Goin' to Town...A Celebration of the Woodstock Village
2023-08-05 - 2023-09-17 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
The Historical Society of Woodstock announces the opening of a new exhibition
Goin’ to Town… a Celebration of the Woodstock Village
Saturdays & Sundays, August 5 through September 17, 1–5 p.m.
Opening reception
Saturday, August 5, 3–5 p.m.
20 Comeau Drive Woodstock, N.Y.
Admission: Free
The Historical Society of Woodstock announces the opening of a new exhibition Goin’ to Town…a Celebration of the Woodstock Village on Saturday August 5, 2023, at 20 Comeau Drive Woodstock, N.Y. with an opening reception on August 5 at 3 pm. The exhibition includes images and reminiscences of Woodstock’s Town Center from the 1800s to present times. The exhibition will run through September 17, and is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 pm to 5 pm. Admission is free.
“I’m goin’ to town.” For generations Woodstockers from all over the township have said these words as they set off by foot, horseback, wagon, bike, or car…to the Woodstock Village…for supplies, for work, for entertainment, to worship, to watch a parade, to protest, to trick or treat, to wait for Santa. Woodstock’s original Town Center was located at the intersection of what is now Route 212 and Mink Hollow Rd. in Lake Hill. By 1805 this hub of activity had relocated itself to its present site. At that time “town” was made up of a store, a church, several taverns, and small farms. This exhibition will celebrate the Town Center, so vibrant and well-loved.

Arriving at Rose’s Store on Tinker Street – circa, 1900. (Historical Society of Woodstock Archives/Town Center Collection)

On Mill Hill Road – circa, 1970. (Historical Society of Woodstock Archives/Town Center Collection)

Also open to visitors is the new permanent exhibit Remembering Woodstock and the newly renovated The Tool Shed.
The Historical Society of Woodstock is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 and admission is free.

Woodstock Meets the Sixties with historian Richard Heppner
2023-09-16 15:00 (America/New_York)
Saturday, September 16, 3 p.m.
Admission: Free
On Saturday, September 16 at 3:00 p.m., the Historical Society of Woodstock will present a talk by Woodstock Town Historian Richard Heppner titled Woodstock Meets the Sixties. Heppner, who has written extensively on Woodstock history, will discuss how, at the time, a decidedly conservative town “greeted” an influx of young people as Woodstock became a beacon for those seeking music, magic, and freedom. It wasn’t always pretty.
From the early 1960s, through a good part of the 1970s, official Woodstock and many of its townspeople weren’t always pleased with the new arrivals as the town confronted differing lifestyles, issues of drug use, nude swimming, trespassing, and varying political and philosophical beliefs. Through his talk, Heppner will highlight the impact and evolution of changing times in Woodstock as the name of a small town at the base of Overlook Mountain became linked to an entire generation.

The Historical Society of Woodstock is located at 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock. Admission to this talk is free and it is presented in conjunction with the final weekend of the Historical Society’s summer exhibit, Goin’ to Town–a Celebration of the Woodstock Village.
The Historical Society of Woodstock was founded in 1929 by a group of artists, writers, academics, and local citizens. In addition to the exhibition space, which is located at the historic Eames House on Comeau Drive in the center of Woodstock, the Historical Society has an extensive archive consisting of paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, textiles, photographs, books, manuscripts, correspondence, documents, film/sound recordings, and antique tools. The archive serves as a resource for a wide range of exhibitions, public programming, and research.
