feet two inches in diameter, and twenty-four feet in circumference. The letters are twelve and a half inches in length, and one inch and a quarter wide, with half inch hair lines for minutes. The five minute spaces are portioned off by diamond marks three and a half inches long, and a half an inch broad. The minute hand is four feet in length, and the hour hand three feet seven inches. The dark portion of the dial is coated with black paint and smalt. The hands, letters and space dots were finished with the best English double gold leaf. The new dials arejust twice as large as the old one's were, and are octagonal in form. They were built by A. Holdridge, of Monroe, Orange Co., N.Y., and cost $ 125 put to place. The old ones' s are useless and now lie in the belfry.

Now as to the appearance of the new ones. We think they are just what was needed, andjudging from many who have observed them closely, we may state that that opinion is general. The hands will be attached today. As you pass down Main Street take a look at the clock, and if you are satisfied bless the committee. If not say nothing, for the committee has had trouble enough about the matter. We feel confident, however, that you will be satisfied.

December 2,,1867 , Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. THE TOWN CLOCK.--It was rumored on the streets on Saturday nightthatintheafternoonourfriendMiller,sextonatthe DutchChurchinMainSt.,fellthroughthebelltowerofthe church and stopped the clock. We ascertained afterwards, however, that rumor was incorrect. The clock stopped at twenty minutes past one on Saturday afternoon when John Henderson started it again. The cold weather, however, so acted on the connections of the wonderful escapement that at twentyminutesofsevenonSaturdaynighttheclockstopped

50

::,+:ia-`-?gilt:i.:

I.?

er fii`:i.+`£:...`.

t

again. On Sunday (excuse him) Henderson and one of his workmen started it again, and at 2 P.M. the wonderful clock was running beautifully. We hope it will continue to do so, but don'tbelieveitwill.

IzmHary 9 ,1868 , Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. THA:I TOWN CLOCK. POUGHKEEPSIE, January 8, 1868 MR. EDITOR: By informing the many readers of your valuable Journal, that the Town Clock of this city is o#Jy ez.gfef 773z.#z4fes slower that H.R.R.R. Time, you may save some of

themthedisappointmentexperiencedthismorningbyanumber of persons, who were too late for trains by reason thereof, and possibly awake some Rip Van Winkle (who should keep said clock truthful) to see how unpleasantly like a certain other fez.gfe (would but can't be) Public Regulator, it is, as its hands

go"swingingroundthecircle,"tellingnotherbutlies.

Very Respectfully Yours, H. We have noticed the abuse complained of by our correspondent, and intended to call attention to it ourselves.

Theclockoughttobeplacedinchargeofsomecompetent

person, who will keep it right, for as at present managed it is far worse than none.

Iuly 10,1868, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. I:IN

ORDER AGAIN.--The accident which lately befell the city clock has been repaired, and it is now in striking order again, a fact which the laboring portion of our city will be glad to hear.

May 2,8.1869, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. GOOD.-We are authorized to say that the city clock, for the benefit of thepublicgenerally,willbekepthereafterwithrailroadtime.

This announcement is important to the business men of the city.

lane 15,1869, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. TA::M-

PERING WITH TIME.--It is thought that some person maliciously disposed, has been tampering with the town clock.

If found out he will wish he had been doing something else.

ITlne 24.1869 , Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle..

KNOCKED OUT 0F TIME.--The town clock. Something 51

broke; don't know what it is; will be fixed by Saturday.--Ask friend Bloom about it. lure 30,1869, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle: RT]TqNINGAGAIN.--Thetownclock;howlongwillitcontinue!

July 6,1869, 7lfee D#fcfeess Fczrffler: OUR CITY

TIME--Almost every one has had their say about our city clock,allinthesamespiritofcondemnation,andgenerally laying the blame of its erratic performances where it does not belong--on the parties having charge of it. This clock is the same manufacture as the one at the gate at Vassar College, except that the latter does not strike. In ordinary clocks, at eachbeatofthependulumtheminutehandmovesashort distance. In this clock the minute hand moves but once in sixty beats, sometimes the escapement wheel moves two teeth instead of one, and then the clock stops. The weights weigh 1,800 pounds and are so heavy as to be continual strain on all themechanismoftheclock,somethingisdailygettingoutof order and with four times the attention the old clock had, it does not keep nearly as good time. It needs more attention than a second hand wagon, and to doctor it up is like treating a manafflictedwithacomplicationofdiseases,whenyoucure one phase another developes itself. The case sums up as follows: The committee thought they were buying an improved clock, but they did not. It is the best clock we shall get.

Grumbling don't improve the matter. So lets all make the best of it.

Decerrtoer 4,1869, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. YCINKERS HAS NO PUBLIC CLOCK.--yorefaers Gczzef¢e. Well Poughkeepsie has. It is so ingeniously contrived that it strikes

fourateight,theminutehandjumpsthreeincheseveryhalf hour,andthehourhandhopsaheadoftheminutehandevery time the clock strikes five. Now to be possessed of such an extraordinaryclockiswonderful,itssingsongisindeedpassing strange, but---we will send it to Yonkers, if Yonkers will send us a dog in return.

Ia;r[uny 2,6.1870, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. TOWTq CLOCK.--The town clock, so long looked for, has been

52

placed in position in the steeple of the new Presbyterian Church, and now regularly tolls the hours of the day and night. But the hands on the face are so small it is impossible to tell the time o'day by them. They should be, at least, double their present size. Then put it on Poughkeepsie, or ra,itrotrd tin:e.--Sing Sing Republican.

Don't do it, don't put it on Poughkeepsie time. Railroad time will do, but never Poughkeepsie.

ALprLl 30,1870, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. OT]R

CITY CLOCK.--We have got a high old clock in this city,-abouteightyfeethigh,weshouldthink,thoughitmaybe more. It got high Thursday night and went on a strike. It struck, and continued to strike, then it proceeded to strike once more, after which it struck twelve, following which it struck fifteen, which was succeeded by forty or fifty strikes.

This being ended there was a rest. A friend suggested that the clock wanted to spin on its h.ands. We have not learned whether it did or not. At any rate after about half an hour of silence the quiet evening air was startled and stirred up by fifty or sixty more bangs on the bell. This closed the per formance for the night. Then yesterday morning the clock went at it again and struck 156 times without stopping to take breath. It is the opinion of the committee that the thing means to just strike itself to death, if somebody don't stop it.

This may be so. It is true a first class clock doctor ought to be consulted at once. We don't know what we should do without our clock.

May 2.1870, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. HERE'S ANOTHER NICE CLOCK.--7lfee Ro7®doz4f Frecffl¢# says

a Newburgh town clock struck four hundred and sixteen times the other night, trying to convince people that it was eight o'clock.

Hudson River clocks seem to be generally on a strike about these days.

Iuly 11,1870, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. rl:HE

CITY CLOCK is at present running regular and keeping 53

t

good time, for which all are thankful. The man in charge .of it says that in future there will be no trouble.

None;rhoe;I 2;3 , L871, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle..

THE CITY CLOCK.--Messrs. Myers & Ainsley wish us to statethatinconsequenceofextensiverepairsbeingmadeto the city clock it will not be in running order today.

NIoverrtoer 2,5 ,1871. Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle..

Messrs. Myers & Ainsley informs us that the repairs authorized by the Common Council, are not to make the clock any more reliable as a Time Piece, but simply to guard against danger from the breakage of certain weak parts in the machinery.

May 2,3,1872,, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. A:BOTJT

OUT TOWN CLOCK.--In striking from 1 to 12 twice in twenty four hours our clock gives 156 strokes on the bell each day. In a year of 365 days this amounts to 56,940. Now two seconds intervene between the strokes on the bell when the clockisstriking,theoperationofstrikingduringayearconsumes 11,880 seconds, or 1898 minutes, or 31 hours and 38 minutes, or 1 day 7 hours and 38 minutes. lure 15,18]2, Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle.. CITY NOTES .... The city clock has not given us an item in a long time. We, in common with our people, are thankful for it.

1. Michael D. Gordon, "The Poughkeepsie Tower Clock," Dutchess County Historical Society Year Book, 59,1974, 86-87.

2. Minutes of the proceedings of the Trustees of the Village of Pokeepsie Commenced May 20,1831,12. Local History Collection, Adriance Memorial Library, Greater Poughkeepsie Library District.

3. Ibid.' 32.

4. Ibid.' 42.

5. Miscellaneous Papers, Including the Town Clock, Poughkeepsie,.N. Y. (Village), Local History Collection,

54

Adriance Memorial Library, Greater Poughkeepsie Library District.

6. Edrr[undpla:tt. The Eagle' s History Of Poughkeepsie

from the Earliest Settlements 1683 to 1905.12;2.

7. Ibid.,155,156

55

Eleanor Roosevelt watches a weaving demonstration in the National Youth AdministrationexhibitroomatwestLiberty,Kentucky,May24,.1937.Courtesy Franklin D. Roosevelt Library. As noted, even after the dissolution of the Val-Kill Industries, Eleanor Roosevelt continued her interest in crafts.

56

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT, VAL-KILL, AND THE AMERICAN CRAFTS MOVEMENT

By Mary M. Flad

A resident of Poughkeepsie, Mary Flad has written widely on subjects relating to women, work and migration. She is a consultant to non-profit organizations in the Hudson Valley, a research associate Of the geography department Of Vassar College and a weaver.

Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt' s home in Hyde Park, has a fascinating and complex social history. Val-Kill was initially a personal retreat, which Eleanor shared with a number of friends; as the years passed, it became the center of the warm hospitality which she extended to people famous and unknown from around the world. Intertwined with all of the other events which happened at Val-Kill is the story of Val-Kill Industries, which produced handcrafted furniture and a variety of other objects for a period of years from about 1925 until the late 1930s. This was not an unique project, and not even a particularly successful one, among the numerous attempts around the country to reestablish craftwork as a source of income that related to earlier traditions of artisanry. However, it provides some important insights into the growing significance of crafts to America' s cultural identity and heritage.

The context in which Val-Kill Industries came into being helps one to reach an understanding of what the enterprise was -- or at least set out to be -- and how it related to traditional workmanship. Although there is a resilient mythology that craftsmanship has had a central role in American culture, the truth is that the Industrial Revolution and the rise ofmanufacturinghadbasicallyunderminedanddestroyedthe common traditions of craftsmanship that marked the early

58

decades of the American Republic. However, by about 1910, two separate trends were stimulating a new interest in handcrafts. The first was the approach of the 150th anniversary of American independence, to be celebrated in 1926; and thesecondwastherecognitionthatthetraditionsofmaterial culturewhichrecently-arrivedimmigrantgroupsbroughtwith them could serve as a basis for building inter-group understanding and communication. These trends were notjust grass-roots groundswells of sentiment; they were supported by a variety of public and private agencies. The Russell Sage Foundationplayedaparticularlyprominentpartindrawing attentiontoimmigrants'heritage,andthefoundation'sdirector, Shelby M. Harrison, succinctly tied the two trends together: ". . . just when this country is awakening to a new interest in arts and crafts through the wider participation of citizens in this kind of creative work, we discover rich sources ofinspirationinthecontributionsofthemenandwomenwho have come to us from other lands."I

So it seems that what was happening during the 1920s,

justasval-Killlndustriesweretakingform,isthat"American crafts" were being reborn as an entity which borrowed or adopted elements from many different sources. Even in the Southern Highlands, assumed by many to be an area of authenticindigenoushandcrafttraditions,theskillof handweavingwasE-introducedbyeducatorsandmissionaries who had learned techniques from books. (It may be inferred that,duringtheProhibitionera,itseemedparticularlyimportant to establish in that impoverished region some source of income other than the production and sale of moonshine.)

Theimageofwhatconstituted"authenticAmericancrafts" continued to take shape and evolve under the influence of many different forces. The opening of the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1926 provided an imprimaturforEarlyAmericanfurniturestylesthatwerewidely imitated, with varying degrees of accuracy. Minnesota architectMaryColterwasresponsibleforthedesignofanumberof 59

the Fred Harvey hotels and restaurants at Grand Canyon and along the Santa Fe Railway line in "authentic American Indian style." A succession of First Ladies -Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Coolidge, and Mrs. Hoover among them --ordered woven rugs from the Southern Highlands for the White House, thus adding an important endorsement for the use of such commonplace items in elegant surroundings. The development of a distinctively American "Arts and Crafts Movement", influenced to some degree by the earlier work of william Morris and associates in England, provided another facet of the new fascination with skilled hand work and design. But all of these trends had very limited impact on the great houses and estates of the Hudson Valley, whose owners were enamored of the design and decorative styles of the Beaux Arts movement and the Gothic Revival, harking back to a nostalgia for European nobilityandelegance.

Perhaps it was partly in reaction to this "culture of elegance"thatEleanorRoosevelt'sinterestincraftsgrew.

Many of the women of her era who became engrossed with issues of welfare or economic justice saw the project of encouraging craft work as a way to improve both the economic well-being and the moral character of the poor. The urbansettlementhousesfrequentlyincludedcraftworkshops within their programs -- the Greenwich House pottery in New York City is one distinguished example. It was quite natural for Eleanor to carry this idea to her own surroundings, sug-

gesting that a craft workshop would offer the opportunity for economic betterment for people living on the farm and in the villages around Hyde Park. Consequently, Val-Kill Industries cobbled together a variety of resources to begin this project of furniture and houseware production. These resources included the rather personal design interests and style of Nancy Cook,theavailableworkforceofaseasonally-underemployed rural area, the space within "The Factory", the building at Val-Kill where the furniture was made, and the growing market for American crafts.

Ratherthanretellingtheval-Killprojectwhichboth

60

:i,!*i';?.+:-,

Emily Wright and Louis Torres have chronicled in detail, I wish to trace the parallel paths of Eleanor Roosevelt and Aileen Osborn Webb, another daughter of the great estates who had a singular and notable role in the development of the American craft movement in the twentieth century. Aileen Webb ' s home was at Garrison in Putnam County, about thirty miles south of Hyde Park. She was born in 1892, and her inheritanceofgreatwealthfromherparents(AliceDodge Osborn and William Church Osborn), as well as her marriage to Vanderbilt Webb in the early 1920s, provided her with the monetary resources to follow her interests wherever they might lead. Her growing interest in design and craftsmanship became a lifetime obsession. As one article on her life stated, "The American Crafts Council grew out of her efforts in

Putnam County during the Great Depression to help create a market for handmade things." She also played a central role inthedevelopmentoftheShelburneMuseuminVermont.

Much of what has been written about the craft experiment at Val-Kill has concentrated on the close friendship among the three women who built andjointly owned the stone Cottage on the property -- Eleanor, Nancy Cook, and Marion Dickerman. They shared an involvement in Democratic Party politics, in the Todhunter School in New York City, and of course in their home in Hyde Park. But the relationship had soured by the late 1930s and theirjoint ventures were divided with considerable acrimony. Even before this breakup took place in 193 8, Eleanor' s correspondence with Aileen Webb demonstrates a shift from her earlier directpersonalinvolvementinacraftenterprisetoward articulationofpublicpolicy.

It does not seem that there was a close friendship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Aileen Webb. The letters between them, which are in the collection of the Roosevelt { LibraryinHydePark,reflecttheirmutualexperienceof growingupandlivingamongthesocialeliteoftheHudson Valley.Theyalsodocumenttheirmutualinvolvementin Democraticpolitics(whichplacedtheminasmallminority 61

within the area's social elite). It is said that Eleanor made one ofherfirstovertlypoliticalspeechesonAileenwebb'sterrace in Garrison during the AI Smith campaign in 1924. The tone of their letters over the years has none of the depth of affection that is present in Eleanor' s correspondence with many of her close friends. But this was clearly a working relationship, and one which continued after many Of `her earlier devotees were no longer part of her close circle of contacts.

In the fall of 1938, Aileen Webb wrote to Eleanor that she was hoping to open a shop in New York City for the holiday season. The shop would sell the craft work and fruit

%roe:::;epsr::::ttsh,earn8d°s°hdeshmo::::gfrtthseh:::ubL:r±Sn::rpe::n#: Berge and Mr. Sunne (two of the principal furniture-makers at Val-Kill) in sharing it with them. Eleanor wrote back that the furniture-makingpartofVal-Killlndustrieswasnowcompletely independent and in Otto Berge' s hands, and that she hoped that the pewter and weaving would also be on their ow.n very soon. She said that she doubted that Otto Berge had the financial resources to share in renting the store. However, if herradiocontractcamethrough,shewouldbewillingto underwrite their share of the rent to ensure that they did not lose money on it. Mrs. Webb later wrote to tell Eleanor when the shop was opening, and that the Val-Kill people had apparently decided not to participate. Every few months there was an exchange of letters between the two women on one topic or another. Aileen Webb chaired Judge Hoyt' s campaign against Representative Hamilton Fish in 1942, and received encouraging words and a donation check from Eleanor. They also wrote back and forth early in 1942 about American crafts.

AileenWebbwasinthemidstofeffortstoestablishthegroup that was the precursor of the American Crafts Council, and solicited Eleanor' s ideas. Eleanor responded at length, in a letterapparentlydraftedwiththehelpofAdrianDornbush, who had headed the WPA Craft Program, and wrote elo-

quentlyofhercontinuinginterestincrafts,andhowimportant she thought crafts were as a cultural resource:

62

I hope that . . . our experience will follow that of England, where, as you know, support of the ArtsdevelopedondemandfromtheBritish

people,whovaluedthemasessentialelements ofthecommunitytheyarefightingtopreserve.

It is clear, therefore, that our American arts and craft skills must be kept alive and vigorous, not onlyfortheirvalueinthetaskofrebuildinga more peaceful world after the war, but as well fortheservicestheycanrenderduringthis currentcrisis.

Mrs. Webb wrote back with thanks, saying that these ideas would be very useful, and that they would be put to use in the plans for the organization. It is quite clear that Eleanor Roosevelt'simprintwasthereontheoperationofAmerica House,andthedevelopmentofnationalcraftactivitiesinthe United States.

However, from the contents of her correspondence filesforl942andtheyearsthatfollow,itisalsoclearwhy crafts were no longer central to Eleanor' s concerns. The overwhelming majority of the letters she was receiving were from mothers whose sons were lost or wounded in the war.

Even her and Aileen Webb' s letters ended with expressions of concern for their sons who were off on foreign battlefields. As had happened before, the plowshares had once again become swords, and many of the creative talents that had been devoted to craft work were devoted to defense activities.

It is difficult to measure the long term impact of val Kill Industries. The production of wooden furniture was the most notable activity, and pieces produced at Val-Kill are numerous and can be found in private homes and institutions throughout the Hudson Valley. Probably the most important resultoftheexperimentisthatanumberofindividuals,whoin most cases were themselves immigrants, were able to earn enoughtodeveloptheirownbusinessesaftertheVal-Kill

project ended. Notable among these were Otto Berge, as well as Nelly Johannesen, who had been sent to the Southern

63

Highlands to learn to weave, and then developed a weaving workshop at Val-Kill. They were part of an era in American crafts that was neither based on a long indigenous American tradition nor devoted to the high design standards which became central to the academic-based craft movement a few

years later. What their work expressed relates most directly to the theme which the Russell Sage Foundation had highlighted --the traditions of workmanship as well as the associated cultural resources which immigrants had brought to their new home in America. There is no doubt that Eleanor Roosevelt continued, throughout her life, to take pleasure in the hand work that people produced, more concerned with the person behind the work than with the product.

END NOTES 1. Shelby M. Harrison, General Director of the Russell Sage Foundation in the Foreward to Allen H. Baton, Jm7#z.grcz#f Gzrts fo Amerz.ccz# Lzre (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1932),12.

2,. LNIc;y M:organ. Gift from the Hills.. Miss Lucy Morgan' s Story Of her Unique Penland School (New York: Bobbs-Merrill,1958).

3. V.irgivlriiaL±. Graha;in, Mary Colter.. Builder upon the Red Eczrffe (Flagstaff, Arizona :Northland Press,1980).

4. Entry wr.ighi, Eleanor Roosevelt and val-Kill Industries J925-J938 (Hyde Park,1978).

5. Rose Slivka, "Our Aileen Osborn Webb," Crcz/f Horz.zo73s vol. 37, no. 3 (June 1977),10-13.

6. lose;rfup.Lash, Eleanor and Franklin.. The Story Of Their Relationship Based on Eleanor Roosevelt' s Personal Papers (New York: W. W. Norton,1971), 476-479.

64

7. Eleanor Roosevelt,letter to Aileen Osborn Webb,19, 1942intheholdingsoftheFranklinD.RooseveltLibraryin Hyde Park. There are about twenty letters from Aileen Webb to Eleanor Roosevelt in this collection, dating from the years 1934 to 1945.

65

THE VAL-KILL INDUSTRIES 0F HYDE PARK

By Louts Torres

Louis Torres is a former National Park Service historian who has written several histories Of national historic sites some Of which have been published.

The 1920s revealed an Eleanor Roosevelt who was far differentfromthetimidpersonshehadoncebeen.Impart becauseoftheaffairofherhusbandFranklinwithLucy Mercerandlaterbecauseofhiscontinuingstruggletoovercome his physical incapacity caused by polio, Eleanor began to realize her own potential. Never one to speak in public, she now learned the art of public speaking. Never one to freelyrevealherthoughtseitherpubliclyorprivately,shenow found that her views on political and social matters were gainingpublicattention.

It was at this time that she met the two persons- Nancy Cook and Marion Dickerman-- who may have been largelyresponsibleforthegreatmetamorphosisshewas undergoing. Without them, Val-Kill both as an idea and as an industrymightnothavebeenborn.

Marion Dickerman and Nancy Cook had degrees in education. Marion was somewhat prominent nationally as an educator, as a leader in women' s activities in the Democratic Party, and as a specialist in labor relations. She was the intellectual, inclined more towards the abstract. On the other hand,Nancy'sstrengthlaymore.inthepracticalrealmof creativity, being remarkably sensitive with her hands. Marion was slow and methodical of purpose while Nancy was quick, impatientandintenseinallofhermoves.

The two became ardent suffragettes and espoused manyliberalcausessuchastheabolitionofchildlabor,protectionofwomenagainstindustrialexploitation,andworld

peace. They taught in the public school system, and when World War I broke out, they became involved in the Red

66

Cross and the Liberty Loan Drive. In 1918 they accepted

positionswiththeEndellStreetHospitalinLondonwhichwas devoted to the care of wounded soldiers. While there, because of her skills in building things, Nancy was assigned to constructingartificiallimbsfordischargedpatients.

Eleanor first met Nancy in 1922 during a fund-raising effort at which time the latter was looking forjust the right

person to aid in the work. Eleanor seemed to fit the bill, and soon a very close friendship developed which also included Marion. Before long Marion and Nancy were accepted into Hyde Park as intimate friends of the Roosevelts. Franklin took an immediate liking to the two women, and he sought to encouragetheirfriendshipineverypossibleway.

As the friendship among the three women grew, Eleanor was drawn more and more into the orbit of activities of her two friends. She became very active in the Women' s Division of the New York Democratic Committee, the Women' s Trade Union League, and the League of women Voters. These organizations, combined with the frequent prodding of Louis Howe, caused Eleanor to be involved in political affairs. It was evident that by the middle of the 1920sEleanorwasbeginningtoseeinherselfatotallydifferent person. Although her husband was being touted as a

politicalleadertobereckonedwithandEleanorwouldmost likely play second fiddle, she was enjoying her new popularity.

The new life which Eleanor had discovered and her new friendships left a strong yeaming in her heart to live in a

place that was set apart from the Big House in Hyde Park where her mother-in-law ruled as matriarch. Eleanor' s own story of how Val-Kill came about is simple and brief: Franklin was particularly interested in one of our undertakings. He helped to design and build a stone cottage beside a brook where we often went to picnic during the first years after he was paralyzed. The brook was called ValKill so we called the cottage Val-Kill Cottage.1 67

The Val-Kill area, which was only two miles from the Big House, was a parcel of land that Franklin had purchased and added to his estate in 191 1. Franklin suggested to Marion and Nancy that they might actually make this place their country home. "If you mark out the land you want,1'11 give you a life interest in it, with the understanding that it reverts.to my estate upon the death of the last survivor."2 While the idea of establishing Val-Kill was first a social one -- where Eleanor and her two friends were to live from time to time --the idea of establishing an industrial complex soon followed. The lease agreement signed by Franklin and the three women refers to the land' s industrial and manufacturing uses.3 In her book 7lfez.s J Rerme77eber Eleanor notes that the

idea of Val-Kill as a place.of residence was not an end in itself. It was a place, she said, in which Nancy and Marion were not only to live, but where Nancy would direct a furniture factory.4 Both Eleanor and Marion have given much of the credit for an industry at Val-Kill to Nancy. According to Marion, the Val-Kill Industries, as it became known, was largely Nancy'sconceptionandpredominatelyhersinexecution.5 Nancy had distinct artistic capabilities. She had always longed to make reproductions of early American furniture by employing methods used by early cabinet makers. Her idea was to manufacturereproductionsbyusingmachines,butthefinishing would be done by skilled hands.6 Eleanor once confessed to Marion that she had gone into the industries at Val-Kill because she felt that Nancy was fulfilling something she had long wanted to do. She admitted that she would never had done it alone for she had neither the knowledge, background, nor interest.7 `

If Nancy was the one who spearheaded the idea of an industry,Franklinwasclearlybehindit,encouragingherevery step of the way. Eleanor had this to say about what her husband thought of such an industry at Hyde Park: My husband had very little interest in the pro-

68

•¥,:.¥H.LSSig-+-::.`:

ductionoffurniturebuthewasgreatlyinterested in finding some industry that could be developedincountryareassuchasours,andthat couldperhapsfurnishoccupationsforsomeofthe youngermenwhowouldotherwiseleavethefarms.

8 ®,,,

Inlateryears,ElliotRooseveltobservedthatwhat stirredhisfather'simaginationwasthepotentialforfinding somethinglikeacottageindustrythatmightbedeveloped around Hyde Park in order to provide occupations for young menwhowouldotherwisedriftawayfrom farming.9 Basically,theideaofaVal-Killlndustrygrewoutofa humanitarianefforttoimprovetheeconomyoftheareaaswell as the quality of life. This was the philosophy espoused by FranklinandEleanorRooseveltduringthetwentiesandduring the years of the New Deal.

The first structure built at Val-Kill in 1925-26 was a stonecottage,designedbyH:iryJohnstonToombswiththe helpofFranklin,whosometimeslikedtothinkofhimselfasan architect in the tradition of Thomas Jefferson. The design was in the Colonial Dutch style of the Hudson River Valley. The structure was used as a residence for the women, although Eleanorfoundlittletimeinherbusyscheduletomakemuchuse of it. For a time a section of the cottage was used to house the furniture industry until a permanent facility was built. The shop buildingitselfwasbegunin1926andessentiallycompletedin 1928 . This structure was a simple, large rambling frame building designed for practical use. Since Nancy was the personmostfiniliarwiththekindsofmachineryandspace needed to build furniture, she had much to say about its design.

OthersmallerstructureswerebuiltovertheyearsatVal-Kill, butmostofthemwerebuiltforthecomfortandpleasureofthe residents.

Althoughfrom1926untilherhusband'sdeath,her duties, first as a governor' s wife and later as First Lady, did notpermitherthepleasureofusingVal-Killasherpermanent

69

residence, it was the place she sought as a refuge when life at the Big House, or at the Albany mansion, or at the White House became too oppressive. At Val-Kill Eleanor sought the privacy and intimacy of her family and friends. Although her public life during these years often separated her from her family, she tried hard to bring them together at Val-Kill on every possible occasion. She even convinced Franklin to build his swimming pool at Val-Kill, knowing that by doing so, it would be one way of compelling the family to meet there.

Much of the success enjoyed during those early years at Val-Kj.11 was due to the very close relationship that existed between Eleanor and her two friends. Nancy handled most of the money matters including paying the bills. Eleanor gave her checks as part of her share in maintaining the cottage. Nancy

prepared herjoint budget based upon expenditures of the previous year. Among expenses incurred in 1936, for example, were such items as wages for the caretaker and his wife and other helpers, servicing and gasoline for their Ford car, snow removal, cutting grass, sharpening lawn mowers, painting outdoor furniture, road scraping and gravel, fertilizers and peat moss for lawn and gardens, garden tools and snow shovels, spraying trees and gardens, and cans for canning--a sum total of $2,336.40. [°

When the idea of a Val-Kill Industries originated, the women had ambitious plans that included the introduction of several crafts. However, because Nancy' s expertise centered largely around furniture-making, it was natural to begin with furniture. Similarly, while the industries first stressed the ' employmentofmaleyouthsfromruralareas,eventuallysome emphasis was directed at women in rural areas. Finally, while the industries first had to concentrate on the production of goods, ultimately they had to look towards the training of young men and women in the home crafts. The idea that women should play a major role in these home crafts was alwaysuppermostinEleanor'smind.11

The idea of an industry that was based upon hand craftsmanshipwiththeminimumuseofmachinerywasnot

70

-.;Tpe;%}#ttE=

new. It had been attempted in isolated areas of the country.

ThankstoVal-Kill,however,forthefirsttimetheideareceived widespread and national attention. Some people even went so farastoencourageEleanortoestablishsimilarindustriesin other parts of the country. Eleanor welcomed this support, but since the idea was still too young and resources were still very limited,thesupportshecouldgivetoothersimilareffortsaround the country had to be necessarily limited. Thus, in answer to an

appealforsupportfromasmallcollegeinNorthCarolina devotedtotheteachingofhomecrafts,Eleanorwrote,"1have onlynowstartedinmyowncountyand1haveastrugglingtime togetthingsgoingso1fearthatyourideaofmyhelpinganyone elseisoutofthequestion."]2Nevertheless,whileEleanorand herfriendswereverymuchawareofthelimitingfactorsoftheir

youngindustry,theywerehopefulthatiftheirundertakingwas successful,theideawouldspreadnationally.

Although financial support of the industries was shared by the women, it is not clear whether or not it was shared equally.Nancy,theexpertoh.furniture-makingandthe moving force behind the industries, was president and treasurer of the organization. She knew what materials had to be purchased and she paid the employees. She managed the dayto-day affairs. She trained the employees, inspected the finishedproduct,didmuchofthefinishingherself,andmanaged each stage of production. Eleanor never minimized the importance of Nancy' s role. She realized that the type of industry that stressed home crafts demanded a certain expertise in management to oversee a product from start to finish.

In giving Nancy the credit she deserved, she said to a reporter:

The success of the Val-hill Shop is due largely to its manager, Miss Nancy Cook. Miss Cook is able to do what she asks the men under her to do. They know that she knows when corners areproperlyjoined,whenstainisappliedwith fineregardforthegrainofthewood,whenpolish has produced the proper satin texture. Without

71

thisclo§eattentigntothedetailsofthebusinessor anyenteapriseforthatrmtter,therewillnotbe success.13

The other women were designated vice-presidents, performing all sorts of functions. Eleanor, never skilled with herhands,wasinstrumentalinpublicizingtheindustries, marketing the products and in general handling the promotional end of the operations. The fact that she was a Roosevelt contributed much to her success in this work. She also frequently played a role in recruiting workers and young people willing to be trained.

Marion helped in whatever capacity she could, but other than lending financial and moral support, her help was minimal. As an educator and principal of the Todhunter School, a private institution for girls, Marion was too busy with her own work to provide much assistance to the Val-Kill enterprise.

During the early years of the industries when production and marketing were doing well, all profits were put back into the business in the form of equipment and expansion.

However, in later years, especially when the Great Depression set in and the industries slowed down considerably, Eleanor found herself giving more and more financial aid to the business from earnings from her syndicated news column, "My Day," in order to carry on with the Val-Kill experiment. ]4 The construction of the original shop was largely financed by Eleanor, but all three women purchased the machinery. An interesting document prepared by Marion in later years reveals that while this was true, construction and alterations made after 1928 were largely accomplished through financing by Nancy and Marion, albeit some of this money came from the indus,tries' profits. So that by the end of1936,Marioncou.1dsaythatallconstructionworkpertaining to Val-Kill Industries was equally divided among the three.15 Meanwhile, Eleanor could always boast with some `,++

pride that the enterprise never borrowed any money.16 72

;;t!i¥t?¥?+IE?!j¥i,*,

+

pr:`-£i*.+€..:.ttJ,

+I

One of the purposes of the industries was to provide off-season employment for the youth of Hyde Park. This meant that if unskilled youths were to be trained, the industries would need instructors. Unfortunately, the women were not always successful in finding employees off-season in the local community, nor were the unskilled farmers always able to meet Nancy Cook' s meticulous standards. As a result, the women were obliged to seek skilled workers outside the community, generally those who "had learned from their fathers ...... in the old world the secrets of handcraftsmanship and the need for patient labor, young men filled with the old ideasofcraftsmanship."17

Nancy was fortunate to find some very fine cabinet makers of Italian and Norwegian descent. Frank Landolfa was the first employee and master craftsman to be hired in the the United States in 1925. He had learned his trade as a cabinet maker from his father. In 1926 he was referred to Eleanor and Nancy by an administrator of an industrial school in Greenwich Village in New York City. He was convinced to come to work for the infant industry in Hyde Park at which timetheshopbuildingwasunderconstruction.]8 Machineryforproducingfurniturehadnotyetbeen acquired, and Nancy relied upon Frank for much of the selection of this equipment. Both he and Nancy went to New York city to purchase circle saws, lathes, joiners and work benches. Nancy also relied on Frank to help recruit workers, especially among Italian communities of New York City and Poughkeepsie with which he was finiliar.

Frank was an experienced cabinet maker who did all the turning on lathe, all the carving, and the layout work for Nancy. He became the foreman of a small crew of workers (although paid at the same rate as other craftsmen), but he took direct orders from Nancy who gave up none of her managerial prerogatives. Although Nancy made the furniture designs, Henry Toombs and Louis Macumber, an architect, helped for a time also. According to Frank, Nancy was familiar with designs, but was not skilled in the making of 73

furniture.

At first, relations between Nancy and Frank were

good, but as time went by, they deteriorated. In one moment of anger, Frank threatened to quit. Regretting what had happened, Nancy quickly wrote Frank a letter revealing much about her personality. In it, she said: I am sorry I seemed to have scolded you this morning, but I really did not mean it--I am worried to death most of the time over money to run the shop and the serious illn:ess of my father--and sometimes my nerves are not too good. You are a good boy and I like you so Pleaseforgiveme.19

This was not the only incident that tended to strain matters between the two. Sometime in 1928-29 Frank was injured on thejob, and upon returning to work after a stay in the hospital and a period of convalescence, he found that his desk had been removed. Nancy told him that he was no longer foreman; henceforth, everyone was on an equal plane under her. Since Norwegian immigrants and their sons were being employed, Frank felt threatened. The removal of his desk and his "foreman" position, both symbols of the status and seniority he had enjoyed during his tenure at val-Kill, angered him. , Fortunately, he was appeased and he remained at Val-Frill.

While there were a few disagreeable moments between the two, perhaps normal in employer-employee relations, Frank had the highest praise for both Eleanor and Nancy.

Not knowing any English and in a strange environment, Frank felt completely lost when he came to Hyde Park, but both women quickly took him under their wings. Eleanor personally opened up a bank account for him and did everything to persuade a homesick Frank to stay on. She managed to have him attend night classes in Poughkeepsie so that he could learn English, even supplying a driver to take him there.

Eleanor also arranged to have him purchase an automobile so

74

i';`Qi*3¥i¥f

that he could commute to work and not feel so isolated.

Nancy,meanwhile,boughthimacommuterticketsothathe could visit friends he missed so badly in New York City.

Finally,whenFrankwashospitalizedbecauseofhisinjuryhe had received on thejob, the women paid the hospital expenses andhiscompensation,anexampleofsomeoftheirsocial thinkinglongbeforetheintroductionofsuchprogramsespoused by the New Deal. Needless to say, Frank was deeply touched by this display of friendliness. Had the women not come to his rescue, he would probably have left, and Val-Kill would have lost an able and skilled worker. Instead, Frank remained to work for ten years.

AnotherprominentmemberoftheworkforcewasOtto Berge. Berge was a Norwegian who immigrated to America in 1913 . He had learned his trade of furniture-making from his father, and he became very knowledgeable about old furniture andtheEnglishmasterswhileworkingforanantiquedealerin New York City. Through Morris Schwartz, an authority on antique furniture,BergewasihtroducedtoEleanorandNancy in 1927, and that same year he accepted employment at ValKill. The furniture shop had already been in operation, and the work force consisted of three master craftsmen and one or two helpers who did the finishing. Otto praised Frank Landolfa who, in his opinion, was a ``wonderful wood carver and wood turner," but his opinion of Nancy was not as com-

plimentary. He accused her of mismanaging the shop and showingalackofunderstandingofdesignsforantiquefurniture, the models of which were used to create reproductions.

HealsoaccusedLouisMacumberofnotfullyappreciatingthe designsoftheearlymastercraftsmen.20 Besides Landolfa and Berge there were other employeeswhostoodoutprominentlyduringthoseyearsofthe industries.Threeinparticularwerepartofasinglefamily.

They were Karl, Roy and Harry Johannesen, sons of Nellie Johannesen, one-time cook and housekeeper for Eleanor and laterherprincipalweaverintheVal-Killlndustries.Thethree brothers were born in America of Norwegian and Swedish 75

parents. At an early age Nellie, then widowed, took her three boys to Norway where they remained for thirteen years.

Karl and Roy, the two oldest,learned to become cabinet makers, and soon after the family returned to America.

Through the efforts of Otto Berge, Karl was hired at Val-Kill in 1928. Later that year Nellie accepted a position as cook for Eleanor, and with her three sons moved into the Val-Kill shop apartment. She remained as a cook for three years.

Roy also worked in the furniture shop, and Harry became a handyman who on occasion helped in the finishing room rubbing raw wood and being wherever he was needed.2] According to Frank Landolfa, before the Great De-

pression a master craftsman in the furniture shop worked from forty to forty-eight hours a week earning about $65.

This wage was about $20 more than he had earned in New York City doing comparable work. During the Great De-

pression the work week was reduced to four days with earnings of $4 a day. Although his wages were the same as other master craftsmen, Frank was frequently awarded bonuses.I

Berge' s figures on wages differed somewhat from those cited by Landolfa. Berge noted that in 1927, the year he came to Val-Kill, a cabinet maker earned $50 for a fortyfour hour week. When the Great Depression came, his pay was reduced to $8 a day, and at one time the work week was reduced to three days. The average wage at Val-Kill during the Great Depression was $24 a week. According to Otto, Val-Kill employees fared better than most of their Hyde Park neighbors. He attributed this to Eleanor' s generosity and charitable spirit in trying to help her workers as much as possible despite the fact she suffered a personal financial loss by doing so.2

The first furniture to be manufactured at Val-Kill had its start in a small room in the stone cottage itself. This furnitJure furnished the cottage itself. The production of furniture for commercial purposes did not begin until 1927, after the new shop building had become operational. An early promo-

76

tional brochure noted that the Val-Kill shop was started with the idea of makingreproductionsof[fumiturein]theMetro-

politanMuseuriorinothergoodcollections.At presentwearemakingonlyearlyAmerican17th centuryfumiturebutwecouldreproducepieces fromanyotherperiodinwhichourcustomers mightbeinterested.

Ourobjectistogiveourfumiturethecarewhich was given by the early cabinet makers so that the workmanship and the finish may show some ofthecharmwhichthoseearlypiecesacquired becausetheirmakersreallylovedthework whichtheydid.

We are indebted for encouragement, advice, and aidintheplanningandstiningofourshopto Mr. Charles Cornelius of the Metropolitan Museum; Mr. Morris Schwartz, one of the foremostauthoritiesonearlyAmericanfumiture in this country; and Mr. Henry Toombs, architect,whoishelpingwithsomeofourdesigns3.

ToombsandMacumbermayhavebeenresponsiblefor thefinaldrawingsoffumiture,butNancypreparedtherough sketches4. She also selected the wood from seasoned lumber, choosing the woods that resembled, as closely as possible, thoseofaparticularhistoricperiod.Ifdesignswerethose which were first made in oak or maple, reproductions were then made in the same wood, although the customer had the choice of another wood if he so preferred. The wood was furnished byalumbercompanyunlessthecustomerspecifiedthathe wanted the wood to come from trees on his estate. In the latter case, the trees were cut, sawed into boards, and aged before theywereused.5 Once the wood was selected, thejob of producing the pieceoffurniturerestedwithonecraftsman,usuallyaperson 77

skilled in that type of furniture. The craftsman carefully measured and cut the wood following the drawings. Afterwards came the turning and carving, which was meticulously done, and thepartswerecarefullyfittedtogetherwithmortiseandtenon joints pinned with wooden pegs. This procedure differed considerablyfromthemassproductionoffurniturewithdowels and glue. When the process was completed, the unstained piece was taken to the finishing room where the staining process began. A little color was applied first and carefully rubbed in; then a second or third coat was applied always preserving the beauty of the grain of the wood. Gradually each piece took on the desired richness and tone. When this process was fi.nished,thepolishingbegan,donelargelybyhand,untilthe wood became almost like velvet. Nancy would then put the Val-Kill stamp on each piece, indicating her approval. The first nameofthecraftsmanwhomadeit,forexample,"Karl," ``Otto," "Frank," or some other craftsman, was inscribed on the pieceoffumiture.

A brochure published by the industries reveals at least twenty-fivestandardpiecesoffurnitureproducedatVal-Kill.

The list did not end there, however, for if a customer wanted a pieceoffurniturenotonthelistandmadeaccordingtohis wishes, the shop would gladly oblige. A list of the more frequentlymadefumitureandtheirpricesfollows.6 Maple tavern table MapleScrollmirror Maple low chest Tavern table Oval tavern table, small Bedside table, small Early four-post bed, maple Walnut stool Bedside table Maple chest of drawers,large Earlymaplemirror Butterflytable,maple Oak stool Trestle table, round Walnut, four-post bed Chest-on-frame Maple arm chair,rush bottom

78

Small walnut desk Large oak table Maple stool Fireside chair Gate-leg table, tea table "Cromwellian"chair(redleatherseatandback) Walnut stool Long bench Large trestle table (two leaves ) Pennsylvania chair, large

Eleanorwasabigcustomerformanyyears,purchasingpiecesfor weddingandChristmasgifts.Muchofthisfumiturehasremained inthepossessionofthefinily.70neofthefirstprojectsundertakenbythefurnitureshopwastheproductionoffumiturefor Franklin'snewcottageinWarmSprings,Georgia.Franklinwas extremelypleasedwiththeresults,andhewrotetohismotherthat the"newfumiturefitsperfectlyandisjusttherightcolor."Eleanor, whohadgonetoWarmSprings,reportedtoNancythatshehad "putallthebedsupyesterday,andtodaythetableandboxcame

andtheyarebothintheroomandyoucan'tthinkhowlovelythey alllook--Franklinisdelightedwiththemandcanhardlywaittoget in."ShealsopointedoutthatFranklinwantedanotherchestof drawersandafoldingtable.8 WhenFranklinbecamePresident,theWhiteHousealso becametherecipientofseveralpiecesoffurniturefromval-Kill.

Beforehetookofficein1932,hewroteNancy,withhisusual greatsenseofhumor,thefollowingverseontheoccasionofher fiffiethbirthday:

IntheVal-KillShoptheysay Nanhashiddensafeaway (Sothelittlebirdsdeclare) Onelargepresidentialchalr.9

AreproductionofThomasJefferson'sswivelchairatMonticello, saidtohavebeenmadebyOttoBerge,wasplacedinthe President'sovaloffice.10 Inlateryears,Eleanorwrote,

79

When I inspected my husband' s bedroom, I discovered that the brass bed which had been put in there was too short for him, so Miss Cook had made in the Val-Kill shop a fourposter bed of extra length, which he used all the years we were in the White House. Finding that my own bed was also too short, I ordered a new one for myself as well, and later had an extra-long one made for the room which our youngest son usually occupied when he came home.1`

In addition to the Warm Springs cottage and the White House, furniture from Val-Kill found its way into various public buildings. A small memorial library as well as the children'sroomattheNaturalHistoryMuseuminBuffalo were furnished. Displays were also made for museums in New York City. Furniture was even shipped to Hawaii and Czechoslovakia.12

As the shop expanded and more employees were hired, production was geared to the general public. It was Eleanor' s job to promote the industries and to bring them to the public' s attention. Her name, of course, made it easier.

Good promotional literature was important, and this clearly had Eleanor' s mark.

Val-Kill Industries had a New York showroom at 331 Madison Avenue, which actually was Nancy Cook' s office at the Women' s Division of the New York Democratic Committee. There was no connection between the industries and the committee other than the fact that they were both run by Nancy. The New York office merely provided a facility to Promotethefumiture.13

Eleanor often dropped into the offices of furniture buyers in New York City. With her kit consisting of photographs of Val-Kill reproductions, she tried to interest buyers in carrying her products.

By spring of 1927, the shop was ready for its first exhibition, which was held at the Roosevelt house on 65th

80

Street, New York City. The price list ranged from $40 for a round trestle table to $ 175 for a large maple chest of drawers.

7lfee Ivew york rz.meg observed that, "The work is handwroughtandbeautifullyfinishedineverydetailand copied with exactness from genuine antiques."]4 Every year Eleanor opened up her home for this exhibit. Through these exhibitsandhervisitstolargedepartmentstores,shewasable,at leastintheearlyyearsbeforeshebecameFirstLady,togetstores likeAbraham&StraussandGimbelBrotherstoplaceVal-hill productsontheircounters.

Thefirstfewyearsinbusinesssawextensiveactivity.

Specialorderscamefromseveralsources.Attheconclusionof oneofhermanyexhibits,Eleanorcouldwrite,"soldeverything."15 Demandforitemswassogreatthatwithinthreeyearsthenumber ofemployeesinthefumitureshopreachedsixteen.Theventure had been so successful and demand so great that as 1930 approachedseriousconsiderationwasgiventoexpandingboththe outputandvarietyofproducts-patchworkquilts,hookedrugs, and other artistic handcrafts ]6. J

InApril1930planswereannouncedfortheexpansionof Val-Killhdustries."AprogramofwideexpansionfortheVal-Kill shops,uniqueexperimentinruralcommunityestheticandindustrial development,wasannouncedSaturdaybyMrs.FranklinD. Roosevelt,"readonenewspaper."Afterthreeyearsofquiet, steadygrowthinthelittleplantatHydePark,Val-RIllnowwill stepoutinthebattleareaofthecompetingworld,offeringits

product--meticulousreproductionofauthenticatedearlyAmerican furniture--tometropolitanandforeignbuyers."]7Asitsprincipal outletandsalon,theindustriesselectedtheGiftandArtDivisionof theRushTerminalbuildingonwest42ndstreetinNewYork Cfty.

Bynowtheemployeerollsoftheindustriesrepresentedan increaseof1800percent,andtheoriginalshopareahadgrown 500percent.EightboysfromHydeParkwereeurolledasstudent craftsmen.Labortumoverwasremarkablylow,onlyoneperson havingleftafterbeinghired.18

Whilefumiture-mckingwasthefirstcrafttobeintro-

81

ducedtotheVal-Killlndustries,weavingsoonfollowedinlate 1929. Weaving never received the same attention that furniture had, and perhaps the logical explanation was that there never wasapersonlikeNancyCookinimmediatechargeofthecraft.

Another reason was that it was difficult to hire women in sufficient numbers to make weaving a full-time production. Whateverlittlesuccesswasachievedinthiscraftwaslargelydueto Eleanor' s efforts. She consumed much energy and money to organize the craft, but she could only accomplish a little. The result was that the industries had to be satisfied with a small

productmuchofwhichwasproducedbywomenwhohad learned the art of weaving on a part-time basis. The emphasis at Val-Kill was on training women in the Hyde Park area most of whomaccomplishedtheirworkathome.

Nellie Johannesen, Eleanor' s cook, had shown some ability in the art of weaving. After receiving some training, Eleanorbuiltandfinancedasmallshopfurnishingitwithseveral looms. The small structure, locatedjust outside ValKill, became known as the Val-Kill Tea Room. ]9 For several yearsNellieproducedbeautifulweavingincludingwovensuits forthePresident.2°Thereisaninterestingmemorandumowned byFrankLandolfacontaininginstructionstohimfromNancy Cook which reads: "Nellie wants 4 maple turned sticks 17 inches long about 1 -1/4 inches diameter. Before you take them outofyourlathemakethemveryverysmooth--shewantsto windyarnonthemandtherecanbenobadplaces--ortheyarn Willcatch."2l

Eleanortriedtointerestlocalwomenbyrecruitingthem for a weaving class and byjoining the class herself. A Miss HoaglandandNellieweretheteachers,butteachingwassporadicsinceitdependedupontheavailabilityofMissHoagland and her students. Eleanor also depended on women like Gertrude8allardandGraceKilmertoorganizeclasses,stirup interestamongthewomen,andorderthewool,warpandother incidentals.

Thingsdidnotalwaysworkoutsmoothly,andthe

problems stemmed from the voluntary nature of the work. In 82

one of her several letters to Eleanor, Gertrude Ballard noted that "We are not going along as we should, some hardly at all, but I suppose it can't be helped, as they do it on the side, at home, and not as regular business."22 Although Eleanor and her friends tried to find outlets for their products, the results were negligible. This did not discourage them, however.

"We'll stick to it. .. until we find a way of selling them," Mrs. Ballardsaidhopefu||y.23

Eleanorsoughteveryopportunitytoplacetheweaving on display, frequently with poor results. Even holding exhibits at her New York City home and at the Rush Terminal Sales Buildingdidlittletoimprovethemarketabilityoftheproducts.

Items such as handbags, towels, table scarves, and breakfast sets were common products sold at these sales.24 A third craft introduced at Val-Kill was pewter-making, around 1929-30, but like weaving, it did not have the extensiveproductionandwidedistributionthatfumituremaking enjoyed. Neither did it offer the training opportunities whichfumiture-makingandweavinghadpresentedthelocal

peopleofHydePark.

Nancy'sinterestinpewter-makingledhertovisit England, Belgium, Germany and France. French pewter seemed to have more silver than the pewter made in other countries. Nancy preferred this, so that when the forge was established at Val-Kill, the sheets of pewter contained more silver and were lighter in character. Nancy copied some of the pieces which she brought back from Europe, but she also made several new and original designs. Articles such as pitchers, plates, vases, porringers, bowls, and other items were Produced at Va|-Kill.25

ArnoldBerge,youngerbrotherofOttoBerge,became the first pewter maker at Val-Kill. A second craftsman, Clifford Smith, was later hired to assist Amold. Both men workeddirectlyunderNancy'ssupervision.

As usual, Eleanor was one of the forge's best customers, ordering several items for her friends and the White House. Some of the items she ordered consisted of napkin 83

rjflg§,§teak§G{§,fflatgfabgae§,bH!teredis.beg,b«dva§£.S,Ss!ed

bowls,kflives,forks,spoofls,sugafandcfeafflsets,ovazbcJWJS,.

letter holders, bottle openers, tomato servers, pitchers, twoPieceroastsets,andporringers.26 The Val-Kill Industries flourished for about ten years. It had reached its peak of activity in the early 1930s, but suddenly in 1933, there was a downward trend. The Great Depression

undoubtedlyhadmuchtodowiththefailureoftheindustries.

ThepricesofthearticlesproducedatVal-Killwerehigherthan the mass-produced items of a factory. Consumers, even those who were at one time financially able, had to tighten their belts.

As a result, demand for Val-Kill products dropped off considerably. Although Eleanor did all she could to promote the industries, and she was perhaps its best customer, it was obvious that the industries could not rely on this source for its existence. Profits fell rapidly.

Eleanor was aware of an inherent weakness in the ValKill Industries. She found that as soon as a young man had learned a trade i`n which he could make more money than if working on a farm, he turned his back on the latter preferring instead to earn more money with his newly found trade where he could enjoy regular working hours. It was true that when work decreased in the cities, some would return to the farms, but as soon as the work picked up, the urge to leave the farm was great. This attitude among the young men went counter to the reasons for establishing the Val-Kill Industries. As a result, it was difficult at times to maintain an adequate work force with Whichtooperateefficient|y.27

There were other reasons that led to the decline of ValKill Industries. The friendship that existed between Eleanor, Nancy, and Marion had been a very close one. However, it wasinevitablethatasFranklin'spoliticalstarrose,culminating in the Presidency, and as he learned to rely more and more upon his wife to spread the gospel of the New Deal, this close association would wane. All sorts of explanations ha-ve been

given for the rift between Eleanor and her two friends, but one can only speculate. Suffice it to say, that as the women grew

84

distant, misunderstandings and sometimes even bitterness resulted between them.

On May 14,1936, after the women had given it their most serious consideration, they publicly announced the dissolution of the industries. A press release issued that day stated that the furniture, weaving, and pewter shops would continue to operate under the management of former employees of the industries. Otto Berge was to continue to manufacture furniture in a barn at the rear of his house in East Park, a subdivision of Hyde Park, employing machinery, tools, samples, and other items leased to him by his formeremployers.28 The weaving was to continue under the direction of Nellie Johannesen, teaching the art of weaving to anyone in Hyde Park willing to learn. Nancy and Marion were to lease their share of ownership in the Val-Kill Inn, actually a small amount, in return for their use of the guest rooms from time to time. Nellie was to live at tne inn at Eleanor' s pleasure.29 The forge,whichwas-thenlocatedinabuildingthat was later to become the Playhouse for Eleanor' s grandchildren, was leased to Arnold Berge with all the machinery, tools, and equipment.30

Although the operation of the industries was no longer under the guidance of the three women, the three units continued to use the name of "Val-Kill Industries."

Eleanor had some reservations about this point. She did not believe they should have permitted the three leasees, particularly Otto Berge, to assume the trade-mark of the ValKill Industries "as we have no assurance of the way in which the furniture will be made in the future, nor of the general policy."3l

ln 1938 the three women agreed that Eleanor should assume complete ownership of the furniture-making equipment., Although she received no interest on the capital represented by this equipment, she did expect Otto to set up a fund in order to amortize the value of the machinery so that he would be able to replace it as it wore out.32 85

NellieJohannesenownedherweavinglooms,butsome items were still owned by her former employers. A 1938 agreementbetweenthethreewomennowgavethetearoomto Eleanor. Arrangements were made to pay Nellie for her teaching,themoneyforthispuaposecomingfromahandcraftfund formerly set up by the industries. Meanwhile, Eleanor demanded aperiodicaccountingfromNellieoftheconditionofthetearoom and the status of materials which Eleanor owned.33 Thethreeshopscontinuedtousethepromotionalliterature once used by the defunct Val-Kill Industries. In the meantime,theformeremployeescontinuedtotakeordersforthe WhiteHouseandforEleanor'spersonalChristmas,wedding, andbirthdaygifts.

Thedissolutionoftheindustrieswasadisappointmentto Eleanoraswellastoherhusband,whohadhopedthatthe industriesmightbeasmallsampleofwhatcouldbeestablished on a broader scale nationally in his New Deal programs. AIthoughsomesimilarindustrieshadbeenestablishednationally andhadbeensuccessful,fewhadretumedtheoriginalinvestment to their organizers. Nevertheless, these industries did serve a purposeifonlyforabriefperiod.Eleanorherselfsaidthatduring "thecrises(oftheGreatDepression)theytookpeopleoffrelief

andgavethembackselfrespectandasenseofsecurity--a Considerable achievement. "34

AlthoughEleanorwasdisappointedbythefallureofthe industries,itdidnotdisturbherforlong.Shewassatisfiedthat theexperimenthadbeenattemptedandthattherehadbeensome sense of accomplishment. She was not the sort of person that madesomething,nomatterhowdeartoher,theendinitself.

Herphilosophy,whichshealwaysfoundtimetopassontothe youth, was always to be ready to go on to other things, and she livedbythisruleuntilherdeath.

ENDNOTES 1. Eleanor Roosevelt, 7lfez.s JRefflember (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1949), 32.

86

`.,i;ifg;Fj;:5:S?=-,

2. Marion Dickerman, "The Val-Kill Industries: FumiturePewter-Homespun,"n.d.,MarionDickermanPapers,Franklin D.RooseveltLibray.

3. Memorandum of Agreement, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Nancy Cook, Marion Dickerman, and Anne E. Roosevelt, January 26, 1926, Franklin D. Roosevelt Collection, F.D.R. Library.

4. Roosevelt, This I Remember. 32.

5 . Kenneth S . Davie, Invincible Summer.. An Intimate Portrait Of the Roosevelts Based on the Recollections of Marion Dz.cfaermcI# (New York: Atheneum,1974), 45, 80.

6. Ftoosovelt, This I Remember, 32,-33 .

7. Eleanor Roosevelt to Dickerman, November 9,1938, President' s Secretary' s File, F.D.R. Library.

8. Roosevelt. This I Remember, 33-34.

9. Elliott Roosevelt and James Brough, A7e U7efoJd sfory.. rfee Roosevelts Of Hyde Park (NIew York.. a.P. Putna;m' s Sons.

1973), 236.

10. Eleanor Roosevelt to Hackett, November 17,1944, and Budgetl937,Jointval-KillAccount(Eleanor,Marion, Nancy),bothdocumentsinEleanorRoosevelt'scollection, F.D R. Library.

11. Anonymous, ``Mrs. Roosevelt Plans to Teach Home Crafts," Ivew yorfa r!.meg, April 8,1930.

12. Tufts to Roosevelt, April 12,1930, and Roosevelt to Tufts, April17,1930,bothlettersinEleanorRoosevelt'sCollection, F.D.R. Library.

13. Anonymous, "Mrs. Roosevelt Tells of women-Run Factory," Ivew york Tz.773es, November 16,1930.

L4. Roosevelt, This I Remember.13.

15. Dickerman to Hackett, July 8,1947, Hackett Collection, F.D.R. Library.

16. Anonymous, ``Mrs. Roosevelt Tells of women-Run Factory," Ivew york rz.77ees, November 16,1930.

17. A radio interview ofEleanor Roosevelt in November 1930, Eleanor Roosevelt Speeches and Articles, Box I, F.D.R. Library.

87

18. Much of this account concerning Frank Landolfa is taken from an interview with Landolfa by the author, June 23, 1978.

19. Cook to Landolfa, ca.1929, owned by Frank Landolfa, Poughkeepsie, NY. 20. Interview, Otto Berge by Thomas F. Soapes, Oral Historian, F.D.R. Library, September 19,1977, and interview, Otto Berge by Leon Froats, Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, transcribed copies in Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site.

21. Interview, Harry Johannesen by the author, June 23, 1978.

22. Interview, Landolfa by author.

23. Interview Berge by Soapes.

24. "Val-Kill Shop: Roosevelt Industries, Hyde Park, New York," promotional brochure, F.D.R. Collection, F.D.R. Library.

25. Sketches, Marion Dickerman Collection, Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site.

26. Unless otherwise noted, this discussion concerning the

process of manufacturing is developed from the following sources: Marion Dickerman, "The Val-Kill Industries: Furniture-Pewter-Homespun," n.d., Marion Dickerman Papers, F.D.R. Library; "A Governor' s Wife and her Workshop, Tfee Ho"e Crcz/fs773czJc, ca. 1930, 90, 93; Mrs. Daniel O'Day,

"Bringing Back Artistic Furniture of the 17th Century,"

Mofordo#, March 1929; Frieda Wyandt, "A Governor's Wife at Work," yo#r Ho7„e, September 1929; and "The Art of Creating Heirlooms," A/z!#37". Ivew£, September 1930.

27. "Val-Kill Shop: Roosevelt Industries, Hyde Park, New York," promotional brochure, Eleanor Roosevelt Collection, F.D.R. Library. See also folder, "Hyde Park, N,Y.--Val-Kill Furniture Shop,1928-1938," F.D.R. Library.

28 . Elliot.t Roosevelt and James Brough, A# U#foJd story, 13.

29. Roosevelt to Cook, Marion Dickerman Collection, Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site.

30. This verse is written on the back of a photograph of himself which he gave to Nancy. Marion Dickerman Collec88

£'S.f=;€'2;`.r¥S'`;:LTi

J.,

``

t!Tf\:?#.:a!.-, -.+

tion,EleanorRooseveltNationalHistoricSite.

31. Interview with Otto Berge; Alfred Steinberg, Mrs. A., 7lfee Lire a/EJe¢73or RooSei;eJf (New York: G. P. Putnam' s Sons, 1958), 192.

32. Roosevelt. This I Remember, 81.

33. Dickerman, ``The Vat-Frill Industries: Furniture-PewterHomespun";"AGovemor'sWifeandherWorkshop,"93 34..EleanorRoosevelt'svisitingcardreproducedinDavis, InvincibleSummer,£Oflowingp.65.

35. New York Times May 17 ,192] .

36. Ioserfup .Lash, Eleanor and Franklin.. The Story Of Their Relationship, Based on Eleanor_Rooseveit' s Private Papers (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,1971), 321.

37. Wyandt, "A Govemor's Wife at Work;" Ray Watson, "Revival of Hand Craft," 7lfee Mode7-# Hoffle, ca. 1929.

38. Pouglckeepsie Sunday Courier. A;pr.112] , L930.

39. Ibid., Ivew york rz.ffles, April 25, 1930.

40. Dickerman, "The Val-hill Industries : Furniture-PewterHomespun."

41. Ibid.

42. Cook to Landolfa, owned by Frank Landolfa, Poughkeepsie,NY. 43. Ballard to Roosevelt, December 11,1930, Eleanor RooseveltCollection,F.D.R.Library.

44. Ballard to Roosevelt, ca. 1930, Eleanor Roosevelt Collection, F.D.R. Library.

45. Ivew yorfe rz.773e£, November 28,1929, and April 25, 1930.

46. Dickerman, "The Val-hill hdustries : Furniture-PewterHomespun";Folder,HydePark,NY-Val-RIllFumitureShop, 1928-1938,F.D.R.Library.

47. Orders, receipts, price lists, etc., Arnold Berge Collection, 1938-1942,F.D.R.Library.

48. Roosevctt, This I Remember± 34-35.

49. Copy of Memorandum of Lease: Otto Berge, Loan of Machinery, Tools, Equipment, Etc., ca. 1936, Marion DickermanCollection,EleanorRooseveltNationalHistoricSite.

89

50. Memorandum of Lease, Weaving Cottage and Handicraft Center, ca. 1936, and Memorandum, Weaving Cottage and CenterforHandicraft,forconstruction,Furnishings,Equipment ca.1936,MarionDickermanCollection,EleanorRoosevelt National Historic Site.

51. Memorandum, The Forge Lease, ca. 1936, and Memorandum,TheForgelnventory,December31,1937,Marion Dickermancollection,EleanorRooseveltNationalHistoricsite.

52. Roosevelt to Cook, ca.1936, Marion Dickerman Collection, EleanorRooseveltNationalHistoricsite.

53. Roosevelt to Berge, December 5,1938, Eleanor Roosevelt Collection,F.D.R.Library.Marionhelda$1,000secondmortgage on certain property owned by Otto Berge. See Hackett to Dickerman, July 6,1940, Hackett Collection, F.D.R. Library.

54. Cook to Roosevelt, March 18,1936; Roosevelt to Cook, March 19,1936; Roosevelt to Johannsen, December 6,1938, all inEleanorRooseveltcollection,F.D.R.Library.

55 . Ttoosevelt, This I Remember, 36.

90

91

92

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Rubble wall in the Town of Washington. Courtesy Joyce C. Ghee.

Layered wall of slate and cobbles in the Town of Washington. Courtesy Joyce C. Ghee.

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WEBATUCK CRAFTS VILLAGE-BUILDING A CRAFT-DRIVEN COMMUNITY The following article is based on an interview with Sheuey M. Hunt, a founder Of Webatuck Croft Village, by Joyce C. Ghee and Joan Spence. Ghee and Spence are coauthors Of several publications written in cooperation with the Dutchess County Historical Society. These include Harlem Valley Pathways, Poughkeepsie Half-Way Up the Hudson and pouglckeepsie 1 898-1998: A. Ceritury of change.

Sundaydrivers,perhapsunfiniliarwithlocalhistoryand traditions,mayunwittinglydrawerroneousconclusionsaboutthe origins of a small hamlet bordering the Ten Mile River at the intersection of Dog Tail Road/County Route 22 (not to be confused with NYS Route 22) and the Connecticut spur of NYS Route 55. A collection of tiny craft workshops and modest homes clustered around spacious showrooms and a gallery is knownasThewebatuckcraftvillage.Itmayeasilybemistaken for a Dutchess County version of Woodstock or a purposefully designedmuseumvillagerecreatinganineteenthcenturyhamlet.

Althoughreminiscentofthese,itexpressesadeeperreality.The hamletisnotastageset,butalivingcommunity,generationsold, and part of a continuing tradition devoted to craftsmanship. In this case, craftsmanship means the attitude toward work, the creative process, and the useful products made with an intentional or organic aesthetic by the sweat of the brow and the skill of one' s hands.

The earliest settlers in the area: farmers, millers, tradesmen, shop-keepers, quarry workers were virtually self sufficient, creating or producing almost everything needed in theirdailylivesforthemselvesandtheirfinilies-fromfoodand clothing to tools and the planned or serendipitous surplus for market elsewhere. The current generation is quite capable of fending for itself as well, in a very different age and economic environment. Its members may shop in local stores for the basics,buttheyhavenotabandonedsweatequityandhandicraft

95

as a way of life. Everything from food, textiles, and household goods can be found in the Village, even to homeopathic therapies designed to sooth the stressed out customers of the twentiethcentury.

The Historic Hamlet The 1867 Beers map of the Webatuck/ Wingdale section of South Dover in the Town of Dover shows a small collection of homes and mills constructed east of a bridge over the Ten Mile (or Webatuck) River. A small settlement is defined at the intersection of two dirt lanes that now are paved main roads linking Dutchess and the Harlem Valley to Connecticut.

The homes and workplaces of families are identified encircling the intersection on both sides of the river where a marble dam had been constructed years earlier to harhess the power of the stream. The roots of the settlement are older than such a map would indicate. Names familiar as those of eighteenth century settlers in eastern Dutchess -Preston, Wheeler, Wing, 01ivet and Haviland- are recognizable among a handful of other residents. Their livelihoods were rooted in the soil and water resources of the Ten Mile River and the mineral wealth of the surrounding hills- in general farming, including tobacco after the Civil War, and in mining enterprises.

Nearby dolomite quarries sustained a marble mill here and the products of farms supported a grist mill. Shops, a small hotel and a school for young ladies, as well as a small district schoolhouse, provided for daily needs as well as the basic cultural and educational amenities of the neighbors. What could not be obtained within the locality was available only a short walk or buggy ride away in South Dover where the new rail line passed and the post office, as well as the well-established Baptist and Methodist churches stood.

This was a self-supporting and basically independent community whose transportation connections to Connecticut, the metropolitan area and `the Hudson River to the west were only one small part of the general economic equation.

96

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i:-;4-#i!~S..,i.`¥`iil:`}.`

By the twentieth century much of this was changing, as small farms found themselves being edged out by large farm companies based upon mass production of a single crop or

product for regional markets, as the marble quarries and iron mines closed, and as railroads found themselves in competition with trucking companies traveling over a growing modern highwaynetwork.

The Hunt Family It was into this already changing environment for farms andlocalindustrythatFrederickHunt,abuilderfromKatonchin Westchester County, retired with his family in the 1920s, purchasingtheoldPrestonfarm.ShelleyM.Hunt,hisgrandson, tells the family story in his own words this way:

"When Frederick brought his wife and family to webatuck in the early 1 920s their five children were young adults. Julian, the eldest, was studying Architecture at the University of virginia. Lockwood, ray father, elected to get married and stay in the area.

He worked at various jobs, built several houses and then started making simple primitive pieces of furniture from whatever he could find. The local chestnut trees were being kill,ed by a blight and they were available. Lockwood built stools, benches, scrvbuck tables and open cupboards at first.

The Lockwood Hunt Shop originated in the south end Of the old carriage barn (where the old grist mill had stood) that had been rebuilt before Frederick bought the property. Lockwood used primitive hand tools such as drowknives, spoke shaves, angle borers, etc.-all without power. Work was accomplished truly by "the sweat Of his brow" .

When Julian finished at the University Of Virginia he at first worked on various projects-one, designing bridges for the Taconic par:kway system. He 97

soon tired Of that and became interested in what Loclcwood was doing and joined him in a partnership.

The two brothers realized they needed more room for the shop and moved their operation to the Old Tobacco Barn that sat on the Hill behind the main house. Soon after this move, I (Shelley Hunt) joined them, having been away at the University Of Richmond, Va. and the service.

This was in 1948 and we started a period Of growth as Hunt Country Furniture, Inc. In 1952 we had a disaster on July 4th weekend. Our tobacco barn factory burned to the ground. We regrouped and started the existing factory.„ WhenLockwoodHuntbegantoconcentrateonbuilding fumitureofhisowndesignin1926,experientiallearninggainedby repairing his mother' s antiques combined with his own natural senseofgooddesignheldhimingoodsteadwithagrowingbody of customers and admirers of his primitive solid chestnut pieces.

EventhroughtheDepressionhis(then)one-manbusinessdidwell.

He concentrated initially on simple sturdy wooden furniture inspiredbyNewEnglandandShakerdesignsinchestnutandpine.

ClientsfromConnecticutwereparticularlyfondofhisbenches,a number of which still grace many homes here and over the state line. As the shop' s reputation grew, other craftsmen were hired and the showroom expanded.

By the 1930s the second generation of Hunts was wellestablishedinthecommunityandathirdgenerationbeginningto

grow up along the banks of the Ten Mile River. Lockwood built a home for his family down the road from the farm. In the early 1950s when the family incorporated the business as Hunt Country Furniture, Inc.; the furniture workshop was again expanded and moved from a portion of the carriage barn to the tobacco barn and eventually into a new structure built to house thegrowingoperation.Lockwood'sbrother,Julian,joinedthe enterprise in the mid 1940s, adding his design expertise to the business. In 1948 the first member of the third Hunt generation

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at Webatuck, Shelley, entered the business.

In the late 1960s the firm began to produce wooden furnishings for commercial establishments and restaurants and startedaddingshowroomsinothereasterncities:Chadd'sFor'd andBuckinghaminPennsylvania;HuntingtoninNewYorkand Wilton in Connecticut. Michael, Lynette and Andrew Hunt, Shelley'schildren,thefourthgenerationofHuntsinWebatuck, came into the family business, which at its height employed approximately 150 persons.

I.,

The Birth of Webatuck Craft Village During this period the idea for Webatuck Craft Village was born as a promotional activity to draw interest to the way in which Hunt Country Furniture was made. In 1969 Shelley M. Hunt invited a potter from New Paltz, Fred Tregaskis, to set up shopinthewoodshedonthepropertywiththegoalofattracting andsharingthemarketforfinelyhand-crafteditemsofallsorts.

The firm continued to do this, initially sharing space in former farm outbuildings and eventually building new shops for craftsmen in many fields. The Webatuck Trading Co. was establishedintheCarriage8amtoofferhandmadegiftitemsto goalongwiththosemadeintheVillage.Thisshopwasoriginally managed by Shelley' s wife, Nanette, who gave much help and supporttotheyoungcompany.Theyfoundthatcustomerswere pleased, not only with the selections of goods, but also by the added attraction of what came to be appreciated as a day's outing in the country.

The symbol of the Village was also created during this era- the original Great Wooden Chair, 26 feet tall (recognized for a time by Guinness as record-breaking), which stood on nearby Route 55. When vandalism and wood rot forced its removal, a second generation Great Wooden Chair was built north of the Gallery on CR 22 (Dogtail Road).

The attraction of the craft village as a tourist destination has been understood from its inception by this generation of residents. The look of the former farm community has been

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maintainedbbthinstyleandscaleoffarmoutbuildings.Areplica of an old water wheel completes the illusion of a farm hamlet of the nineteenth century. Both old and more recently constructed craft studios and gallery space allow the crafts persons in residence the freedom to work and operate frequently complex and potentially hazardous equipment, yet at the same time

present themselves informally in a workshop environment for potential clients. The tasks they perform are demanding yet . illustrative of their devotion to their metiers. In recent years regularly scheduled seasonal events draw even more crafts persons and craft lovers to the site. A Strawberry Moon Festival in April celebrates Native American culture. On Memorial Day there is a weekend of canoe and kayak workshops and racing under the sponsorship of the American Canoe Association. At theheightofthefallfoliageseasonistheannualHarvestFestival and Country Holiday Open House is held in December.

Today's community includes a pair of young glass blowers, Tim Bristow, from England and his wife Karen, who with their own youngsters watching nearby, work their magic withglassintheformercarriagehouseoftheWheelerplace.The Wheeler home on the corner of Routes 22 and 55, has been converted to a cozy restaurant, the Buttonwood cafe, overseen

by Carl Huben and Mare Lederman, who now craft edible comestibles. David Duff, self-styled "copper knocker", holds forthinashopbuiltforhimbyHuntsadecadeago,creatingmetal lamps, lanterns and wall sconces. The cabinet making skills demonstratedintheHuntfurnitureshowroomareenhancedbya changing cast of crafts persons who people the "Village" landscape. They present to visitors and clients furnishings, tools, handmade gifts, decorative items, artworks and paintings, for a wide range of personal tastes and household needs.

Also in residence currently are Gilian Christie who provides interiordesignservices,astainedglasscraftsmen,RobertStump, and a potter, Ginger Nelsen, who specializes in raku. Within the lastyear,agentlerkindofhandiworkhasbeenadded,sustained and enhanced by the nearness of flowing water in the homeopathic skills of Wendy Roberts, massage and aroma

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therapist.

After almost seventy years in the hands of Hunts, the

property has recently been transferred to Williams family ownership.Nonetheless,ShelleyM.Hunt'smarketingideafora crafts village remains firmly in place along the Webatuck; its popularityproveninoverthirtyyearsofkeepingtheconceptand valuesofcraftsmanshipaliveandbeforethepublicinanewera of technical wizardy.

Mr. Hunt fondly recalls thejoys of country living: spring floodsandshadnetsstretchedalongthewallsofthefinilyporch to dry; the thrill of being so near to this sometimes soothing, sometimes violent river; exploring its wooded banks and tramping through the nearby fields; fishing, swimming and canoeing in the river. Recollections of loved ones working, playing and growing together are evoked by the sounds, smells andoccasionalglimpsesofonce-commonplaceruralactivitythat continuetodistinguishthisenvironment.Althoughretiredfrom managing the business, Shelley Hunt continues to work in the Gallerywhichspecializesinshowingandsemngtheworksofarea artists. It is his way of sharing the pleasures and rewards of a lifetime devoted to craftsmanship -creating products and works of art the old fashioned way with one' s hands, experience and intellectjoyfullyengaged.

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SITTING PRETTY

by Nan Fogel

Nan Fogel has a keen interest in the cultural life of the community. The author of several articles which have appeared in the Year Books, she is also a talented photographer. A graduate of vassar College, she is now employed by the college.

Finding a place to sit in Ken Folster' s house isn't hard.

There are chairs in painted and natural finishes everywhere, all of them beautiful. What they have in common is that they are all Windsor chairs and they have all been made by Folster.

The origin of the Windsor chair is traced to the English countryside. As legend has it, one of the`King Georges stopped at a cottage during a rainstorm and found the chair he sat on so comfortable he ordered several more for his home, Windsor Castle. The design was popular in England and America. During the period 1725-1850 there was hardly a home in Colonial or Federal America that did not have at least one. Except for the high-style mahogany chairs available for wealthy patrons in the seaport cities, most chairs in this country were Windsors. American chair makers changed the design around the time of the Revolution to make a lighter, airier chair with a dramatic leg splay. The American Windsor, also called a "green chair" for its usual paint color, flourished well into the nineteenth Century.

After 1850, chairs began to be produced in factories. In Poughkeepsie, two early chair makers were the Arnold and the Chichester companies. In manufacture, the Windsor chair changed again; heavier elements of wood were used, cane or rush seats replaced wood, and there was less leg splay. Individual craftsmen could not compete with factories and, gradually, the skills that were traditionally passed orally

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from master to apprentice were lost.

As an industrial arts teacher in the Arlington School District, Folster was familiar with materials and methods of construction, and he liked woodworking. It was in the back of his mind to make a Windsor chair when he retired in 1989.

It wasn't easy; there are no "kits" for making Windsor chairs.

He credits Michael Dunbar with single-handedly reviving the craft of Windsor chair making in the 1960s, more than a hundred years after it had died out. Through the books he wrote, in lectures around the country and in classes taught at his school in New Hampshire, Dunbar inspired a new generation to take up the lost craft. Without Dunbar's book, Folster said he didn't think he would have begun his first chair in 1990. That would have been a loss because today he is recognized, for the fifth year in a row, by E¢rzy Az#erz.ccz7®

Hoz#eS magazine as one of two hundred best craftsmen in the country.

A Windsor chair is typically made of three different woods. Maple is used for the legs and stretchers because it is a hard, densely-grained wood that gives crisp detail when turned on a lathe. For spindles and the bent parts of the chair--backs and arms--red oak, hickory or ash is used because all bend easily when steamed. Bending is one of the most challenging parts of chair making, Folster says. Pieces range from forty-four inches for a "S ack Back" chair to eight feet for a settee. They are steamed in a chamber for forty minutes. The bending must be done on a form in the forty-five seconds immediately after the piece is removed from the chamber. The two ends are then tied with string to keep them in place. Twice ayearFolsterbuys an oaklog, about one to one and a half feet in diameter and approximately five feet long. He buys his wood "green" to have greater control over the drying process. He splits the log into halves and quarters and allows it to dry in his yard,for about a year. Before bringing it into his basement, he splits the wood for chair spindles into two-inch square, twenty-inch long pieces, and stacks them on top of his furnace to dry further.

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For chair seats, he buys two-inch thick planks of freshcut pine or poplar and stores it in his back yard. He works two years ahead on the planks, figuring a year to an inch for drying. At the end of two years he cuts them into twentyone inch lengths and stores them in an unheated room in the basement. As they dry more, he moves them closer to his workshop.

A lot of what he does is seat-of-the pants experience, Folster says. Asked how he h.as mastered the craft in the relatively short time since he began in 1990, he insists he hasn't, and says he is humbled by his errors. One reason for the long apprenticeship in Windsor chair making is the number of styles. Currently, he makes a doll's and child's chair, a rocker, five chair designs and a Windsor stool.

Unlike the eighteenth century craftsmen who made chairs to put bread on the table, Folster has the luxury of time. He works two to three days a week on his chairs, averaging eight hours a day. It takes about seventy hours to complete a chair. He works slowly but says he gets a little better and faster with each chair. He thinks part of the slowness comes from using the old tools he loves. He could work more efficiently with newer ones but he doesn't. He uses a spoon bit and brace to drill holes. His drawknife and spokes have go back one to two hundred years; his planes are also very old. The lathe he uses runs on electricity, but he points out that the mechanical process of turning, whether by an apprentice or electric motor, is the same.

Windsor chairs were traditionally painted green, although red was popular at the end of the eighteenth century, and black was the common choice in the nineteenth century. Folster uses milk paint, a mixture of lime, earth and a byproduct of milk, to give an authentic eighteenth century look. He also offers an heirloom finish of black over red over green, handrubbed between coats so that some of the undercolor shines through, as it would in a 200-year old chair.

Folster and his wife live in a house that was built

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\^

while Windsor chairs were still being made by hand. The exact date of the house is unknown, but it first appears on an 1848 map of Poughkeepsie. A tour of the basement reveals the house's construction and the workshop. To a visitor, it is ordered chaos but to Folster, who knows where everything is, it works beautifully.

A Windsor rocker dries between coats of finish in the center of the room. Stacked along one wall, pieces of wood await transformation into spindles and legs. Above them hang the bent arms and backs of future chairs. In addition to the red oak shaving horse he takes with him for demonstrations, there are two or three work tables. One is covered with spindles and a chair in the process of being assembled. Another holds the lathe Folster uses for turning chair legs. A postal scale for checking the weight of spindles as they dry sits on a counter next to a dehumidifier.

Nearby is the "log" where measurements, drying times and other data are recorded for each chair. Tools neatly line the walls, many of them the gouges Folster uses for another of his talents, carved wood Santas. Open shelves hold linseed oil, finishes andjars of powdered milk paints in red, green, black and mustard colors. There is even a space in the workshop for photographing finished chairs for the slides he submits annually to a panel of experts who judge for Early American Homes magazine' s top craftsmen designation.

Folster has given demonstrations of his craft locally at Mt. Gulian, Glebe. House and the Quitman House in Rhinebeck. He shows his workjust once a year, at the Rhinebeck Craft Show in June. He thinks there's a subtle difference in things that are made to eye and hand versus machine, and that the people who buy his chairs appreciate those qualities. Often they are people he has worked with or known in the past. He spoke of a moment of joy when he delivered two of his chairs to a former student who had recently built a Colonial style house.

Folster volunteers one morning a week at the Dutchess County Historical Society. He has recently

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completed the organization and computerized index of the Society' s archival material. When questioned about his next project, he mentions a Windsor chair at the Glebe House that he would like to copy and there is a settee that he began a year ago that he has been too busy to complete.

FIRST DUTCHESS QUILTERS-CARRYING ON AN AMERICAN TRADITION

By Joyce C. Ghee, based upon the organizational records of First Dutchess Quilters and an interview with members Stacy Whittaker and Karen A:bramson.

Thereisprobablynootherhomespunactivityasuniquely Americanasquilting.Itembodiesmanyofthecharacteristicswe think of as the essence of our national spirit: equality, diversity,

pragmatism, and community. Often a domestic social activity with a practical result, quilting has been traditionally, although notexclusively,thedomainofwomen.Homespun,perhaps,but notsimple,itinvolvesgreatskillandaneyeforcoloranddesign, has a rich history, and in many places and situations qualifies as artratherthancraft.TheworkofpracticingquiltersinDutchess fits both categories.

Traditionally, quilters gather at an appointed time, each bearing a contribution of fabric (a single or several pieces) representing a personal choice. Materials can be of different colors, patterns, weights and sizes; some are so small that one couldnotimaginethemtobeofuseforanythingatall.Inquasi democratic fashion, the group makes decisions on how to use these odds and ends, on colors, on sizes and weights of fabric thatworktogether,onthepatternstouse.Aplanisagreedupon and in short measure the quilters set to work in a body or divide themselves into smaller groups intent upon turning bits and pieces of unrelated raw material into serviceable articles that beautify a home, make a wonderful gift, keep a child warm, or occasionally add to family or organizational coffers. Anything from a place mat to a cover for a king-size bed, from a wall decoration to articles of clothing may emerge from these work meetings that Americans of the past called "quilting parties or bees."

VeryAmericanalsoisthepracticeofinstitutionalizing colnmonpracticesbyturningthemintoorganizationswithrules of practice. The First Dutchess Quilters is a case in point.

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TheBicentennialoftheAmericanRevolutionwasthesparkthat ignitedtheenergiesoftwoofthefoundingmembers,Hindagard Razz and Barbara Nolan, to bring together others with the same interests. Within fifteen years their numbers had grown to more than forty regulars and they had incorporated as a nonprofit organization, First Dutchess Quilters (FDQ), known to members as "the guild." Today, almost one hundred and fifty strong, its membershipreachesbeyondthecountyandispartofregionaland national networks. Quilting is a passion that links women across all sorts of boundaries and barriers : geographic, national, racial, social and economic. FDQ maintains a meeting schedule agreed upon almost twenty-five years ago, gathering at the Stringham Road Middle School in La Grange at 7:00 p.in. on the third Wednesday of the month for workshop and program sessions. t A typical meeting is both an opportunity to socialize and an opportunity to learn. The doors open half an hour before the business meeting begins, providing time to talk to old friends or make a newcomer feel welcome. To the casual onlooker, this

phase of the meeting is reminiscent of either a flea market or a countryauctionwheretheexcitementofmodestrafflesorgrab bagsoffabricbringsoutthebargaininginstinctsofmembersand produces a revenue flow for the treasury. At 7:30 p.in. current president, Karen Martin, brings the meeting to order and makes announcementsofshows,workshopsandactivitiesofinterestto the group. The program follows with either a speaker or a work sessiontaughtbyanexperiencedinstructor.

FDQmembersarehighlyinventiveandgoodhumored,as well as skilled with the needle. Novices have many teachers and mentors who can bring them up to date on everything about quilting from its history and historic patterns of the past to the latest and best technique or new tool on the market. A favorite activity of the quilters is the "Mystery Quilt" project, for which everyoneisadvisedtobringinatwelveinchblockofaparticular pattern, for example an "Ohio Star" (an eight pointed star) with something personal decorating the center. A request for "your favorite green thing" could elicit a design based upon anything

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--*F±Sfufg`-,-i,: '`+

from a favorite plant or vegetable to Kermit the Frog. A group of thirty blocks within a color or design group can be raffled or auctioned off to a member who wants to complete the quilt, bringing more revenue to the organization.

The results of their shared self-education and work have benefitted both members and the wider community. In recent years FDQ has contributed over one hundred and thirty handmade baby andjuvenile quilts to community organizations such as the Children' s Home, Grace Smith House and Cardinal Hayes Home. A holiday auction of handmade ornaments is held annuallyandtheproceedsaredonatedtoadifferentcommunity group or charity chosen by the membership.2 Members of the FDQ not only make quilts themselves, but they also serve as a resource for other groups sponsoring community quilt projects. The Dutchess County Bicentennial Quilt, made in 1976, is an example of a county history quilt to which they contributed. The project, sponsored by the colonial LifeStyleCommitteeoftheCountyBicentennialCommission, was coordinated by FDQ member Norma Hubbard. More than two hundred persons from every town and city in the county assisted in completing designs representing each municipality and fifty-two other volunteers handled the quilting. The quilt, originally placed for safekeeping in the hands of the Dutchess CountyDepartmentofHistory,wasreclaimedbytheFDQafter thecountyfalledtoappointaCountyHistorian.In1997thequilt was formally presented to Dutchess Community College where itwillbeprominentlydisplayedforthepublic.3 Mrs. Hubbard was also a moving force behind the guild's biennial juried show, now an event of regional importance, sponsored by Dutchess Community College Foundation as a benefit and held at the college since 1983.

Taking on the responsibility for this type of show was an importantstepfortheorganization,makingitanintegralpartof anationalinformalnetworkofquilters,visibleinorganizations such as the National Quilting Organization and the National Quilting Society, both of which have provided speakers and judges for FDQ programs and shows. National organizations 109

also provide guidelines for the work of would-be quilters and those who want to enter ajuried show.

Quilting is much more than sewing square blocks of the same size together. To qualify as a quilt an article must have three layers stitched together. These layers can be decorated with any style of needle work: trapunto, ap,pjliqu6, bargello, beading, embroidery, €rewel, cross stitch, and ribbon embroidery. Quilting in Ameri.ca has its roots in the traditional crafts of England, Wales, Scotland, Irela`nd, and Italy where frugality as a hedge against poverty brougtht forth new uses for old or worn out articles made of textiles. Patterns and styles of needlework are legion and have been documented by historians as emerging from a number of different cultures. Patchwork, such as the crazy quilt made from scraps of any size and shape, is seen as an American contribution to the almost endless list of patterns available. The design repertoire grew exponentially in the nineteenth century influenced by a column in Zlfee Kcz#£czs Cz.ty Sfczr which published a new quilt pattern every week.

These patterns were collected and used by enthusiastic housewives of the era and passed down through the generations to the quilters of today.

The materials from which quilts have been made are almost as variable as the designs. Every known fabric -cotton, linen, wool, silk, blends Of natural fibers and the full range of man-made materials - has been used for some part of the finished product. Left-over mill-ends were brought home by mill-workers and turned into quilts. Cornelia Van Wyck of Fishkillturnedthesatinliningsformen'shatsfromanineteenth century hat factory in Dutchess into a pineapple design quilt of log cabin strips 4 .

According to Stacy Whittaker masterpiece quilts made from new or purchased materials intended for a specific design have been documented from as early as the sixteenth century.

Such quilts, often made as g.ifts or commemorative pieces for a special occasion, were cherished as family heirlooms. They are regarded today as treasures in antique quilt collections, both in museums and in private hands and are the stars of quilt shows.

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Thisgenerationofquiltersisprobablymoreattractedto

quilts for their beauty and uniqueness, rather than as a way of making use of leftovers. A large portion of quilts created today are crafted from new textiles to fit a concept or particular design, choice of color scheme or home decor, although frugal sewers are still likely to find a use for serviceable cloth from the

fallyrag-bag.

Homemakers, craftspeople and those who take pleasure in decorating their homes with items not found in department stores have in recent years brought forth a whole new subculture including a new industry responding to the needs and desiresofquilters.

Quilting is now commerce as well as a local or family craft. Magazines, books, j ournals and newsletters are published for a national readership. The development of patterns and design kits or tools for making and showing quilts is a healthy business fueling classes and program schedules all over the country. Experienced quilters have turned their skills into careers as teachers, lecturers, certified judges, authors and authorities on the subject. Several members of the FDQ have turned quilting into a livelihood. Susan Frisenda and Cathy Anderson are shop owners; Shirley Botsford,local fabric artist, has developed her own line of patterns with Simplicity and has been published extensively on the subject. gz#.Jfz.7®g g#c}rferzy, the j oumal of the National Quilting

Association, Inc. and one of the most popular of quilters' publications,regularlyreviewssomeofthemanyquiltingbooks publishedannually.Itprovidesavarietyofinformativearticles and regular columns that report on upcoming shows and keeps members abreast of the latest developments in the field.

Museums of art, history and folklore across the nation havelongbeenaddingquiltstotheirholdingsforbothstudyand display.TheSmithsonianhasanimpressivecollection,whichit hasturnedintoarevenuesourcebylicensingsomeofitsunique patterns. The 1850 antique Benoni Pearce Groom' s Quilt from Pawling,nowattheSmithsonian,wasthehighlightofarecent Washington D. C. Smithsonian exhibit at which Pawling

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Historian Myrna Hubert was invited to share its history.5 At home the handsome antique quilts and coverlets from the collections of the Dutchess County Historical Society are

popular items in shows such as the Dutchess Heritage Quilt Show, organized by FDQ on a biennial schedule. In the fall of 1999FDQmemberscelebratesitstwenty-fifthanniversarywith a show at Dutchess Community College co-chaired by Stacy WhittakerandEdnaGardenier.Theeventtraditionallydisplays and judges competitively quilts in both the antique and contemporary categories. Certifiedjudges from the National Quilting Association, including one from the previous show in 1997 and two new judges review entries on the basis of NQA

guidelines covering design, workmanship, use of materials and adherence to rules.

Quilting has come far from its beginnings as an exercise infrugalitybyhousewivesintentuponimpressingtheirmatesor their neighbors with their ability to pinch pennies. It has been enthusiastically embraced by serious hobbyists, craftspeople, businesses and scholars as art-, craft, decorative medium, moneymaker, and tool for the study of history. We expect it to be around for a long time to come.

END NOTES 1. Karen Abramson, Le#er fo Joyce C. Gfeee, August 8,1998.

2. Ibid.

3. Colonial Life Style Committee of the Dutchess County American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, Norma HTibbard, coordina;tor, Dutchess County Bicentennial Quilt, explanatory card.1976.

4. Jacqueline M. Atkins and Phyllis A. Tepper, Ivew yorfe Beauties Quilts From the Empire State, (Dutton St.ndio Books,1992),109.

5. Joyce C. Ghee and Joan Spence, Hczr/e77e VczJJey Pczffewczy£

(Dover, New Hampshire: Arcadia, 1998).

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DO-IT-YOURSELF CRAFT TOUR 0F DUTCHESS

COT-

by Joyce C. Ghee and Stephanie Mauri Joyce C. Ghee is the former Dutchess County Historian who developed six self-driving historic tours Of the county. Stephanie Mauri, former trustee and volunteer director Of Landmarks, also served on the board Of the Historical Society and remains an active volunteer there. A preservationist and researcher, she has special expertise in historic maps.

Since the Agricultural Society was chartered 156

years ago, the fairgrounds in its various sites around the county through the years have been providing a showcase for local crafts. For the past twenty years the fairgrounds in Rhinebeck have hosted an annual juried crafts Fair in June, a nationally recognized showcase for the work and artistry of contemporary crafts persons and artisans from near and far.

Many of those who exhibit are professional artists, whose studios are a business; others are old-fashioned crafts persons who practice a traditional craft in their own homes or basement workshops out of love for the work; all concerned arecommittedtothequalityoftheirwork.

Every August when the gates of the Dutchess County Fair open to eager crowds, flocks of amateur and budding

professional crafts persons of all ages from all over Dutchess submit their handiwork to other panels of localjudges. On the basis of quality of the work and the experience level of the makerjudges decide whose submission merits the coveted blue ribbon from the best loaf of bread to the best flowerarrangement;fromthebestquilttothebestbirdhouse; from the best spinner and dyer to the best pot thrower.

For the past ten years the fairgrounds also has hosted the Crafts at Rhinebeck Fall Festival, a local show with a craft focus.

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Crafts are obviously of interest to a large audience.

Dutchess County crafts persons have been doing-it-for themselves for hundreds of years. There is a long tradition of useful and beautiful items being hand-made here, either as a contribution to family life or as a business. Unfortunately, it is not a

particularly well-documented tradition, as the index to the Dutchess County Historical Society (DCHS) Year Book /yBJ, published since 1 914, indicates. We find it curious that so little has been done on the subject. Perhaps craftsmanship hasbeenundervaluedanditsplaceinhistorynotrecognized because it has been so common in this area. The 1997-1998 yeczr Book seeks to begin to fill this gap in local history. We hope to encourage those with knowledge of the subject to consider writing articles which explore crafts of the past, as well as those being currently practiced, so that the record will be more complete. There is obviously much more of the story to be told.

The examples of craftsmanship we have chosen to highlight this year are admittedly arbitrary. What distinguishes a craft from an art is often a very personal definition. We do not feel qualified to fix the fine line between artistry and artisanship,tolimitthechoicesofmedium,ortocommenton the relative beauty or usefulness of final products. We do insist that the materials chosen and the product developed should suggest a p,rocess, skilled workmanship and a history of experience. We leave it to you to decide the place of craftsmanship in the history of our community, but we think that the informationinthisissuewillhelpyoutounderstandtheimportance of a commitment to craftsmanship and will provide a

glimpseofitsimpactonthelifeofthiscommunity.

We have not suggested a speci.fi.c itinerary in this tour because of the variety of crafts and the non-existence of a single cohesive and safe route. Crafts, even the few dealt with in this issue, are all over the map. Choose your own sites according to your interests and schedule. Checking them all out could take a while.

The maps will point you to a site where a craftsman

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workedorlived,orwhereaparticularlygoodexampleofacraft may easily be seen. The sites chosen are representative, not allinclusive,andvisiblefromapublicway.Inthecaseofsitesof thepast,nothingresemblingaformerusemaybCleft,soplease do not be disappointed. For the sake of the historical record, though,itisusefulforresearcherstoknowthat(forexample)the middleofafour-lanehighwaywasoncewherearesidenceor shop stood. Map inserts are provided where there are a cluster ofcraftsites.Thesitesreferredtoaretakenprimarilyfrom articlesinthisissueandfrompastissuesoftheyeczrBook,but othershavebeenincludedonthebasisofadequatedocumentation and ease of location. We are including citations for documentationsoyoucancheckmaterialsatyourpleasure.Each g±afihasbeenassignedanalphabetletter,followedinsome casesbyanumeralwhichindicatesadifferent§ifgwheresucha craft was practiced or where an illustration can be found. For example, if A= stonewalls, A-1 = a particular stonewall along a road in a town.

CRAFT TOUR LOCATOR A-Stone wall builders: ``Horse High, Sheep Tight, Hog Proofthe Stonewalls ofDutchess County," Bruce Buckley, yB,19971?98.StonewallsaboundinDutchesscounty.Identifyinga particularcraftsmaniswell-nighimpossible,exceptwherethe wallswerecommissioned.Everyearlyland-ownerandfarmer hadwall-buildinginhisrepertoire.

A-1 Yankee rubble wall, Bentley Lane, Town of Stan ford.

A-2Single,non-fenceretainingwall,Fiddler'sBridge road,TownofClinton.

A-3 Double wall, Fiddler' s Bridge Road, Town of Clinton.

A-4 Field mortared, wet wall (fake dry wall) NYS Route 343 , Town of washington.

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A-5 Italianate wall mortared with red grout, Vanderbilt Lane, Town of Hyde Park.

A-6Yankeedrywallwithstakeandriderprotective

cover, Town of Rhinebeck.

A-7 Cobblestone wet wall, hamlet of Dover plaihs.

A-8 Dry wall with decorative stone caps, Anderson School, U.S.Route 9, Staatsburg.

A-9 Five banded dry wall of cobble and slate, Route 44, Millbrook.

A-10 Barway gate, Route 343, Millbrook.

A-1 1 Two of four gateposts cut from a single block of granite, Nine Partners Lane, Millbrook.

A-12 Stile o-f coping stones, Creek Road between CR 14 and NYS Route 9G, Town of Clinton.

A-13 Romantic Bavarian influenced cobblestone fence, Route 44A, Dietrich Estate, Millbrook.

A-14 Cut dressed stone Italianate walls, pattern of 2 to 1 arrangement, Mills Estate, Staatsburg.

B-Jewelers/opticians/watch or clock makers: ``Keeping Good Time," James Storrow with Annon Adams, yB,19971998. "The Poughkeepsie Tower Clock," Michael D. Gordon, yB, 1975. The skills required for working with fine metals, glass and precious stones-fine motor skills, good eyesight, a steady hand and the ability to manipulate small tools-often meant that the same person worked in more than one medium.

8-1 Site ofFirst Reformed Dutch church clock, corner of Main Street and Washington Streets (now East/West arterial and Main Street), City of Poughkeepsie.

8-2 Face of the Second Clock on former Zimmer Brothers Jewelry Shop, Main Street (west of the Wallace building), City ofpoughkeepsie .

8-3 The current home of the clock face, west side of Raymond Avenue, Arlington, Town of Poughkeepsie

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C-Silversmiths/Goldsmiths : "The Silversmiths of Poughkeepsie," George Barton Cutten and Any Pearce Vcr Nooy, yB,1945. This article includes an illustration of eighteen of the marks used by individuals and local firms before 1850 whenelectro-platingandmachinerybegantoturnahandcraft into a mechanized industry. Silversmiths, some of whom were alsogoldsmiths,havebeendocumentedworkinginMechanic, Fishkill, Rhinebeck and Amenia, but the bulk of shops and firms were in Poughkeepsie.

C-1 The property of Charles Platt Adriance on College Hill, College Hill Park, entrance on North Clinton Street, City of poughkeepsie. Charles and his son John began as workers in precious metals, but eventually became owners of an enormous foundry, Buckeye Mower, which made iron and steel farm implements.

Charles owned the College Hill property and made his home there before it became a boys' school or later a city park.

C-2 Site of Buckeye Mower, foot of old Union Store Landing/nowsouthwestofGeraldDriveandHudson, City of poughkeepsie. John Adriance began as an apprentice to Storm and Wilson and was associated first with Adriance & Cook later with Hayes and Adriance, both silversmiths. He moved into the manufacture of iron and steel implements and made his fortune as an industrialist with a knowledge of metals.

AdrianceMemorialLibraryishisfinily'sgifttothe community.

C-3SiteofBillings'sFamilyHome,comerofAcademy and Main streets, City of poughkeepsie. Major AndrewBillings(1743-1808),amemberofthecommission for Detecting Conspiracies in the State of New YorkduringtheAmericanRevolution,wasasilversmith and also noted as a clockmaker. His home built on Academy Street c. 1800 withstood changes in the area foracentury.

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C-4 Site of George Creamer home, corner of Catharine and Mansion Streets, City of poughkeepsie. This was thejeweler' s home until his death in 1 869.

C-5 Site of Peter 8. Hayes home ( 1788-1842). Garden Street, Poz6gfekcepsz.e Jo#r#czJ parking lot, City of Poughkeepsie. Hayes was a partner of Hayes and Adriance and also of p.P. Hayes & Son. C-6 Home of Benson Lossing, east side Holsapple Road, off CR24, Dover. Lossing learned his wood

engraving skills as an apprentice to and later a partner of Adam Henderson, a silversmith and engraver. The brief partnership which lasted from 1833-1835 prepared Lossing for hisjoint career as an historian and ' illustrator.

C-7 Home of william Terry, NYS Route 343, south side former Flagler estate, Mechanic, Town of Washington. Terry was a silversmith and clockmaker in the Nine Partners Patent in the late 18th century, noted for his spoons and his clocks.

D-Furniture builders: ``Eleanor Roosevelt, Val-Kill and the American Crafts Movement," Mary M. Flad, yB,1997-1998.

Also"Theval-KilllndustriesofHydepark,"LouisTorres, yB,1997-1998. "Sitting Pretty," Nancy Fogel, yB, 19971998. Also see "The Glebe House and the People Who Lived

There, Elsie De Reimer and the Glebe House," Edmund Van Wyck, yB,1953.

D-1 Former home and workshop of Otto Berge,

furniture craftsman of val-Kill Industries, southwest corner intersection NYS Route 9G and East Market Street, original William Stoutenburgh 18th centu`ry stone house and Berge' s barn workshop, East Park hamlet, Town of Hyde Park.

D-2Siteoffurniturerepairandbuildingworkshopof Frank Landolfa, furniture craftsman at Val-Kill Industries, northeast corner Davis Avenue at Raymond Avenue, Arlington. , Town of poughkeepsie.

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D-3 Glebe House, 635 Main Street, City of Poughkeepsie. Windsor chairs, such as those made by Kenneth Folster are part of the permanent collection and Mr. Folster demonstrates the techniques of building such chairs here at special programs. The house was built before the American Revolution as the

parsonagefortheministeroftheEnglishChurchin America (Episcopal), which is now Christ Church.

Glebe House was also the home of Peter De Reimer, asilversmith/goldsmithfromAlbanyandthefatherof Elsie De Reimer. Now a house museum, Glebe House is owned by the City of poughkeepsie, and administered and interpreted by the Dutchess County Historical Society. Tours by appointment. Admission. Call Dutchess County Historical Society 471 -1630.

EIcraft complexes/showrooms/factories : "Webatuck Craft Village-Building a Craft-Driven Community," Joyce C. Ghee, yB,1997-1998. Also see references for D Furniture Builders.

E-1 Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site (ERNHS), intersection of creek Road and NYS Route 9G, Hyde Park. The pilot craft industries developedbyEleanorRooseveltandherbusiness partners occupied three buildings on the grounds of the nation' s first historic site to be devoted to the life and work of a First Lady:. Stone Cottage, Val-Kill Cottage and the Playhouse. There is an admission

fee for the regular tour given by the National Park Service but the grounds are open daily to the public during daylight hours without charge. For seasonal hourly changes and fees call the National Park Service headquarters in Hyde Park. Call (914) 2297821.

E-1 a Frederick' s Restaurant, near the entrance to the ERNHS,heldtheshowroomforfumitureandpewter ware,theweavingshopandVal-KillTeaRoomrunby

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Nellie Johanssen, who did much of the weaving.

E-2 Webatuck Craft Village, intersection of NYS Route 55 and Dogtail Corners Road, Wingdale.

Showrooms, gallery, craftsmen' s workrooms, studios, and furniture factory. Special Events and shows annually. Call (914) 832-6464 for information.

E-3 Dutchess County Fair, Dutchess County Agricultural Society Offices, Rhinebeck Fairgrounds, U.S.

Route 9 north of Rhinebeck village. Annualjuried craft shows and showcase for the handiwork and crafts of local homemakers and hobbyists (see Introduction to tour). Admission to shows varies. Call (914) 876-4001

for information. For a list of scheduled events write: Dutchess County Fairgrounds, Crafts at Rhinebeck, PO Box 389 Rhinebeck, NY 12572.

F-Quilt/Coverlet makers: "First Dutchess County Quilters," Joyce C. Ghee with Karen Abramson, yB,1997-1998. Quilts and coverlets have been produced in this county since the first female settlers arrived. It is a continuing tradition of craftsmanship that can be found, like stonewalls, in every community.

F-1 Site of First Dutchess Quilters Heritage Quilt Show, Hudson Hall, Dutchess Community College, entrance and parking on Creek Road, Town of Poughkeepsie. The Quilters show has been held every other year since 1983 .

F-2 Dutchess County Historical Society (DCHS) commemorative quilt, DCHS, Clinton House, Main and North White Streets, City of Poughkeepsie. This quilt was made in 1989 in celebration of the 75th Anniversary of DCHS with the theme of Dutchess County towns.

F-3 Quilts and Coverlets, Glebe House, 635 Main Street, City of poughkeepsie. Glebe House has several examples of the craft from the 1850s in its collection, including a double sided coverlet made by a member of

120

=``J. '~+

t

the Benton family in Amenia and the carpet loom, from the same family on which the coverlet in its collection was made. The Troutbeck Conference Center on Leedsville Road (CR2) in Amenia is on the original site of the Benton homestead.

G-Needleworkers/Embroiderers : "A Dutchess County Sampler-Part 11, Anne Friedland, yB,1997-1998. Also see

"Died of a Broken Heart," Any Ver Nooy, yB,1954. In the 19th century, part of every young woman' s education was handling a needle and thread, notjust to keep the seams firmly together on useful articles of clothing and fabric pieces for the home, but also to create beauty in a family' s surroundings.Thosewhotaughttheskillsandthosewho.learned were held to a high standard of workmanship.

G-1 Site of the Nine Partners School, north side of NYS Route 343 near the intersection of Altamont Road. The teachers at the school instructed girls on the art of sampler making in addition to general education.

G-2 Site of the Pleasant Valley School, north side of U.S . Route 44 just east of the bridge over the Wappingers Creek, Pleasant Valley. An example of the work of a student in this school is part of the collection of the DCHS .

G-3 Site of Sketchley' s Boarding School, Market Street, south of the Routes 44/55 arterial, City of Poughkeepsie.

The sisters of James Sketchley, teacher at the Dutchess Academy ran classes for girls with needlework as part of the curriculum.

G-4 DCHS, Clinton House, corner of Main and North White Streets, City of Poughkeepsie. Fine examples of the needlework of Dutchess County women and from early schools are in the society' s collection.

Open Monday-Friday 10:00 a.in.-3:00 p.in. or by appointment.Call(914)471-1630.

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H-Herbalists: "Dr. Osborn-His Book," Henry Booth, yB,1918. "Dr. Cornelius Osborne Rediscovered," Brian Altonan, yB,1991. Before the corner pharmacy was a

part of any community, physicians learned from mentors and by experience how to make their own cures from the plants we have thought of as only weeds. In this era their work is being given a second look by those interested in holistic medicine. Dr. Osborn(e), who practiced in the county in the mid-18th century, selected his own plants and turned them into medicines based upon recipes carefully written down as a teaching tool and reference in a book prepared for his son, James Osborn who was preparing also to be a doctor.

H-1 Site of Dr. Osborn's property, Osborne Hill Road, Fishkill. The doctor chose to live near by the Village of Fishkill but high enough up so that the diseases associated with living near a swamp or wet land were at bay. His "book" in the collection of Adriance memorial Library is a valuable resource showing the medical links between alchemy, folk healers and the carefully controlled professional standards of present-day practices.

H-2 Site of Red House, the home of Doctor John Bard and son Dr. Samuel Bard built c.1772, east side of U.S. Route 9, near Vanderbilt Lane, north of Hyde Park hamlet. The Bards, although one step closer to the practices of today, still relied on a

personally constructed formulary. Dr. David Hosack, who later bought their property was Samuel' s protege with an interest in botanicals. The scientific enquiry of these men brought forth our nation' s first medical school and botanical gardens in New York City. Red House was used by the architects of the Hyde Park Post Office as the model for that structure. Murals in the post office lobby by Olin Dows portray key moments in the lives of the Bards.

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I-Potters: "The Caire Pottery at Poughkeepsie," Dr. J. Wilson Poucher, yB,1941. The Caire Pottery in the City of Poughkeepsie turned out useful items for the homes of local residents for many years: crocks, jugs, jars, bottles and pots of all sizes and shapes, decorated handsomely with flowers, birds, insignia of the purchaser. Caire later turned to products for builders, firebrick, drainage and sewer pipes, and small earthenware items for sale in notions shops like Woolworth' s intended for a wider market. The article illustrates some of the articles crafted in the pottery which by the time the article was written were already highly valued as antiques and collectibles.

I-1 Site of a pottery documented by a 1780 map of Poughkeepsie at the foot of the Union Store Road, Hurlihe Street now River Terrace Apartments off Rinaldi Boulevard, City of poughkeepsie.

I-2 Site of the first Caire Pottery purchased in 1840, 151 Main Street between Bridge and Perry Streets, now Admiral Halsey Senior Housing, City of Poughkeepsie.

I-3 Site of Vassar Brewery, for which Caire made special stone bottles to hold the brew, Vassar Street, west side, now the site of Vassar Brothers Institute, City of poughkeepsie.

J-Shipbuilders: "The Congress and the Montgomery-Continental Frigates Built at Poughkeepsie in 1776," Helen Wilkinson Reynolds, yB,1936 .Poughkeepsie had a shipyard at a cove near Shipyard Point, a section of the waterfront located on the James Livingston Farm. During the American Revolution the Continental Shipyard was created here as part of the strategy for defense of the Highlands and the Great Chain. Both ships were lost in the battle for Fort Montgomery, burned by their crews lest they fall into British hands. The article refers to carpenters employed as mostly refugees from New York City. They apparently struggled to do a workmanlike job despite low (or no) wages, and the lack of proper

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equipmentandnavalsuppliesessentialtothecraft.

J-1-SiteofContinentalShipyard,footofPineStreet, westoffRinaldiBoulevard,Cityofpoughkeepsie.The coveontheriverherewasfilledinduringthe19th centuryfortherailroad'strackbed.Whenthearticlewas written the site was identified as being situated at the foot of pine Street on the Delaval Separator Company Property.

K-BIacksmithsITronmongers:"ReminiscencesofOldTime Blacksmithing, Reprinted from Zlfee Jo#773czJ, Red Hook, March 2,1§T83,yB,1979.Blacksmithswereessentialtothelifeevery

communitybeforethecomingofmotorizedvehicles-andeven forsometimeaftercarsreplacedhorses.Blacksmithsandthose who worked with iron at small local forges shod horses, but they also fixed wagons and machinery. Many of these went on to becomethefirstgasolinestationsandgarages.Theblacksmiths repairedandbuiltanynumberofusefulhouseholdorwork relateditems.Welistonlyafewofthehundredsofsuchlocal forges/shops.Therearestillmanyblacksmithsworkinginthe area, which has in recent years become noted for its breeding

faun.

K-1 Bailey' s Forge, intersection of I-84 and NYS Route 52, State Marker Washington'ssword,nowintheSmithsonian,was forged herebyJohnBailey.

K-2Siteofwigg'sBlacksmithShop,AlbertsonStreet, HydeParkhamlet.DanielWiggalsosoldahorseliniment withclaimstocurejustabouteverythingfromcornsto boils. A photograph of the shop is found in Margaret Marquez' s book, Hyde Pcz7ik o# H#dso#, Arcadia, 1996.

K-3. Clinton Hollow Blacksmith Shop, corner CR 14 and School House Road, Town ofclinton. Leonard Tripp' s 1905 shop has been converted to a home, but interiorwallshavebeenrestoredtorevealtheoriginal heavilybracedtriangularframingwithholesforropesthat

permittedtheblacksmithtoliftheavywagonsforrepairs.

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t¥.r?-aeist,

K-4 Site of Swift and Lane Shop, eastside Routes 44/82 north of the light at Route 343, now Halcyon Village condominiums, village of Millbrook. This business moved from black smithing to hand -cast iron work, especially the manufacture of coffee

grinders. Business took a turn for the better and the shop was closed when the owners moved into Poughkeepsie and opened a larger factory. They were eventually producing machine built railroad cars on a site near the river west of Prospect Street about the time of the Civil War.

L. Photographers : We have included photography here, despite the lack of an explanatory article. Almost every yeczr Book since the first has benefitted from the work of talented photographersandtheSociety'scollectionisenrichedby thousands of examples. The early days of photography requiredmuchmoreofaphotographerthantoday'sinstant results for anyone who can shoot and point an electronic camera. The early photographers set up shots that often took considerable care and planning, getting people and animals to holdstillforlongperiodsandcarefulmanagementoflighting.

Theyalsodidtheirowndevelopingandmixedtheirown chemicals. We have chosen several based upon documentation in the DCHS collections and Margaret Marquez' s book on Hyde Park (see Blacksmiths K-2).

L-1 Margaret De Mott Brown home, 150 College Avenue, Arlington, Town of poughkeepsie. Her studio was at 8 Raymond Avenue, also in Arlington. Many of theimportantworksbynotedhistorianHelenWilkinson Reynolds from the 1920s to the 1940s are illustrated byBrown'sphotographs,anumberofwhichareinthe DCHS collections. One of the most beautiful, a shot of theWappinger'sCreekwasdoneforReynold's PougJtheepsie, The Origin and Meaning of the Word in 1924. It was reprinted in Po#gfekeepsz.e,

Half Way up the Hudson, Iayce C. Ghee a;nd loan 125

Spence, Arendiag 1997,

L-2Sitesofctmmereialphotographersincftyof PoughkeepsieonMainstreet:VailBrothersat254and 256 Main; C. H. Gallup at 292 and 294 Main Street. The Dutchesscountyllistoricalsocietyhasanumberofcivil WarphotographsbyvailBrothersofreturningveteransof the150thDutchessRegiment.C.H.Gallupspecializedin cartesdevisites,manyareinDCHScollection.

L-3Home/shapofchalessyivesterpiersaull,intersectionof WestMalketstreetandu.S.Route9,Hydepalchanlet.The under-appeciatedworkofthisdorityourselferhasbeendiscoveredinrecentyearsasthepiersaullcolleetioninthehandsofthe FDRLibrarygetsmoreandmoreuse.Piersaullwasbetterknown lcoallyasafishmongerandbicyclerepairman.Piersaull'shome andshaps(tinyfromecottageandtwastoreyfianecornmereial buildingwithtwostoreypereh)arefoundoneithersideofthe formerhotelbuildingatthesouthwestcomeroftheinterseetion.

Hsseusitiveportraitsandphotographsofthecommunitydoneat thetuniofthecenturyarebothuniquehistoricrecordandartful commerfu(Seehfaxpiez,BlacksmithsK-2)

126

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REMORIAM CLmFORD M. BuCK. Clifford Martin Buck was born on December 4, 1900 in the Town of LaGrange , son of vincent Morgan and Grace TenHagen Buck. He had three brothers, John Lossing Buck, Victor Morgan Buck and Paul T. Buck. h 1922, Clifford graduated from Comell.s School ofAgriculture and the following year, on March 1 he married Mildred Cole. Cljfford and Mildred raised five children-Shirley, Marjorie, Joyce, Evelyn and Vincent. Mildred died in 1955. After 25 ]/ears as a bachelor, Clifford surprised friends and family by returning from California married to Lenore Vincent Boyd, thereby gaining three stepchildren, Richard and Gary Boyd and Juanha Laplant. Fifteen grandchildren, 6 step grand children, 13 great-grandchildren, I step great-grandson and 2 great great-grandchiHren add to his surviving family.

Clifford began his Grange membership in 1923, the year he began farming Sky Vu Farm in Salt Point, New York and continued his affiliation long after he retired from farming in 1958. In addition to his farming, he worked as an insurance agent from 1945 to 1970. Years later, when talking about farming with William MCDermott, Clifford recalled that in the old days, the verge on rural roads was not mowed by state or county as it is today. It was each farmer.s reapousibility to mow the grass alongside the roads that bordered his land. While others may have used a scythe, Clifford beat the system by grazing his cows along the outside of his fence while he relaxed.

A member of the New York IIistorical Association, the Dutchess County IIistorical Society, the Pleasant Valley. East Fishkill and Clinton Comers historical societies and Dutchess County Genealogical Society, Clifford worked on many projects over the years that benefited these organizations to this day. He spent years transcribing tax and census data and his work as an historian and genealogist was meticulous. As serious as he was about research, he had a variety of other interests. He was a great storyteller, a fine photographer and loyal Comell alumnus.

With William MCDermott he compiled 7ife yi.#ceHf Fan#.fy ( 1959 ) and J8th Cenf#ry Doc#me#ts a/the JVI.#e Pdrtraers Pt]/ej7J, D#fchess Co"ty ,Ivy( 1979) His "Hiistory of the Dutchess County Fair" was published in r7!e D#rchas Coavzfy H].£forica/ Soc!.edy yearboofa 1984. With Justice Albert Rosenblatt, he searched for years for the grave of Melancton Smith who played a leading role in the ratification of the United States Constitution in Poughkeepsie in 1788. Clifford worked on several projects for the Dutchess County Genealogical Society, most notably the personal nanie index for James Smm's Hi.Sfory a/D2i/c:fers Co!f7rty. His research and publications are a legacy to students of local history and genealogy. His biography appeared in the fast edition of J"o § F7fao jzf Ge»caJog]; a72cJ Hcrt7Jdry in 1981.

On December 31,1998, Clifford M. Buck died at the Baptist Home in Rhinebeck, NY and is buried in the Pleasant Valley Cemetery.

Robin Walsh

130

IN MEMOH" HERBERT N. SALTFORD Herbert Saltford, fomer City of poughkeepsie Historian and Superintendent of parks was born on Angust 7,1911 in Pou9hkeepsie, New York, the son ofBeue Wetherbee Saltford, and N. Arthur Saltford cfty florist. He died on February 28, 1999.

Herb grew up surrounded by a family where a green thumb was common and where concern for one's feuow man was everyday practice. The Saltford men were au horticulturists and the women were civically active homemakers and working wives. Herb grew up , fterally in the midst of a successful family business. Fouowing graduation from Comen and marriage to Beatrice Auton in 1933, he entered the Saltford Florist business, continuing in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. From such a nourishing envirorment cane a man who lived his stewardsfty of the envirorment and who joyfully served the communfty, mating friends wherever he went. Those who knew bin well remend]er his gentleness, kindness, helpfulness and generosity.

He was a born storyteuer, perhaps a requirement of someone who came to be known as an historian. He also enjoyed being part of a project that was producing something useful. Herb participatedintheWomen'sIIistoryprojcotconductedbytheCountyDepartmentofHistoryin 1987 and was the only male on the steering cormittee. IHs courtliness, obvious reapect for fellow committee members' opinions and his pertinent stories of the accomplishaents of the women in liis life won hearts. He was a hard worker who took his assignments seriously and delivered what was promised in a tinely manner.

His communication skills made bin a successful businessrmn, as well as a successful whter and contributor to col]rmercial and special puuncatious.. He carried on voluminous correapondence withgenealogicalresearchersworldwideandgavefroelyofhistineandpersonalresearchtohelp those seeking local history information. He apread his givs widely in the communfty as a board member and officer of the Pougl]keepsie Rotary, Vassar Brothers Institute, the Old ladies Home, the Dutchess Courty Horticultural Society and as an active member of the Dutchess County Historical Society, the Poughkeapsie Area Chamber of commerce and civic and social organizations and government comittees too numerous to mention. As Superintendent of parks for the cfty, he left us a most precious and lasting gift of flowering trees throughout the city to replace the old, diseased elms of yesteryear.

Herb leaves a place that will be hard to fill.

Joyce C. Ghee.

131

Dutchess County Historical Society Officers and Trustees Lorraine Roberts, Prcsz.dc#f

Wappingers Falls, New York Anne Friedland, Vz.ce-P7tzsz.deft £

Poughkeepsie, New York Catherine Gerardi, Trgczs„rgr

Millbrook, New York Margaret Zamierowski, Secrc£¢ny

Hyde Park, New York 1997

Poughkeepsie, New York New York, New York Pleasant Valley, New York

Michael Englert E. Peter Krulewitch John A. Wolf 1998

Armon Adams Joyce Ghee Stephanie Mauri

Poughkeepsie, New York Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park, New York 1999

Sudhir Desai Susan Hochhauser Ray LaFever Carmen MCGill

Wappingers Falls, New York Poughkeepsie, New York Staatsburg, New York Poughkeepsie, New York 2000

Mark Adams Mary Parker Edward J. Shaughnessy

Poughkeepsie, New York Dover Plains, New York Millbrook, New York Poughkeepsie, New York

Rocco Staino

STAFF Eileen M. Hayden, Dz.7iccfor

Erica Blumenfeld, C#r#£or Merrllee Brown, Administrative Assistant Maryann Thompsett, Bockkeepcr

132

MunicipalELtoriausof Dutchess County cOuNTyHlsroRIAN Vacant

-I-RIANS Beacon,Joanvanvoorhis,1Municipalplaza,Beacon,NY12508 Poughkeepsie,MyraMorales,Box300,Poughkeepsie,NY12602

TOVI7NIIISTORIANS Amenia,KermethHoadley,Town,Hall,Amenia,NY12501 Beekman,VincentVail,TownHall,4Main,Poughquag,NY12570

Clinton,VlmanMCDemott,Tounllall,1375CenteRoad,Rhinebeck,NY12572 Dover, Edward Hogan, Town Hall, 126 East Duncan Hill Road, Dover Plains, NY 12522

EastFishREl,Everettllee,TownHall,370Route376,HopewellJunction,NY12533 Fishkill,Wmaskirmer,TounHall,401Route52,Fishkill,NY12524 Fishldllovillage),FkenHitt,91Mainstreet,Fishkill,NY12524

Hydepark,MargaretMarquez,TounHall,627AlbanypostRoad,Hydepark,NY 12538

haGrangqELilyJohnson,TownlHl,120StrinchamRoad,I.aGrangeville,NY12540 Mflan,Patrickffigfro,TownHall,Routel99,RedHook,NY12571 Mfllbrook,DavidGreenwood,TownHall,MerittAvenue,Millbrook,NY12545 Mmerton,Vacant

NorthEasbvacant Pawling,MymaHubertyTownHall,160CharlescolmanBlvd.,Pawhig,NY12564

Pineplains,Eizabethpotter,TounHall,Pineplals,NY12567 Plcasantvalley,OhiveDoty,TownHan,Route44,Pleasantvalley,NY12569 PouBhkeepsieoTown),JeanMurphy,Townllall,OverackerRoad,Ponghkeepsie, N¥i26es RedHcok,J.WinthropAldrich,TormHall,1095Broadway,RedHook,NY12571 Rhinebeckqown),NancyKelly,TownHall,80EastMarketsdeet,Rhinebeck,NY 12572

Rliinebeck(Vmage),Rhinebeckllistoricalscoiety,P.O.,Box291,Rhinebeck,NY 12572

Stanford,DorothyBurdick,TownHall,Route82,Stanfordviue,NY12581

Tivoli,RIchardwles,TounHall,96Broadway,Tivdi,NY12583 Uhionvale,JoannMiracco,2DuncanRoad,LaGrangevine,NY12540 Wappinger oTown), Brenda Von Berg, Town Ham, 20 Middlebush Road, WappingersFalls,NY12590

WappingersFalls(VIlage),VickiKolb,TownHall,2SouthAvenue,Wappingers Falls,NIi259O Washington,DavidGreenwoed,RRIJ3ox227,Millbrcok,NY12545

133

HISTORICAL SOCIETIES of DUTCHESS COUNTY P.O. Box 22

Pleasant Valley Historical Society

Amenia, NI 12501

P.O. Box 309

Amenia Historical Society

Pleasant Valley, NY 12569

Beacon Historical Society

Egbert Benson Historical Society of Red Hook

P.O. Box 89

Beacon, NI 12508

Bowdoin Park Historical and Archaeological Society 85 Sheafe Road Wappingers Falls, NY 12590

Clinton Historical Society Chiton Comers, NY 12514

The Town of Dover Historical Society Dover Plains, NY 12522

East Fishkill Historical Society P.O. Box 133

Fishkill, NY 12524

Hyde Park Historical Society P.O. Box 182

P.O. Box 1813

Red Hook, NY 12571

Rhinebeck Historical Society P.O. Box 191

ELebeck, NY 12572

Roosevelt/Vanderbilt Historical Association P.O. Box 235

Hyde Park, NY 12538

Stanford Historical Society Stanfordville, NY 12581

Union Vale Historical Society P.O. Box 100

Verbank, NY 12585

Hyde Park, NI 12538

Wappingers Historical Society

LaGrange Historical Society

Wappingers Falls, NY 12590

P.O. Box 112

LaGrangeville, NY 12540

Little Nine Partners Historical Society

P.O. Box 974

Washington Historical Society rmbrook, NI 12545

P.O. Box 243

Pine Plains, NY 12567

North East Historical Society Millerton, NI 12546

Historical Society of Quaker Hill and Pawling, Inc. P.O. Box 99

Pawthg, NI 12564

134

I;1`¥i+;!,I€3f-I

INDEX

Abbot, Robert, 35-38 Academy Street, 117

Biuings, A., 1 17 Blood, 34

Adans, Annon, 42

Bloom, Mr., 47

Adee, Hubby, 38 Adriance Library, 40, 1 17

Boidin8, TO, 1 1 1

Botsford, Shirley, 111 Bristow, Karen, 100 Bristow, Tim, 100 British Isles, 10

Adriance & Cook, 117 Adriance, Charles Platt,117 Adriance, John, 117 Agricultural Society,113 Ainsley, 54 Albany, NY, 14, 70 Albany Post Road, 14 Altonan, Briar, 122 Amenia, NY, 117 American House, 63

Brown, Margaret De Mott, 125 Buckeye Mower, 117

Buckinghan, IA, 99 Buckley, Dr. Bruce R., 7, 8 Buckley, Mona, 7 Buttonwood Cafe, 100

[inerica, 6, 75

Caire Pottery at Poughkeepsie, 123 California, 34 Canada, 34, 35

American Canoe Association, 100 American Needlework, 34. 39 American Colonies, 12 Anderson, Cathy,112 Anderson, School,116

Canon, Mr. Charles, 47 Carriage Ban, 99 i

#u]::#8Tesnc8::;:i:=;C±'e]dr°4ock,!i7` I

Case, Reverend Wheeler, 39 Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 19 Chadd's Ford, PA, 99 Chinese, 29

Bailey's Forge, 124 Ballard, Gertrude, 82, 83 Bard, Dr. John, 122 Bard, Dr. Samuel, 122 Bardavon, 42 Baz, Douglas, 7 Beadle, Anne, 33, 39 Beadle, John, 38, 39 Beadle, Sarah, 39 Bear, 34 Beekman,NY,36 Belgium, 82 Bentley Lane,115

Christie, Gillian, 100 Cifierris, 17, 19, 20, 29

Benton, 121

Colter, Mary, 59 CommissionforDetectingConspiracies in the State of New York,117

CityHall,NewYork,38 CivilWar,96 Clinton, NY, 116

ClintonHollowBlacksmithShop, 124

Clinton House, 121 Coffin, A. J., 43

College rm Park, 117 ColonialLifeStyleCommitteeofthe County Bicentennial Comhission, 109

Berge, Amold, 83 Berge, Otto, 62, 75, 76, 79, 85, 118

135

Congress, 123 Connecticut,17, 96

Dutchess County Department of History, 9

Cormecticut Courant, 35

Dutchess County Fair, 1 13 Dutchess County Historical Society,

Cook,Nancy,61,66-71,80,82,85 Coolidge, Mrs., 60

Cooperstown, NY, 7, 8 Comelius, C., 77 County of Dutchess [see Dutchess County] Craft, John,19

6-8, 33, 37, 39, 95,105,112

Dutchess County Historical Society ycczrbook, 33, 42,114,115

Dutchess Farmer, 43, 52 Dutchess Heritage Quilt Show, 92 Dutchess Refomi Church, 44-46, 50,

Creamer, George, 1 1 8 Cutten, 117 Czechoslovakia, 80

92

Eagle's History Of Poughkeepsie

from the Earliest Settl,emeuts Davids, George Washington, 43

1683-1905,55

DCHS, 125,126

Ecirly ALmerican Homes ,lob Endell Street Hospital, 67

Dean, Agnes, 35 Dean, Daniel, 36 Dean, Israel, 36, 38 Delaval Separator Company, 124 Delaware County,19

English,12,19 Erie Canal,18 Europe, 10, 11

DeReimer, Elsie,118,119 DeReimer, Peter, 118, 119

Devil's Half Acre, 15 Dickerman, Marion, 61, 66-68, 72, 85 Dietrich Estate, 1 1 6 Dog Tall Road, 95, 99 Don't Fence Me ln,1T2.

Dombush, Adrian, 62 .

Dover Plains, NY, 1 16, 1 18 Dover, NY, 118

Dows, 01in,122 Drake, Sir Francis, 33 Duff, David, 100 Duke of York,12 Dunbar, Michael,103 Dutch,10, 14 Dutchess Bicentennial quilt, 109 Dutchess Community College, 109,

FDR, 20, 66-68, 70, 84 Fiddler's Bridge,115 First Dutchess Quilters,107,109, 111,112

Fish, Hamilton, 62 Fishkill,NY,117

Folklore, 8 Folster, Ken,103,104,120

Forbus, John 8., 43 Fort Montgomery, 123 Franklin, Mary M., 32 Friends Quarterly Meeting, 36 Frisenda, Susan, 111

Gallery, 99 Galiup, c. H., 126 Gardenier, Edna, 112 Garrison,NY,60,61 112 General Gates, 38 Dutchess Community College Geological Map of the County,17 Foundation, 1 1 1 Germans, 10 Dutchess County, 6, 7,14,16,19, 21 Ghee, Joyce, 7,125 Dutchess County Court House, 36, Gift and Art Division of the Rush 37 TenninalBuilding,81,83

136

Ginble Brothers, 81 Glebe House, 106, 119, 120

Gordon, Michael D., 42 Grace Smith House, 110 Grand Canyon, AZ, 50 Great Chain, 123 Great Lakes, 34 Great Wooden Chair, 99 Greenwich House, 60 GreenwichVmage,73 Guthrie, W., 8

Hunt, Michael, 99 Hunt, Shelley M., 94, 97, 98,101 Hunt Country Furniture Inc., 98, 99 Huntington, NY, 99 Husted, Mrs. Albert, 37 Hyde Park On Hudson,124 Hyde Park Post Office, 122 HydePark,NY,15-17,60,68,74-76, 81, 83

Indian, 1 1 1

heland, 14

Harbeson, Ms. G. Brown, 34 Harlem Valley Pathways , 95 HarlemValley,NY,96 Harrison, Shelby M., 59 Hartford, CT, 36 Harvey, Fred, 60 Haviland, 87 Hawaii, 80 Hayes & Adriance,118 Hayes, Peter 8.,118 Hays, Peter P., 43 Henderson, Adam, 47, I 18 Henderson Bros., 47,118 Henderson, Mr. John, 48

HistoryofDutchesscounty,gn Holdridge, A., 50 Hoover, Mrs., 60 Hosack, Dr. David,122 Howe, Louis, 67 Hubbard, Norma, 109 Huben, Carl, 100 Hubert, Myna, 112 Hudson, NY, 20 Hudson Bay, 33 Hudson Highlands Gneiss Range, 17

Hudson River, 17, 96 Hudson Valley, 58, 60, 63, 69 Hunt, Andrew, 99 Hunt, Frederick, 99 Hunt, Julian, 97, 98 Hunt, Lockwood, 98 Hunt, Lynette, 99

hush, 10, 19, 73 Italians,18

Jefferson, Thomas, 69, 79 Johannesen, Hany, 75 Johannesen, Karl, 75 Johannesen, Nelly, 63, 75, 82, 86 Johannesen, Ray, 73 Johnson, Ehily, 61 Kansas City Star, The,110 Katonah, NY, 97 REley,EgbertB.,43

Kiner, Grace, 82 Ffrog George, 102 Ffing's Highway, 14

La Grange, NY, 15, 61

hadolfa, Frank, 73, 75, 76, 82, 118 LeagueofWomenVoters,67

iderman, loo Lewis, 8 Lewis, Ceciria, 37 Liberty Loan Drive, 67

Library of congress, 34 Lockswood, Mary Ann, 39 Lockwood Hunt Shop, 98 Lockwood, Jonathan, 39 Lockwood, Sally can, 39 I+ongHair,34 Longbards,19, 20 Lossing, Benson, 118 Louisiana Territory, 33

137

Ohio River, 34 0Iivet, 96 Oregon, 34 0sbom, Alice Dodge, 61 0sbom, William Church, 61 0sbome, Dr. Comelius,122 0sbome, Edward H., 43 0sbome, James,122 Otter, 34

Macumber, Louis, 73, 75, 77 Main Street, 44, 45, 50, 117 Martin, Karen,108 Mechanic, NY, 1 18

Mercer, Lucy, 66 Metropolitan Museum of Art, .59, 77 Middle Ages, 1 1

Meyers & Ainsley, 53 Millbrook,NY,20,28,31 Mills Restoration,19, 20

P. P. Hayes & Son, 43 Palatine Germans, 18

Mills Mansion,19,116

Mississippi, 34 Monroe, NY (Orange Co.), 50 Montgomery, 123 Monticello, 79

Pawling, NY, I 1 1 Pearce, Benoni, 111 Pelitic Rock, 17

Morris, william, 60

Piersaull, Charles Sylvester, 126 PleasantValleyHistoricalSociety,40 PleasantValley,NY,36 Pleasant Valley Library, 35, 36 Pleasant Valley Manufactory, 38 PleasantValleySchool,121

Peny,NY,29

Mt. Gulian, 105 National Quilting Assoc.,110,112

Natural History Survey of New yorfe,17

Natural History Museum, Buffalo, NY, 80 Nelson, Ginger, 100 New Albion, 33, 34 New Bedford, MA, 34 New Deal, 69, 75, 84, 86 New England, 19 New York City, 14, 37, 73, 76, 80, 81

New York State, 6 NewYorkStateLibrary,7 NewYorkTianes,The,81 Newburgh, NY, 53 Nine Partners Lane, 116 Nine Partners Patent, 1 18 Nine Partners School, 37 Nolan, Barbara, 108 Norman Kill, 17 North America, 33 NorthCarolina,71 Norwegian, 73, 74

NISCA,7 Ohio Star, 108

PoliticalBarometer,35,3] Poughkeepsie Dally Press, 43 Poughkeepsie Eagle , 43-54.

Pouglckeepsie, Halfuiay Up the Hudson,95 Poughkeepsie Journal, 35 Poughkeepsie, NY, City of, 74, 105 Poughkeepsie, NY, Town of, 1 16 Poughkeepsie Post Office, 20 Poughquag Quartzite Range, 17 Presbyterians, 39 Preston, 97 PutnanCo.,NY,61 Quaker, 35-38 Queen Anne, 1 8 Quilting Quarterly,111 Quitman House,105 Raymond Avenue, 1 16, 1 18

Razz, Hinegard, 108 RedHOok,Ny,3i Red Cross, 66

138

Reynolds, Helen Wilkinson, 125 Rhinebeck Craft Show,105,113 Rhinebeck Fall Festival, 113 Rhinebeck, NY, 105, 117 RInaldi, Tom, 36 RipVanWinkle,51 Rober[s, Wendy, 100 Rombout-Beekman Patent, 15 Roosevelt, Eleanor, 58, 60-64, 66-69, 72-74, 81, 83, 86

Roosevelt, Elliot, 69 Roosevelt House, 80 Roosevelt Library, 61, 65,126

Rose rm, 38 Roundout Freeman, 53 Rogers, Roy, 8 Russell Sage Foundation, 59, 64 Sacco, Joseph, 20 SantaFeRailway,60 Schwartz, Morris, 75, 77 Scotch-hish,18 Scotland,110 Scots,18 Seeger, P., 8

Shelboume Museum, 61 Shipley, Ann, 35 Shipley, Maurice, 36 Shipley, Phoebe, 35 Shipyard Point, 123 Sing Sing Repubtican, 53 sinpiicity, I 12 Sketchley, James, 121 Sketchley's Boarding School, 121 Smith, Clifford, 83 Smith, James H., 37 Smith, Tmothy, 19 SIIiithsonian, 1 1 1

Snake, 34 Soldiers Monument, 49 South Salem, NY, 34 Southern Highlands, 58 St. Lawrence River, 34 Stanford, NY, 19 Steuding, Fred, 19

Stevens, George, 44 Stone Wall, Inventory of the Town of Hyde Park,17 Stoutenburgh, Wimam, 118 Stringham Road Middle School, 107 Stump, Robert, loo Sunne, 62 Swift & Lane Shop, 125

Taconic Parkway System, 97 Ten Mile RIver, 95, 96, 98 Tennessee, 33 Teny,Willian,118 Texas, 12 Textile Conservation Workshop, 34, 39

This I Remember, 68 Todhunter School, 61, 72 Toombs, Henry Johnston, 69, 77 Tlouring Old Pleasant Valley. 9] Townsend, Ann, 37 Tregaskis, Fred, 99 Tripp, Leonard, 124

tnster County, 16 Union Store Landing, 117

United States of America, 8, 63, 73

University of vngihia, 97 Val Brothers, 126 val-Kill,58,60,63,64,66-71,74-78, 80-83

Val-Fffll Industries, 58, 70, 72, 81, 84, 86,118

val-Kffl ho, 85 Val-FfflTeaRoom,82 Van Benthuysen, 42 VanVlet,a.C.,43 Van Vliet, Ama Maria, 39 Van Wyck, Comelia, 110 VanWyck,Edmund,118 Vanderbilt Lane, 17 Vassar College, 52, 58, 102 Vassar Brewery, 1 23 VassarJr.,M.,49

139

Vcr Noy, Amy, 117 Villa.geofpoughkeep§ieMinHtes

Yonkers Gazette, 52 YQung Fqri'ners Manual. Z5

and FjnaHg!al R§§grds, 43

ZirmerBrothers,42,1]7 Wales, 34, 35, 110 Wappingers Creek.121

Wappinger Group,17 Ward, Daniel, 39 Ward, John, 30 Ward, Joshua, 38 Ward, Mary, 39 Ward, Sara, 39 Warm Springs, GA, 79, 80 Washington, George, 15 Washington Street, 44 WebatuckCraftVIllage,95 Webatuck Trading Company, 95 Webatuck, NY, 99 Webb, Aileen Osbom, 61 -63, 65 Webb, Vanderbilt, 61 Weld, Issac, 11 Welsh, 1 8

Western Territory, 33, 34 Vtheeler, 96 White House, The, 79, 80, 83, 86 VThittaker, Stacy,110,112

Wigg, Daniel,124 Wigg's Blacksmith Shop, 124 Willig, Stanley,19

wilson, Mrs., 60 Wilton, CT, 99 Windsor, 104,105

Wingdale, NY, 97 Wintertlour Guide to American Needlework,3n Women's Division of the New York Democratic Committee, 80 Women's Trade Union League, 80 Woodstock, NY, 96 VVIIA, 62

Wright, Emily, 61

WW I, 66 Yankees, 10

Yonkers, 52

140

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