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05/15/13 8:00am

First Person Tours at Washington’s Headquarters for Memorial Day Weekend

Press release:

Along with offering our regular tours Wednesday through Sunday at Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site, starting Memorial Day Weekend and proceeding with the Path Through History Weekends, you will have a unique opportunity to tour with an individual from the past! Our charismatic interpreters/actors portray real or composite characters, offering insights and bringing to light unique perspectives about this chosen time period.

Step back in time with Antoinette Corwin, an 1891 Newburgh preservationist. Ms. Corwin will share some of her ideas and ideals regarding the preservation of the historic Hasbrouck House, used by General and Mrs. Washington as their headquarters during the Revolutionary War, as she guides you through the rooms. However, be prepared! – Ms. Corwin, a lover of the beautiful, most likely will try to persuade you to take part in saving the past, citing that it is an enterprise in which all can participate.

Turn the clock back to the year 1888, when John H. Martin was Superintendent of Washington’s Headquarters. He’ll be taking visitors through the house and his commentary will be heavily laced with references to the newly dedicated Tower of Victory. Mr. Martin, a Civil War veteran, undertook his position shortly after the completion of the Centennial monument. He will share what he foresees in the future for the site, comment on its historic significance, offer insights and observations and also discuss his landscaping plans.

Frances Elizabeth Macon Dandridge is a fictional great-grandniece of Martha’s who has come from Virginia, in 1850, to attend the dedication of the Hasbrouck House, where her ancestor resided, as the first publicly owned historic site in the nation. As she walks through the rooms of the former headquarters she will comment about Revolutionary War compatriots of the General’s and the Washingtons’ own extended family.

DAY-DATE                                         CHARACTER                                                   TIME

Saturday, May 25th                                Antoinette Corwin                                               1:00 PM
Saturday, May 25th                                John H. Martin                                                     3:00 PM
Sunday, May 26th                                  John H. Martin                                                     2:00 PM

Saturday, June 1st                                  John H. Martin                                                     1:00 PM
Saturday, June 1st                                  John H. Martin                                                     3:00 PM
Sunday, June 2nd                                   Frances Elizabeth Macon Dandridge                   2:00 PM

Saturday, June 8th                                 Frances Elizabeth Macon Dandridge                   1:00 PM
Saturday, June 8th                                 Frances Elizabeth Macon Dandridge                   3:00 PM
Sunday, June 9th                                   Antoinette Corwin                                                2:00 PM

Call 845-562-1195 to make reservations for any one of these tours. Each of these special first person tours is $5.00 per person.

History

03/20/13 10:10am

Picture from the Past: 42 William Street

by Cher

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Yesterday we took a look at the developments happening at 51 William Street. To make the past history of William Street more real, here is a look at 42 William Street that belongs to the City of Newburgh Archives. This is a photo that was taken in 1916 during a property appraisal. You can see the signs in the windows: “Max Skyer Meat and Poultry Market” “Pout Shoe Marker” and a store selling “Cigars, Tobacco and Candy, Stationery.” Perhaps the popular Newburgh post cards were sold there. This building survives today, but the building on the left did not make it. The building on the right did.

Many years ago William Street was a bustling business district serving the south side of Newburgh, including the west part of Washington Heights, according to city historian, Mary McTamaney. She said that her next-door neighbor, Albert Nadle, had a kosher butcher shop there, as his father had before him. Looking at the present condition of William Street is quite sad. Many buildings are abandoned or on the verge of collapsing. There is an organic make up of buildings on this street, with architecture varying from different decades. It is something that can not be replicated in brand new cities and definitely worth saving. There are plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs looking for spaces for their growing businesses.

Mrs. McTamaney also noted that many more of these old 1916 sepias have strayed because of people taking them for their own private use. However, the photos would be welcomed back for future researchers to learn from. If you have any photos you would like to return contact Mary.

– Photo from Google Maps

History

03/12/13 10:30am

The General’s Lady at Washington’s HQ

by Cher

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“In honor of March being Women’s History Month, Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site in Newburgh, pays tribute to one of the most outstanding women of history, Martha Washington. The annual program, “The General’s Lady,” will take place Saturday, March 23rd, 1:00 PM in the Museum. Two presentations will be given, one offered by a guest speaker and the other by a historic interpreter.

However, the highlight of the event will be the presentation of the 2013 Martha Washington Woman of History Award. This year’s recipient is Mary Etta Schneider, a historic preservationist descended from French settlers who founded New Paltz, and who is president and board chair of Historic Huguenot Street. This is the eleventh year the award is being given by Washington’s Headquarters including Ms. Schneider in a select and prestigious group of contemporary women making their mark on history in the Hudson Valley.

Admission is FREE for this program. For details or directions, call 845-562-1195.”

Good News

02/27/13 12:00pm

Newburgh Tower of Victory Restoration Gets $50,000 Grant

by Cher

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The Palisades Parks Conservancy is running a campaign to restore the Tower of Victory at Washington’s Headquarters in Newburgh in an effort to raise $1.5 million to restore the structure. The original roof you see above is no longer in existence as well as the viewing platform inside. There is also damage to the stone work. Fortunately a $50,000 grant from the American Express Foundation was donated.

There is still plenty money left to be raised. If you would like to make a donation click here.

“The Tower of Victory is the nation’s only monument commemorating the peace that came at the end of the Revolutionary War. Commissioned in 1883 by Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s son and then Secretary of War, the dedication marked the 100th Anniversary of the peace treaty. To build the monument, Mr. Lincoln engaged architect John Hemingway Duncan designer of the Grand Army Plaza and Grant’s Tomb, both in New York City. Duncan hired William Rudolph O’Donovan to create the fabulous bronze sculptures. His work can be seen at Grant’s Tomb, the Grand Army Plaza as well as the Gettysburg Battlefield. After four years, thousands of dollars, and a public campaign led by the residents of Newburgh, the Tower was completed on December 31, 1887 where it has stood sentinel over the Hudson River.“

History

02/06/13 11:00am

President’s Weekend at Washington’s HQ 2013

by Cher

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President’s Weekend: February 16th, 17th and 18th

Even though he would be 281 years old and hasn’t been around since 1799, you probably see images of him every day. We’re talking about George Washington, of course – the man on the dollar bill, the first president, and Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

In honor of this great man, February 16th, 17th and 18th Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site, in Newburgh will honor George Washington absolutely free from 12:00 PM until 4:00 PM.

There will be military demonstrations by Lamb’s Artillery, the 5th Connecticut Regiment, and the 5th New York Regiment. The Friends and other vendors will be setting up shop, to sell their wares. For children and adults there will be shows, storytelling, entertaining presentations and candle dipping. George Washington re-enactor, John Koopman will be present each day greeting visitors in his historic headquarters and Thaddeus MacGregor will perform for them musically. Visitors can also learn how they can support the Tower of Victory restoration efforts.

The historic site is located on 84 Liberty Street in Newburgh. For more information, please call (845) 562-1195.

Dutch Reformed Church

12/14/12 11:03am

Progress Update at the Newburgh Lyceum at the Dutch Reformed Church

by Cher

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The Newburgh Preservation Association is pleased to report progress is being made at the former Dutch Reformed Church in the City of Newburgh following last January’s devastating ceiling collapse. As already reported, last month, the City of Newburgh, which owns the DRC, agreed to work with NPA to test the ceiling debris at the site and, depending on the results, remove it before the Christmas holiday. This week the results came back, and because they were negative, the way has been cleared for the City’s Public Works Department under the leadership of George Garrison to begin the haul-out.

Works crews arrived bright and early this morning and will continue working hard at the DRC through the end of the year removing debris and separating out salvageable items for preservation, reuse or sale. Also this week, Jeff Wallace, a local artist and craftsman, volunteered his time and materials to repair the open hatch in the Church ceiling, saying simply, “it needed to be done.” This should serve as an inspiration to all this season. It also represents a crucial and much-appreciated breakthrough that will now allow NPA to raise the $25,000 it will need to match a state grant for conducting stabilization studies of the church and ultimately replace the ceiling and restore the structure for its future use as the Newburgh Lyceum at the DRC, a civic center where the people of Newburgh will be able to gather together in common purpose to discuss, even debate, ideas; celebrate our heritage and culture; host important events; and enjoy the arts. The total estimated cost of the project is between $10 and $12 million.

Please join NPA in extending profound thanks to: George Garrison and his outstanding team of professionals at the City of Newburgh Department of Public Works (845-565-3298), City Manager Rick Herbeck (845-569-7301), Jeff Wallace and all those who made this clean-up and repair effort possible. The challenges at the former DRC can feel overwhelming at times, but with partners like these, we can be confident in our cause and in the future.

THANK YOU!

About NPA
The Newburgh Preservation Association (NPA), an all-volunteer organization founded in 1978, is the only local nonprofit exclusively committed to rebuilding, preserving and promoting the architectural heritage and historic viewsheds of the City of Newburgh. In 2010, NPA helped facilitate the sale of the 1914 West Shore Train Station to Ray Yannone of Storm King Builders, and earlier this year, announced plans to re-launch Alexander Jackson Davis’s historic 1835 American Reformed Church as The Newburgh Lyceum at the former Dutch Reformed Church, part of a broader effort by the group to stabilize, restore and rededicate the landmark building as the heart of Newburgh’s public square.

About the Newburgh Lyceum at the Dutch Reformed Church
The former Dutch Reformed Church is an outstanding Greek Revival building designed in 1835 by world-renowned architect Alexander Jackson Davis. The monumental structure borrows proportions, siting and details from classical Greek precedents. Intended as a symbol of the community’s enlightened taste, it commands a dominant view over the Hudson. The DRC is “the greatest surviving ecclesiastical commission of America’s greatest architect of the era” according to J. Winthrop Aldrich, former New York Deputy Commissioner of Historic Preservation. In 2001, the United States government designated it a National Historic Landmark.

To support NPA’s mission, become a member and/or contribute to The Newburgh Lyceum at the former Dutch Reformed Church, please visit http://www.preservenewburgh.org/.

-Press release and photos courtesy of the NPA

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