HIstorical Society of Woodstock

Head Back to a Different Time - Debut of Video "Vanishing Village"
2025-11-01 15:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | PA
The Historical Society of Woodstock is pleased to present the debut of the short video Vanishing Village, narrated by Lewis Arlt and co-produced by Janine Fallon Mower and Richard Heppner.
Saturday, November 1, 2025, at 3 p.m., at the Historical Society’s Eames Museum at 20 Comeau Drive in Woodstock, N.Y.
The suggested donation for the event is $20.00 per person (which will include a copy of Will Rose’s book The Vanishing Village).

(Note: Due to limited parking, if able, please park in the Lower Comeau parking lot and take the path at the end of the lot to the Historical Society. Accessible parking is available at the museum.)

Tribute to Happy Traum
2025-10-30 19:00 - 22:00 | Colony, 22 Rock City Road, Woodstock, NY, 12409, United States
Come pay tribute to Happy Traum and show support to the Woodstock Historical Society on Thursday, Oct 30th!

at Colony
22 Rock City RoadWoodstock, NY 12498
Tickets $20.00 in Advance$25.00 at the Door(Plus Service Fee)

BUY TICKET

This great evening of music will feature:
John Sebastian
Jay Ungar and Molly Mason
Cindy Cashdollar
Scott Petito
Leslie Ritter
Ed Sanders (The Fugs)
Michael Veitch
Brian Hollander
Eugene Ruffolo
Tony Trischka
Marc Black
and Adam Traum on guitar

This Tribute to Happy Traum will also be a benefit to help outfit the important new Archive building at the Woodstock Historical Society, which will help preserve the valuable historical records and relics (on such themes as the History of Music and Music Performance in Woodstock)

Exhibit Talk and Discussion for: It Was Fifty Years Ago Today
2025-10-12 15:00 - 16:00 | PA
1970’s Woodstock Through the Lens – Sunday October 12

This coming Sunday – October 12 – join Karyn Bevet, curator of HSW’s Fall exhibit, It Was Fifty Years Ago Today – 1970’s Woodstock Through the Lens, in a discussion about the exhibit and Woodstock’s rock and rolling decade of change.
Karyn will be joined in discussion by Town Historian, Richard Heppner. Bring your memories to share.
The talk will begin at 3:00 p.m. and admission is free.
The Historical Society is located at 20 Comeau Drive in Woodstock.

(Note: Due to limited parking, if able, please park in the Lower Comeau parking lot and take the path at the end of the lot to the Historical Society. Accessible parking is available at the museum.)

Wine Tasting Fundraiser for Research and Archives Building
2025-10-04 16:00 - 19:00 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
(Tickets at the door still available)
Come Celebrate with Us
Historical Society of Woodstock
Wine Tasting Fundraiser
20 Comeau Drive
Woodstock NY

Music by Abby Newton and Selma Kaplan
Featuring wine specialist Nathaniel Livings-Miller

Advance tickets $65.00 each (see booking below)
Advance tickets also available on weekends 1-5 PM at Historical Society museum
$75.00 at the door
20 Comeau Drive Woodstock NY
For further info email info@historicalsocietyofwoodstock.org

End of Season Yard Sale Fundraiser
2025-09-26 09:00 - 2025-09-27 15:00 | PA
Dates: Friday, September 26 & Saturday, September 27
Times: 9 AM to 3 PM
Location: Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Dr., Woodstock NY 12498
Admission: Free

The Historical Society of Woodstock is pleased to announce its end of season yard sale, a fundraiser for the HSW. Community members have generously gone into attics, barns, and cellars and have donated wonderful items to the sale. Vi
ntage items, jewelry, furniture, artwork, household, and more are featured. All proceeds benefit the Historical Society of Woodstock.
The sale will take place at the Historical Society of Woodstock’s Eames House, located at 20 Comeau Drive in Woodstock, on Friday and Saturday September 26 and 27 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Admission is free.
The event will also include a bake sale, an assortment of tasty baked goods from Woodstock’s best kitchens.

“It Was Fifty Years Ago Today” 1970's Woodstock Through the Lens
2025-09-20 13:00 - 2025-11-02 17:00 | PA
Opening In September
“It Was Fifty Years Ago Today”– 1970’s Woodstock Through the Lens –
A Photographic Essayby Karyn (Provenzano) Bevet
HSW is pleased to announce, beginning in September, a new exhibit looking back at Woodstock as it moved through the post-festival years.
The exhibit, “It Was Fifty Years Ago Today,” will kick-off with an opening reception on
Friday September 19th from 6:30 – 8:30.

Photographer and HSW Board member Karyn (Provenzano) Bevet arrived in Woodstock in 1969. This exhibition of her photographs chronicles her experiences – and the people she met along the way – during Woodstock’s rock and rolling decade of change.

Curator's Talk
2025-08-30 14:00 - 16:00 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Exhibition curator Bruce Weber will host a second gallery talk on Saturday August 30th at 2:00 p.m.
Dr. Weber also authored the exhibition catalogue featuring a brief essay on the subjects and biographies of all the artists.
The catalogue is on sale in HSW’s giftshop.

Panel Discussion On Making Her Mark
2025-08-09 14:00 - 2025-08-24 16:00 | PA
Panel Discussion onMaking Her MarK:
50 Women Artists of the Historic Woodstock Art Colony
The Historical Society of Woodstock presents a panel discussion on our current exhibition, Making Her Mark: 50 Women Artists of the Historic Woodstock Art Colony, on Saturday, August 9, 2025, at 2:00 p.m., at 20 Comeau Drive in Woodstock, N.Y. The panel, moderated by Deborah Heppner of the Board of Directors of the Historical Society, will feature Karen King, Melinda Rohland Meister, Jenne Currie, and Paula Nelson, all of whom have deep connections to artists represented in the exhibition. Admission is free.

Karen King, a long-time visitor and current resident of Woodstock, first visited the area in 1980 with her husband Jason King. Jason is the great-grandson of Florence Ballin Cramer and Konrad Cramer. They live in the farmhouse that they purchased in 1923. Florence and Konrad left behind a wealth of information about their lives, so it’s been interesting wading through all this information. Some of her interests include genealogy, house history research and learning about Woodstock’s history. Prior to moving to Woodstock, she enjoyed a career as a counselor and academic advisor at a community college in Maryland.

Melinda Rohland Meister holds two degrees in English literature, a University of Maryland BA and a University of Chicago, MA. She is author of two monographs and catalogue raisonnés on Woodstock artists Paul Rohland and Caroline Speare Rohland: Paul Herman Rohland, Woodstock Artist, and Caroline Speare Rohland, A Bohemian Bostonian 1885–1964. She is a grandniece of the artists. Prior to her research on the Rohlands, other than art reference entries, little was known about them. Encouraged by Bruce Weber and author Avis Berman, she pieced together family stories, auction records, images, exhibition records, letters, and newspaper articles, creating detailed narratives for these 20th century Modernists. She has made the monographs available to all institutions and museums interested in or housing their works. After six years in New York, Meister and her family spent ten years in Latin America. On her return to New Jersey in 1981, she began non-profit work in the arts and historic preservation. She is presently serving on boards for the National Society of Colonial Dames of America.

Jenne Currie is the daughter of longtime Woodstock artists Bruce Currie and Ethel Magafan and an artist in her own right. After living a bohemian lifestyle in New York City for 35 years, she settled back in Woodstock in 2011. In 2023, Jenne was invited to have a two person exhibition in Venice, Italy at the Castello 925 Gallery. She has exhibited widely in prestigious New York City venues such as Salander O’Reilly Gallery, Seligmann Galleries, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, as well as institutions such as the Schenectady Museum, Munson Williams Proctor Institute, Columbus Museum in Ohio, Silvermine Guild in New Canaan, Connecticut and Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Jenne is a multidisciplinary artist who works with welded steel, wooden wall constructions, mixed media, collage and painting. She is currently an instructor at the Woodstock School of Art.

Paula Nelson is an artist who has lived in Woodstock since 1966, having studied with Robert Angeloch at the Art Students League Summer School. She eventually became the League’s Registrar and subsequently worked with Angeloch and others to form the Woodstock School of Art. Nelson held key positions at the WSA – serving as its first Vice-president and Registrar, and later Executive Director and President. Nelson has been an Active Member of the Woodstock Artists Association since 1968, and for six years the resident director of WAA’s Jane Burr House. Throughout her years of involvement with Woodstock’s art community, Nelson continued her own studio work in oil, watercolor, etching, lithography and block printing. She received various honors including the Yasuo Kuniyoshi Award and the Sally Jacobs/Phoebe Towbin Award, and has juried and curated exhibitions throughout her career.

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.

HSofW Cleans Out It's Attic
2025-07-18 09:00 - 15:00 | PA
The Historical Society of Woodstock is pleased to announce its annual yard sale, a fundraiser for the HSW.
Community members have generously gone into attics, barns, and cellars and have donated wonderful items to the sale. Household items, tools, jewelry, toys, artwork, vintage treasures, and more are featured. All proceeds benefit the Historical Society of Woodstock.
The sale will take place at the Historical Society of Woodstock’s Eames House, located at 20 Comeau Drive in Woodstock, on Friday and Saturday July 18 and 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Admission is free.
On Saturday July 19th, the event will also include a Yummy Bake Sale, an assortment of treats from Woodstock’s best kitchens.

Making Her Mark:50 Women Artists Of The Historic Woodstock Art Colony
2025-07-12 - 2025-09-07 | PA
Saturdays & Sundays, July 12 through September 7, 1–5 p.m.

Admission: Free

Curated by Bruce Weber, historian of American art and board member of the Historical Society, Making Her Mark celebrates the work of 50 women artists who were active in the historic Woodstock art colony. The paintings, drawings and prints are drawn from the permanent collection of the Historical Society of Woodstock. The display ranges from women who arrived during the first decades of the 20th century as students at the Art Student League’s Woodstock School of Landscape Painting to those who came in the wake of the end of the Second World War through the 1970s. In style the pictures range from the Tonalist aesthetic promulgated by the League’s first school here from 1906 to 1922, to the diverse landscape, figurative and abstract styles that evolved around the time of the League’s return in 1947 through their departure in 1979, and into the 1980s.
Exhibition curator Bruce Weber authored the exhibition catalogue which features a brief essay on the subject and biographies of all the artists. He will be giving gallery talks on the exhibition at 2 p.m. on Sunday July 20th and Saturday August 30th. On Saturday August 9th at 2 p.m. the panel discussion “Women Speaking About Women Artists of the Historic Woodstock Art Colony,” will also take place at the Historical Society. The moderator for the panel is Deborah Heppner. Panelists include Jenne Currie (daughter of Ethel Magafan), Melinda Rohland Meister (great niece of Caroline Speare Rohland), Karen King (great granddaughter through marriage of Florence Ballin Cramer), and Paula Nelson (artist and friend of Mara Angeloch, Nancy Summers and others).

Doris Lee, “Untiltled”

Georgina Klitgaard, “Village Church”

Marion Greenwood, “Black Man”

The group of women artists represented in this exhibition who arrived in the first two decades of the twentieth century include Josephine Barnard, Marion Bullard, Florence Ballin Cramer, Dorothy Greenwood Ives, Ilonka Karasz, Julia Leaycraft, Hester Miller Murray, Pamela Hart Vinton Brown Ravenal, Caroline Speare Rohland, Zulma Steele, Eva Watson-Schutze, and Elizabeth Bush Woiceske. In the 1920s and 1930s the arrivals include Peggy Bacon, Agnes Baskin Bierhals, Lucille Blanch, Reeves Brace, Jo Cantine, Gwen Davies, Mary Earley, Aline Fruhauf, Eugenie Gershoy, Grace Greenwood, Marion Greenwood, Rosella Hartman, Wilna Hervey, Florence Tuttle Hubbard, Jane Jones, Georgina Klitgaard, Doris Lee, Martha Levy, Nan Mason, Eugenie McEvoy, Mary Dufresne Smith, Dorothy Varian, Margaret Chapin Wetterau, and Madeline Schiff Wiltz. Arrivals in the period from the 1940s through the 1970s include Mara Angeloch, Louise Brokenshaw, Helen Gerardia, Carolyn Haberlin, Agnes Hart, Eleanor Lockspeiser, Ethel Magafan, Sally Michel, Norma Morgan, Barbara Neustadt, Altha Spalding Odell, Nancy Summers, Jean Wrolsen, and the recently deceased Beryl Goss. A flock of New York City public school teachers spent summers in Woodstock, including Florence Tuttle Hubbard who arrived in the early 1920s. Following World War II, Odell taught art at high schools in Saugerties and Kingston.

Book Signing And Talk by Joanne B. Mulcahy
2025-05-03 14:00 - 16:00 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Marion Greenwood:
Portrait And Self-Portrait—A Biography
by Joanne B. Mulcahy

Date: Saturday, May 3, 2 pm
Admission: Free
(Note that parking is limited at the Historical Society; please park in the lower Comeau parking lot)
The Historical Society of Woodstock will host a talk, photo presentation, and book signing by author Joanne B. Mulcahy for her newly-published book Marion Greenwood: Portrait and Self-Portrait—A Biography on Saturday, May 3 at 2:00 pm at the Historical Society’s Eames House Museum at 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock NY. Admission is free.
Based on a decade of research, Mulcahy’s book explores the life of this Brooklyn-born artist celebrated in the mid-twentieth century for her murals, easel portraits, and lithographs. Greenwood thrived at the Art Students League in New York City, in the studio of German modernist Winold Reiss at Yaddo, and at other storied institutions. From the age of fourteen, she spent part of every year in Woodstock, splitting the time with her studio in New York City. The Maverick Festival and Woodstock’s art scene were central to her development.

In 1933, Greenwood catapulted to international fame as the first woman to paint a public mural in Mexico. Diego Rivera celebrated the then 24-year-old artist as one of “the world’s greatest living women mural painters.” She traveled the globe to create award-winning portraits of people from diverse backgrounds, crossing racial, cultural, and class lines. An early feminist, Greenwood was one of only two women war artist-correspondents during World War II and advocated for the inclusion of other women.
After social realism and portraiture fell from favor, Greenwood doggedly stuck with what she called “the human thing” in art. Her freewheeling romantic life and independent spirit defied expectations for women, and she dismissed sexist critics who mixed acclaim for her work with commentary on her stunning beauty. In following Greenwood’s maverick path and artistic achievements, Mulcahy argues for her place in the pantheon of history’s remarkable women artists.

Joanne B. Mulcahy is the author of Remedios: The Healing Life of Eva Castellanoz and Birth and Rebirth on an Alaskan Island: The Life of an Alutiiq Healer and coauthor of Writing Abroad: A Guide for Travelers. Her award-winning essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. For over thirty years, she taught creative nonfiction at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. She’s also taught in prisons, libraries, and other community settings in the US and overseas. She lives with her husband in Portland, Oregon and Pátzcuaro, Mexico.

HSW’s Holiday Market Fair - Final Weekend
2024-12-14 - 2024-12-15 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Shop local crafts and jewelry, holiday cards, local history books, original artwork, Sixties memorabilia, delectable treats, handknit items and more.
Special This Weekend:

This year we have brought back our Woodstock cookbook, The Cookie Collection. Now on sale, this updated edition is dedicated in memory of longtime Society Board members, Kathy Anderson and Jean White.

Book Signing, Saturday from 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. Woodstock – From World War to Culture Wars, with Woodstock town historian, Richard Heppner.

Silent Art Auction – Two works of art by award winning artists, Calvin Grimm and Eileen Power. Open for bidding both Saturday and Sunday.

As always, delicious spiced cider, treats and fresh holly and greens are our holiday gifts to all shoppers

We wish everyone the best of holidays and thank you for your support of the Historical Society of Woodstock.

HSW Holiday Market Fair - Dec 6-8
2024-12-06 - 2024-12-08 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
The Historical Society of Woodstock, located at 20 Comeau Drive in Woodstock, is pleased to announce its annual Holiday Market Fair.
Beginning Friday December 6, from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m., and continuing Saturdays and Sundays, December 7, 8, 14, and 15 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day.
Shop local crafts, holiday cards, local books, original artwork, delectable treats, handknit items and more.
Our Historical Society Bakers are busy at work preparing for our ever-popular cookie tins. This year we are also bringing back our Woodstock cookbook, The Cookie Collection. This updated edition is dedicated in memory of longtime Society Board members, Kathy Anderson and Jean White. As always, delicious, spiced cider, treats and fresh holly and greens are our holiday gifts to all shoppers.

Book Signing and Talk: Woodstock – From World War to Culture Wars
2024-10-13 15:00 - 16:00 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Book Signing and Talk for New Book:
Woodstock – From World War to Culture Wars,
by Richard Heppner
On Sunday October 13, at 3:00 p.m., the Historical Society of Woodstock will host a book signing and talk by Woodstock Town Historian, Richard Heppner for his new book, Woodstock – From World War to Culture Wars. Published by SUNY Press, Woodstock – From World War to Culture Wars explores the uncommon history of a small town in the shadow of Overlook Mountain as it moved through major changes during the twentieth century.
Few towns in America are as famous as Woodstock, New York—although Woodstock may be most famous for an event that happened many miles away! Long before the 1969 Woodstock festival put the town on the map, it had been a center for artists and free thinkers who found refuge in its rural setting. Longtime citizens were often shocked by the arrival of these newcomers who brought new values and attitudes to their once-isolated village. From the transformative arrival of artists in the early twentieth century to the influx of musicians and young people in the 1960s, Woodstockers worked and struggled to balance everyday life in a small, rural community with the attention and notoriety the outside world brought to it. Presented chronologically, this text examines the nature of change within Woodstock’s uncommon story as it emerges from the Great Depression, confronts the realty of World War II, moves through the 1950s and into an unimagined and unintended future with the arrival of the Sixties through today. At its core, this is a story of how Woodstock’s cultural and political institutions, its citizens, and its physical landscape met the ever-changing challenges of changing times. It is a story of community, resilience, conflict, and transition into a world its early settlers could not have imagined.

Richard Heppner is Emeritus Professor of Communications and the former Vice President of Academic Affairs at Orange County Community College, State University of New York, and has served as the Woodstock Town Historian since 2001. He is the author of Woodstock’s Infamous Murder Trial: Early Racial Injustice in Upstate New York and coauthor (with Janine Fallon-Mower) of Legendary Locals of Woodstock.

Exhibition Walk-Through With Curator Joann Margolis
2024-10-05 16:00 - 17:00 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
The Historical Society of Woodstock will present a walk-through of the current exhibition, Woodstock Village: The Evolution, with curator JoAnn Margolis on October 5th at 4:00 pm. The talk will be held at the Historical Society’s Eames House Museum at 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock NY. Admission is free.
An overview of the exhibit, how it came to be, and what it represents will be discussed, along with how the business district in Woodstock has evolved overtime. Many buildings remain relatively unchanged, others are gone, and some transformed. Woodstock has changed and evolved dramatically over time, but the business district has been the center of commercial, social and cultural life in the village for over 200 years. If buildings could talk, what tales would they tell?

JoAnn Margolis holds a Master’s in Library Science from the State University of New York at Albany and a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Wilkes University. She has done postgraduate work at Temple and Columbia Universities and has attended many archive workshops. She retired as a School Library Media Specialist at Woodstock Elementary School and previously was a teacher and librarian at the Bennett School in Boiceville. In between her two stints with the Onteora School District, she was a jeweler and co-owner of “The Jewelry Store” in Woodstock.
Her strong commitment to the Woodstock community includes serving on the executive boards of the Woodstock Public Library, the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce and Arts, the Woodstock PTA, the Historical Society of Woodstock, as well as organizing many town-wide events. She received the 2024 Alf Evers Award for her many years of volunteer service in the Town of Woodstock. JoAnn was the HSW archivist for over 20 years and a long-time board member until 2021. JoAnn curated several HSW exhibits and coordinated local history projects with students in area schools.

Architecture and Woodstock
2024-09-21 16:00 - 17:00 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
On Saturday September 21, the Historical Society of Woodstock will host
a talk by Architect, Barry Price,
speaking on the topic, “Architecture and Woodstock.”
Admission is free.
Barry Price is an Architect, designing homes and structures in and around the Hudson Valley. He takes inspiration from the beauty of the landscape, from its vernacular building forms and the colors and textures of the forests and mountains. His intentions are to elevate his structures from buildings to works of Architecture, integrating modern-vernacular form with high-performance building techniques and regional materials.
Barry Price attended Lehigh University, the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in NYC, and obtained a Master of Architecture with distinction at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
Barry has won a series of residential design awards over the years. With experience as an adjunct Professor in Architectural Design, he is often called upon to teach or act as guest critic at graduate school programs.
Barry Price is a Certified Passive House Designer, NCARB Certified and Licensed Architect and a member of the American Institute of Architect. He lives in Bearsville with his wife, April Traum, and has two grown children living in New York City.

On that same day, from 2:00-4:00 p.m., the Historical Society will also be holding a “History Harvest.”
In an effort to add to the Society’s archives, if you have a unique photo of Woodstock, its buildings, an event, or a memory of another time, bring it to the Historical Society that day and it will be scanned, returned to you and the scan will be added to the Society’s collection.

Mystery In The Woodstock Speakeasy - Sept 15
2024-09-15 17:00 - 19:00 | Mescal Hornbeck Community Center, 56 Rock City Rd., Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Book a Ticket

It’s 1929 and Hudson Valley based bootlegger Dutch Schultz wants to open a speakeasy in the Woodstock Valley Hotel. The club will give Dutch’s new girlfriend, Lu Lu, a classy place to sing her songs. Unfortunately, local flapper Rosie doesn’t like competition and neither does Dutch's rival, Legs Diamond.
Sergeant Lance Boyle, a local cop who works both sides of the law, is the club’s greeter and bouncer. Looking over his shoulder is Needles, a longtime associate of Dutch’s, who is on hand to emcee the entertainment portion of the evening.
You’ll swoon to the best of the Jazz Age as long as the temperance union and a rival bootlegger and gangster don’t rain on Dutch’s opening night. But before Lu Lu sings her second song, tempers flare, bullets rain and a masked gunman bursts upon the scene. At least one body will fall and it doesn’t look like the Charleston did it.
Enjoy the roar of the 1920's as you keep track of the clues and guess whodunit. You could win a prize!

September 14th at 7:00 pm
September 15th at 5:00 pm
Mescal Hornbeck Community Center
56 Rock City Rd., Woodstock, NY

Tickets:
$18 in advance (scroll down to buy ticket)
$20 at the door
Appetizers and desserts will be available.

Celebrating its 26th year in business, Theatre on the Road is owned and operated by Frank and Kirsten Marquette of Rosendale, New York. For more information visit www.theatreontheroad.com
.

Mystery In The Woodstock Speakeasy - Sept 14
2024-09-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Mescal Hornbeck Community Center, 56 Rock City Rd., Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States

Author’s Talk: In Defiance – Runaways from Slavery in New York’s Hudson Valley
2024-09-07 15:00 - 17:00 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
by Susan Stessin-Cohn and Ashley Hurlburt-Biagini
The Historical Society of Woodstock Presents author Susan Stessin-Cohn for a talk on the second edition of her book, In Defiance: Runaways from Slavery in New York’s Hudson River Valley 1735-1831
On Saturday September 7 at 3:00 p.m., the Historical Society of Woodstock will present a talk by Susan Stessin-Cohn on her newest research and second edition of the publication, In Defiance: Runaways from Slavery in New York’s Hudson River Valley 1735-1831.
In recent years, historians and researchers have taken a closer look at New York’s complicity in the “peculiar institution” of slavery. One of the books that helped shed more light on this tragic subject was the 2016 publication of In Defiance: Runaways from Slavery in New York’s Hudson River Valley, 1735–1831. The core of that book by Hudson Valley historical researchers, Susan Stessin-Cohn and Ashley Hurlburt-Biagini, was the reproduction and transcriptions of hundreds of 18th and 19th-century newspapers notices offering rewards for the return of enslaved persons who had escaped their enslavers and become “runaways.” Continuing their research, Stessin-Cohn and Hurlburt-Biagini discovered more than 250 additional runaway notices that prompted them to rewrite and greatly expand In Defiance in this newly released Second Edition.
Most enslaved persons held in the Hudson River Valley lived and worked and died and left behind no historical record—no birth certificates, no marriage records, no death certificates, unmarked graves. But In Defiance rescues over 900 of those individuals from obscurity because they decided to free themselves; when their enslavers placed notices in local and New York City newspapers offering rewards for their return, they not only gave identity to some of the enslaved people, but also unwittingly indicted themselves before the bar of historical judgment. Surnames synonymous with Hudson Valley history—names like Schuyler, Van Rensselaer, Beekman, Rockefeller, Van Cortlandt, Van Buren, Livingston—appear throughout the book as the authors of the notices advertising rewards for the return of their enslaved “property.”
The result of 17 years of research on behalf of Stessin-Cohn and Hurlburt-Biagini, In Defiance examines life in bondage in our region and the natural “fight or flight” instinct in every human being dominating the minds of all those who were treated as property.
The Historical Society of Woodstock is located at 20 Comeau Drive. Admission to this talk is free. While in attendance, visitors can also view HSW’s current exhibit: Woodstock Village – The Evolution as well as the Society’s permanent Tool Shed and Remembering Woodstock exhibits

Woodstock – An Evolutionary Tale
2024-08-24 14:00 - 17:00 | PA
A Talk by Town Historian, Richard Heppner
Saturday August 24 at 4:00 pm.
Also – A History Harvest from 2-4:00 pm
In conjunction with the Historical Society’s current exhibit, HSW will present a talk entitled, Woodstock – An Evolutionary Tale, by Woodstock Town Historian Richard Heppner on August 24th at 4:00 pm. The talk will be held at the Historical Society’s Eames House Museum on Comeau Drive. Admission is free.
Much has unfolded within the shadow of Overlook Mountain since the founding of Woodstock in 1787. Over the course of more than two centuries, Woodstock has evolved from a rural Catskill Mountain town to what some have proclaimed to be the “most famous small town in America.” During that span, Woodstock has been buffeted by both internal and external forces unlike other small towns and far beyond what the town’s founding fathers and mothers could have envisioned as the 18th century drew to a close.
So how did Woodstock become Woodstock? While it is a tale that goes far beyond a festival that bore its name (though never held here), it is a tale that includes hardworking laborers cutting bluestone and working the tannery, artists, musicians, conservative and progressive politics, tourists, changing businesses, generational conflict, and a collective of townspeople who often saw the world through a slightly different lens.
During his talk, Heppner will explore the many facets that have combined over the years to create an uncommon history; a history unique in its telling and, frankly, hard to imagine.
Richard Heppner has served as Woodstock’s town historian since 2001. During his tenure, he has written multiple of books and essays on Woodstock history. His latest book, Woodstock – From World War to Culture Wars will be released by SUNY Press on October 1.
Also, on August 24 from 2:00-4:00 pm, HSW will be conducting a “History Harvest.” In an effort to add to the Society’s archives, if you have a unique photo of Woodstock, its buildings, an event, or a memory of another time, bring it to the Historical Society that day and it will be scanned, returned to you and the scan will be added to the Society’s collection.

Exhibit: Woodstock Village: The Evolution
2024-08-24 - 2024-10-06 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
A photo exploration of how the village of Woodstock transformed from a small rural town to a bustling creative community. The exhibit illustrates how buildings and businesses changed over the years.
The exhibit contains photographs from the late 1800s to present, from the Historical Society of Woodstock and private collections. Current photos of Mill Hill Road, Tinker Street and Rock City Road were taken by Henry Neimark and Fern Malkine-Falvey. Maps, and paintings by
Woodstock artists, John Pike, Wilna Hervey, Agnes Bierhals, Jean White and others are presented to illustrate changes over time.
Some buildings remain relatively unchanged, others are gone, and some transformed. Woodstock has changed and evolved dramatically, but the business district has been the center of commercial, social and cultural life in the village for over 200 years.
If buildings could talk, what tales would they tell?
Saturdays and Sundays, 1 -5 pm
HSW Eames Museum20 Comeau DriveWoodstock, NY 12498
Events
Saturday, August 24, 4 PM. A Brief History of Woodstock: a talk by Richard Heppner, Woodstock Town Historian. – see more info
Saturday, August 24, 2 to 4 PM. History Harvest. Bring a photo of a Woodstock village building or event. It will be scanned on site to be added to the HSW Woodstock Town Center Collection.
Saturday, September 21, 4 PM, Woodstock Architecture: a talk by Barry Price, architect.
Saturday, September 21, 2-4 PM. History Harvest. Bring a photo of a Woodstock village building or event. It will be scanned on site to be added to the HSW Woodstock Town Center Collection.
Saturday, October 5, 4PM. If Buildings Could Talk! An exhibition walk-through: with Curator JoAnn Margolis

Celebration: Republication of The Catskills by Alf Evers
2024-08-16 19:00 - 21:00 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Celebration: Republication of
The Catskills
by Alf Evers
An event to celebrate the republication of The Catskills: From Wilderness to Woodstock by Alf Evers will take place at the Historical Society of Woodstock on Friday, August 16, from 7 to 9 pm. Purple Mountain Press of Bovina recently brought out its edition of this definitive regional history.
For countless readers over the course of more than fifty years, Alf’s stand-alone book has served as the gateway to learning about and treasuring the Catskills, in all the region’s intricate and colorful history. Originally published by Doubleday in 1972 and then in an updated edition by The Overlook Press in 1982, the book had become unavailable.
Poet and composer Ed Sanders, author of Alf Evers: An American Genius, and Fred Steuding will share their recollections of working closely with Alf towards the latter part of his life, when both friends assisted with the research and completion of his Kingston: City on the Hudson.
Born in 1905, Evers grew up on a farm in Ulster County within sight of the Catskills. The genesis for The Catskills was when Alf’s frequent articles about local subjects caught the notice of an editor at Doubleday, who approached him to write a full history. It took him eight years to research and write and was published to great success. Thrilling generations of readers since, The Catskills presents the lore, legends, art and commerce, flora, fauna, and natural and manmade wonders that have made the Catskills one of America’s most historically rich and romantic regions. Not least among its delights is the voice of Alf himself as a storyteller, entertaining and wry.

Publishing books since the 1980s, Purple Mountain Press specializes in titles about the Catskills, Adirondacks and other regions of New York State. In 2020, founder Wray Rominger of Fleischmanns, who ran the press with his late wife Loni for many years, was presented with the Alf Evers Award for Excellence by the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development. The publishing house continues under the stewardship of James and Maureen Krueger. Books can be purchased at www.nysbooks.com.

The Historic Woodstock Art Colony – Arthur A. Anderson Booksigning and Discussion
2024-07-20 14:00 | PA
The Historical Society of Woodstock presents Arthur A. Anderson in conversation with art historian Bruce Weber discussing his collection of art from the historic Woodstock art colony, followed by a signing of the recently published book by SUNY Press, The Historic Woodstock Art Colony: The Arthur A. Anderson Collection, on Saturday, July 20, 2024 from 2 to 4 PM at 20 Comeau Drive in Woodstock, N.Y. Admission is free. Mr. Anderson will sign copies of the book, which is lavishly illustrated and includes essays by its eight authors.
Long before the famous music festival in 1969, Woodstock, New York was home to what is considered America’s first intentionally created, year-round arts colony—founded in 1902. Collecting the remarkable range of work produced there has been Arthur A. Anderson’s focus for three decades, resulting in the largest comprehensive assemblage of its type.
The artists represented in this collection reflect the diversity of those who came to Woodstock, including Birge Harrison, Konrad Cramer, George Bellows, Eugene Speicher, Peggy Bacon, Rolph Scarlett, and Yasuo Kuniyoshi, among many others.
Anderson recently donated his entire collection—some 1,500 objects by almost 200 artists—to the New York State Museum, and this book introduces to the public, for the first time, a sample of the highlights of this extraordinary collection, which represents a body of work that together shaped art and culture in New York and forms a history of national and international significance.

WOODSTOCK PERSONALITIES: 40 Years of Photographs by John Kleinhans
2024-06-07 - 2024-07-28 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Opening reception
Friday June 7 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Exhibit Open – Saturdays & Sundays, June 8 through July 28, 1–5 pm
Gallery Walk-throughs with John Kleinhans on:
Sunday June 23 at 2:00 p.m.(with art historian Bruce Weber)
Sunday July 14 at 2:00 p.m.(with artist Paula Nelson).
The public is invited to these events at no cost. For more information: (845) 679-2256 or info@historicalsocietyofwoodstock.org.
The Historical Society of Woodstock presents our opening exhibition of the season, Woodstock Personalities: 40 Years of Photographs by John Kleinhans, on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at 20 Comeau Drive in Woodstock, N.Y., with an opening reception on Friday, June 7 at 7 PM. The exhibition will run through July 28 and is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 pm to 5 pm. Admission is free.
This exhibition of 94 photographs, taken over a span of forty years by John Kleinhans, features pictures of local personalities. Seldom seen without a camera in hand, Kleinhans considers these photographs to be what he refers to as “a visual diary” of casual meetings and unexpected encounters with local friends and associates.
Kleinhans, a Pittsburgh native, set up his first darkroom in 1965 in New York City. After a 12-year academic career specializing in visual perception, he settled in Woodstock in 1979. He was drawn mainly to landscape photography and, commercially, he specialized in photographing artwork and architecture. During the 1980’s he was a photographer for the Woodstock Times and other publications.
A casual meeting in 1983 with Robert Angeloch, founder of the Woodstock School of Art, led to a life-long involvement with the school where he was a student, handyman, and board member. He also served on the boards of the Woodstock Artists Association and the Center for Photography at Woodstock. From 1988 to 2007 he worked as a designer and product developer at Woodstock Percussion. With his wife, artist Paula Nelson, he founded Precipice Publications which released his books: An Image of Monhegan (1997) and Woodstock Landscapes (2000).

REVIEW
Woodstock personalities highlighted in photography exhibit
by Geddy Sveikauskas
John Kleinhans has been photographing the creative people he has known in Woodstock – many of them painters and sculptors – for 40 years. Of the more than 80,000 images he has produced over the four decades, a carefully selected 94 are currently on exhibit at the Historical Society of Woodstock’s facility at 20 Comeau Drive on weekend afternoons from one to five p.m.
These are digital snapshots, not carefully staged studio portraits, “Records of unplanned encounters with friends, co-workers and casual acquaintances,” as Kleinhans puts it in the foreword of the exquisitely produced catalog entitled “Woodstock Personalities.” The expansive circle of Kleinhans’ friends and acquaintances know that he and his camera are virtually inseparable. His friends are used to him moving around or making a quick suggestion before snapping one or several shots. The result can be an extraordinary display of the social intimacy among old friends – creative Woodstock at its best.
For the creative people of Woodstock, life is a labor of love – and a bunch of other feelings as well.
The affable Kleinhans, gifted with an ability to intuit the narratives that connect people, has a doctorate in experimental psychology from Rutgers University, where he taught as a professor for a dozen years. But as he wrote, “Photography eventually triumphed over psychology.”
In Woodstock, Kleinhans also worked for several years at Garry and Diane Kvistaad’s Woodstock Percussion, Woodstock art historian Bruce Weber has contributed informative single-paragraph texts of explanation that accompany each photograph,
“Woodstock Personalities,” curated by Letitia Smith, closes on July 28. The sumptuous 68-page catalog will remain.
Hudson Valley One Review June 27, 2024

Farewell Concert at Happy Brooks
2024-05-26 | PA
We invite you and your guests to a Farewell Concert hosted by Tamara Pajic Lang. The family of Michael Lang, which has occupied Happy Brooks’ grand halls since 1979, will be putting it on the market to sell this year.
The event will feature a piano recital by the world-renowned solo pianist and Steinway Artist Katya Grineva at Happy Brooks Estate in Mt. Tremper, in the afternoon of May 26th. All ticket proceeds will be donated to the Historical Society of Woodstock.
One of the most prominent residents of Woodstock, Michael Lang was a concert promoter, producer and artist manager who was best known as a co-creator of the Woodstock Music & Art Festival in 1969. He was only the fourth owner of the magnificent estate since its construction in 1929 by the artist G. Adolph Anderson.
Ticket purchasing is closed • Tickets will not be available at the door.
Ticketholders at the Owner’s Club level will receive a tour of the property conducted by Ms. Lang, including the main house, guest house and beautiful gardens. The tour will begin at 1 pm.
All ticket holders are invited to attend the concert by Ms. Grineva which will begin at 3pm in the Great Room of the main house. Paintings by G. Adolph Anderson, the original owner of the house, and several other paintings owned by the estate of Michael Lang, will be on view.
Refreshments will be served.
In order to qualify for member tickets you may join now. A family membership is $50 ($35 for an individual member; $25 for students and seniors). Become a member
If you wish to send in a check, click here to open, print and fill out the form and mail it to: Historical Society of Woodstock, P.O. Box 841, Woodstock, NY 12498.
payment form for mail in

Annual Sale of Trinkets and Treasures
2024-04-12 - 2024-04-14 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day
Community members have generously gone into attics, barns, and cellars and have donated wonderful items to the HSW sale. Household items, tools, jewelry, small furniture, toys, artwork, vintage treasures and more. All proceeds benefit the Historical Society of Woodstock.

Holiday Market Fair Dec 9-10
2023-12-09 - 2023-12-10 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
ANNUAL HOLIDAY MARKET FAIR
Dates: Saturdays & Sundays, December 2 & 3 and December 9 & 10
Times: 10AM to 3 PM
Location: Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Dr., Woodstock NY 12498
Admission: Free
The Historical Society of Woodstock is pleased to announce its annual Holiday Market Fair. Shop local crafts, holiday cards, local books, original artwork, delectable treats, wreaths, and more. This year also brings the return of the HSW homemade cookie tins and an exhibit from the HSW holiday card collection As always, delicious spiced cider, treats and fresh holly and greens are our holiday gifts to all shoppers.

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.

Holiday Market Fair - Dec 2-3
2023-12-02 - 2023-12-03 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States

Catskill Love Song–Coloring Book signing
2023-11-04 16:00 | Historical Society of Woodstock, 20 Comeau Drive, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
Writer, Steve Charney,and the illustrator, David Goldin
will be signing books
Soft CoverTrim Size: 8.5 x 11 inchesPages: 12Retail Price: $8.95
Our new publication Catskill Love Song–Coloring Book will be available for purchase at the HSW gift shop. It is based on the recent song, “Catskill Love Song” by musician and author Steve Charney. Steve and illustrator and author David Goldin created this coloring book to support the mission of the HSW to preserve, interpret and share the unique history of Woodstock.

While participating in the planning for a benefit concert for the Historical Society of Woodstock (HSW), Steve Charney wrote a melody and lyrics for “Catskill Love Song”, to perform at the show. The words inspired the idea of producing a coloring book as a fundraiser for HSW. Steve Charney and David Goldin donated their time and talent to create this project to support the mission of HSW– to preserve, interpret, and share the unique history of Woodstock.

Steve Charney has lived in Woodstock since 1977. His love for the town and its history inspired him to write this song. He’s also an international magician, ventriloquist, author, songwriter, and radio personality. If you want to find out more about him than you’ll ever need or want, visit his website: www.stevecharney.com
To hear his song, this coloring book was based on a link to: www.youtube.com/stevecharney and search “Catskills Love Song.”

David Goldin first came to Woodstock for one day in 1969 as a kid, playing in a stream at someone’s wedding. He grew up an artist and began working in animation, illustration, and publishing. He moved to Woodstock in 1996 and raised his kids here. David is a local art educator / mentor and elucidator of complex principles and ideas. If you want to find out more about him, visit his website:www.davidgoldin.com

Thank you to the HSW Board of Directors, Andrea Newman-Winston, JoAnn Margolis, Weston Blelock, Print Express.

A Catskill Mountain Folk Festival - A Benefit Concert
2023-10-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Christian Science Church, 89 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY, 12498, United States
October 21 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Featuring John Sebastian, Molly Mason & Jay Ungar and Happy Traum
Admission: $18 in advance. When online orders are sold out, tickets at the door will still be available (scroll to the bottom, to book tickets)At the door, $20
On Saturday, October 21, 2023, at 7 p.m. the Historical Society of Woodstock will present a Catskill Mountain Folk Concert featuring a stellar lineup of musicians donating their time to a benefit concert for the HSW. Headliners include Molly Mason and Jay Ungar, Happy Traum, Tim Kapeluck, Steve Charney, Jeff Keithline, and Pat Lamanna. The concert is a tie-in to the Woodstock’s Farming Story exhibit, which runs through November 12. The set list will include songs about farming, bluestone quarrying, ice harvesting and shipping on the Hudson River, and a mix of old favorites like “Ashokan Farewell.” The concert will take place at the First Church of Christ, Scientist, 85 Tinker Street, Woodstock NY 12498. Admission is $20 at the door or $18 in advance (scroll to the bottom, to book tickets).
Featured Performers

Jay Ungar and Molly Mason met in the late 1970s at the Town Crier. They hit it off and began gigging together. In the 1980s, they co-founded the Ashokan Fiddle and Dance Club. When Ken Burns selected Jay’s tune “Ashokan Farewell” as the theme song for his series The Civil War, the soundtrack went on to garner a Grammy. Jay and Molly have appeared on CBS Good Morning, the Rosie O’Donnell Show, and All Things Considered.

Folk singer, writer, teacher, recording artist and first-rate fingerstyle guitarist Happy Traum began playing guitar and 5-string banjo as a teenager, and was an important participant in the legendary Greenwich Village folk scene of the 1950s and ‘60s. He was a student of blues guitar legend Brownie McGhee, a major influence on his picking style. He and his family moved to Woodstock in 1967. Happy has played in concerts, clubs and festivals throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, and Japan, both solo and with his late brother, Artie Traum. Happy has appeared and/or recorded with Bob Dylan, Levon Helm, John Sebastian, Larry Campbell, Eric Andersen, Allen Ginsberg, Jim Kweskin, Maria Muldaur and many other major figures in the folk/acoustic music world.

Tim Kapeluck is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His music is steeped in the traditions of bluegrass and Appalachian folk music. He has performed for years with banjo greats Bill Keith and Eric Weissberg in the Saturday Night Bluegrass Band.

Steve Charney is a magician, ventriloquist, author, songwriter, and radio personality. He’s written dozens of songs for Disney and Jim Henson and has published over 15 books with Scholastic and Barnes and Noble. His radio show Knock on Wood was aired around the country for decades. He was a commentator on All Things Considered and was profiled in The New Yorker magazine. His stage act of magic, music, and ventriloquism has taken him from Africa to California. He’s lived in Woodstock since 1977.

Jeff Keithline’s 50-plus-year career as bassist, composer, sideman, and featured artist covers many genres from pop and rock to string band and gypsy jazz, from folk and blues to free improvisation and electronica.

Pat Lamanna is a folk singer/songwriter living in Hyde Park, N.Y. As a child, she attended Camp Woodland in Phoenicia, where she first met Pete Seeger and began her lifelong love of folk music.

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.
