Roeliff Jansen Historical Society

THEN and NOW: The Copake Iron Works when it was still functioning (circa early 20th century) and the historic site/museum today. #ancramny #copakegrange #columbiacountyhistory #roeliffjansen #hillsdaleny #copake #copakefalls #copakeironworksmuseum #roejan #copakehistory #HVRT #hudsonvalleyhistory #roeliffjansen #roeliffjansenschool #hillsdaleny

THEN and NOW: The Copake Iron Works when it was still functioning in about 1900, and the historic site/museum today. #ancramny #copakegrange #columbiacountyhistory #roeliffjansen #hillsdaleny #copake #copakefalls #copakeironworksmuseum #roejan #copakehistory #HVRT #hudsonvalleyhistory #roeliffjansen #roeliffjansenschool #hillsdaleny

On the last day of Poetry Month, today on Whippoorwill Road in Hillsdale. Poem Marker, boulder and, incised on a stone tablet, a verse from Wallace Bruce’s poem of 1887The Rock Where My Mother Played, in memory of his beloved mother: I hear the notes of the whippoorwill As of old in the gathering shade, I sit by the rock on the quiet hill... Where in girlhood my mother played The prolific poet and orator, was born at Hillsdale, Nov. 10, 1844 and died in Florida in 1914. During his lifetime, he became one of the most well known authors, poets and lecturers in the country. Read more on the current RJHS newsletter, website in profile, click bottom of homepage, Latest Newsletter. #columbiacountyhistory #roeliffjansen #hillsdaleny #copake #copakefalls #copakeironworksmuseum #roejan #copakehistory #hudsonvalleyhistory #roeliffjansen #claverackny #hillsdaleny #wallacebruce #hudsonvalleypoetry #hudsonvalleybeer

April is Poetry Month! In recognition of poetry month, The Roeliff Jansen Historical Society focuses on two renowned Hillsdale poets! https://mailchi.mp/3510e19/poetry-month-two-hillsdale-poets

On Saturday, September 12th Ancram and the Boston Corner Community Organization (BCCO) hosted a special unveiling Ceremony of their newly awarded William G. Pomeroy Foundation historic marker. The handsome blue and yellow cast iron marker celebrates the recently discovered stone marker used in the actual transfer of Boston Corner from Massachusetts to New York State in 1853. Carol Falcett, her husband Norman Osofsky, and John Hoffman officiated and told the remarkable story ...of how the diminutive marker was located in a nearby wooded area, and had been helped along by Jim Mackin, President of the Friends of Taconic State Park, and other local folks including Bruce Darling and Jane Peck. Several members of the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society also attended, including Lesley Doyel, the Society’s President, and RJHS webmaster, Nick Fritsch. The Roeliff Jansen Historical Society is proud to have lent support to BCCO’s historic finding, which had been initially inspired by an RJHS program given by former RJHS board member and historian, Jon Strom. RJHS and BCCO also collaborated on a program given at the Millerton Library in the fall of 2019 a packed house. Check out the the Section on The Hidden History of the Roe Jan Region, from the museum’s Summer 2019 exhibition (www,roeliffjansenhs.org), which featured an entire section devoted to the remarkable history of the hamlet originally called Boston Corner, and the famed 1853 bare-fisted prize fight between John Morrissey and Yankee Sullivan, once the furthest western point you could travel from Boston and still be in state of Massachusetts. The area was ceded to New York State by Massachusetts through an Act of Congress in 1853, and is now part of the town of Ancram, N.Y. (below, Jim Mackin helps unveil Pomeroy marker, Carol Falcetti tells the story finding the marker, the small boundry marker as it appears today)

On Sunday, August 23rd, members of the community and invited speakers gathered to celebrate the unveiling of the roadside marker awarded to the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation for commemorating the former Copake Falls Methodist Episcopal Church’s inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of the nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Speakers included RJHS President Lesley Doyel, Copake Town Su...pervisor Jeanne Mettler, Office Director for NYS Assembly member Didi Barrett, Matthew Hartzog, and President, Friends of Taconic State Park, author and historian, Jim Mackin. Pictures: RJHS president Lesley Doyel, Copake Town Supervisor Jeanne Mettler, Assembly member Didi Barrett's office director, Matthew Hartzog and of Taconic State Park president Jim Mackin. Also Doyel and Mettler unveiling the marker, RJHS Board Member Richard Barton and Doyel with the marker, Board members and event-attendees.

Sunday, August 23rd from 2 to 4 pm Outside the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society Museum 8 Miles Road, Copake Falls, NY The Roeliff Jansen Historical Society has been awarded a grant by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation for a roadside marker commemorating the former Copake Falls Methodist Episcopal Church’s inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. The building is now home to the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society Museum.... Speakers will include Jeanne Mettler, Copake's Town Supervisor, Lesley Doyel, Roeliff Jansen Historical Society's President, Jim Mackin, Friends of Taconic State Park President, and others. Following the dedication ceremony, light refreshments will be served. This event will be held outside the RJHS Museum (masks and social distancing required).

THE RJHS PROUDLY PRESENTS A TWO PART VIDEO DOCUMENTARY Created by Julia Brandi and Marilyn Herrington HILLSDALE: Our Story and Portraits Several years ago, Hillsdale residents Julia Brandi and Marilyn Herrington conceived the idea of interviewing a diverse group of long-time Hillsdale residents to capture their unique and often extraordinary first hand stories of daily life, places and people they experienced and knew through the years. These brief interviews can now be enjoyed and explored by generations to come. These films will also be permanently hosted on the RJHS website. https://www.roeliffjansenhs.org/the-oral-history-project

The Copake Grange and the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society proudly present: A Special Exhibit Celebrating the 100th Anniversary... of Women's Right to Vote! Please Join The Copake Grange and Roeliff Jansen Historical Society on Saturday, July 4th for a special exhibit celebrating the centennial of Women's Right to Vote! The exhibit to be displayed just outside the Copake Grange, will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment to the Constitution giving women the right to vote. This collaborative centennial event by the Roe Jan Historical Society and the Copake Grange will feature antique voting booths and other vintage items. The exhibit will also highlight and explore ways in which the Grange Organization became a crucial part of the Women's Suffrage Movement. Weather permitting, the July 4th exhibit will be outside in front of the Copake Grange, Empire Road, Copake, N.Y. In the event of rain, the display will be moved indoors. Additional days and times are listed below. The exhibit is designed in the service of safety and social distancing - wearing a mask is required. Days and Hours: Saturday, July 4th, 1-3pm - outside the Copake Grange, (weather permitting). Saturday, July 11th, 10am-12 Noon - inside Grange Hall Saturday, July 18th, 1-3pm - inside Grange Hall Location: The Copake Grange 628 Empire Road, Copake, NY 12516 (Near the Copake Clock, just behind the Clock Tower Pub & Grill) [email protected]

The RJHS Pandemic Blog - THE PRESENT We are all historians now! Help the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society by entering personal stories and perspectives of life in the Roe Jan community from the present time of COVID-19, here as a reply here to this post on Facebook, or on the new blog at https://www.roeliffjansenhs.org//the-present-living-throug... Help us build an online "memory book" by your experiences and reflections on life in the time of Covid-19, in the Roe Jan community, and about the many ways that living through this pandemic have impacted you and your family's lives. These will become part of the historical record for the future. We are hoping that residents of the Roe Jan region as well as and surrounding areas will share their stories.