Mesier Homestead and Museum

The Mesier Homestead reopens this Saturday for tours! Tours are every half-hour from 11:30am-2pm. Advanced reservations are preferred because group size is limited. Please see our website for details and reservations. Hope to see you soon!

Today is Mesier Day at the Wappingers Historical Society! May 1, 1777 is a significant date in the history of the Village of Wappingers Falls. That is the date that Peter Mesier purchased the Homestead, farmland and mills from a gentleman named Matthew VanBenschoten. But who was Peter Mesier? What’s so important about the Mesier family, and why is there a house and park named after them? Find out at www.wappingershistoricalsociety.org/mesier-family

We are thrilled to announce the premier of our new virtual program -- Pathway Through History! https://www.wappingershistoricalsociety.org/pathway-through Each year, the Wappingers Historical Society brings history to life by presenting, in costume, some of the men and women who contributed to the history of the Hudson Valley. This year, we are pleased and very excited to present this program to you virtually! Through a collaboration with WHS members and others in the local... community, as well as students from Roy C. Ketcham High School, history comes alive in this video production. Characters portrayed this year include Phrenologist Orson Fowler; recollections by friends of Wappinger Native American Tribe Sachem Daniel Nimham and Abolitionist Sojourner Truth; baseball slugger Big Dan Brouthers and Mary, a local Suffragette. You’ll meet Nicholas Brower, the builder of the Mesier Homestead, and Pieter Mesier and his wife Catherine, who gives a personal account of the Wappinger Tea Party revolt which took place here, at the Mesier Homestead, in May 1777. This short film is engaging for local history enthusiasts and can be considered a Virtual Field Trip for educators and students in Grade 4 and up. Please enjoy, and feel free to share!

The Mesier Homestead in Wappingers Falls, NY celebrates its Dutch roots with "Sinterklaas and Dutch Holiday Traditions". In a program especially for kids, learn... about the traditions Dutch settlers brought with them to New Netherland - who is Sinterklaas, and how is the holiday celebrated in the home. This celebration is 3 parts; this video is Part 2, which focuses on decorations, food and gift giving. Learn about Sinterklaas and the tradition of leaving shoes out for treats in Part 1 of our series. Part 3 features a special Storytime for children, with the reading of "Sinterklaas" written by Kathy Dodson. This story was inspired by the annual Sinterklaas festivities held each December in Rhinebeck NY, a village located about 45 minutes north of Wappingers Falls.

Mesier Homestead in Wappingers Falls, NY celebrates its Dutch roots with "Sinterklaas and Dutch Holiday Traditions". In a program especially for kids, learn abo...ut the traditions Dutch settlers brought with them to New Netherland - who is Sinterklaas, and how is the holiday celebrated in the home. This celebration is 3 parts; this video is Part 1, were you'll learn a little bit about the Brower and Mesier families, who Sinterklaas is, and the tradition of leaving shoes out to be filled with treats from Sinterklaas. Part 2 of our series focuses on decorations, food and gift giving. Learn about Sinterklaas and the tradition of leaving shoes out for treats Part 3 features a special Storytime for children, with the reading of "Sinterklaas" written by Kathy Dodson. This story was inspired by the annual Sinterklaas festivies held each December in Rhinebeck NY, a village located about 45 minutes north of Wappingers Falls.

Reminder that the first part of our virtual Sinterklaas celebration premiers here and on our website today at 4pm! It's a family friendly program about the Mesier Homestead's Dutch roots and explores how Sinterklaas is celebrated in the home, The link to our Sinterklaas webpage is: https://www.wappingershistoricalsociety.org/sinterklaas

Mesier Monday feature: The Mesier Mill, Manhattan, c. 1695 Painted by L. F. Tantillo and commissioned by a distant descendant of the Mesier family, the scene depicts a wind mill which was erected by Peter Jansen Mesier (1640-1719), great-grandfather to our Peter Mesier in approximately 1685, near Cortlandt Street in Manhattan, appropriately named Windmill Lane at the time. This windmill was a landmark for ships and a beacon for travelers. It was known as the lighthouse. It remained in operation for nearly 100 years, being torn down approximately 1780. On a few old maps the mill landmark is designated as Mesier’s Mill. Centuries later, this site became the location for the World Trade Center; present day, it would be surrounded by Liberty, Greenwich and Cortlandt Streets, approximately where 4 World Trade now stands.

It’s Mesier Monday! Some of the things you’ll see during your visit to the Mesier Homestead include photos and artifacts from the village of Wappingers Falls. Industry has played a key role in the development and growth of the village. The Garner Print Works (later to become the Dutchess Bleachery) was one of the most prominent businesses which drove this growth. These parade banners are two examples of items manufactured at the Garner Print Works (1837-1917). The cotton ...calico fabric was produced in giant rolls, dyed in repeating patterns on steam-driven printing machines, and then individually cut. Admiral George Dewey, the "Hero of Manila," Parade Banner 1898 William McKinley and Garret Hobart Campaign Banner 1896

It's MESIER MONDAY! Starting today, Monday's will feature interesting tidbits about the Mesier Homestead. Have you noticed the small house attached to the back of the Mesier Homestead? That’s the original 1741 structure. This small stone house was one the of first dwellings in what is now the village of Wappingers Falls. The architectural design reflects early Dutch Colonial with a high-pitch gabled roof, one of the few remaining original examples of Dutch architecture in Dutchess County. The next time you are in Mesier Park, be sure to walk around the outside of the Homestead -- Spring of 2021 will bring the beginnings of restoration efforts by WHS to stabilize this building’s foundation so that additional restoration can take place.

You’ll find this 1900 Edison phonograph and cylinder records on display in the parlor of the Mesier Homestead. These hollow cylinders have an audio recording engraved on the outside. They were the most popular from 1896-1915, until disc records took over as the popular audio format. Edison stopped producing all phonographs and records in 1929. According to our archives, one of the recordings is of the song She Forgot to Bring Him Back by Ada Jones, 1908. It might sound something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a92osp7XTXg