PUTNAM & ORANGE COUNTIES

ILLUSTRATED BOOKLET

The early days of Putnam County and Orange County and their various towns and townships, are recalled through a mixture of colorful tales and factual data in this NEW 50 Page Booklet, reprinted primarily from two hard-to-find books: the 1841 edition of Historical Collections of the State of New York by John Warner Barber and Henry Howe, and New York, a Guide to the Empire State, a WPA project.
The spiral-bound booklet, sold exclusively on eBay, is one-sided on 60# paper, with the print enlarged for easier reading. A clear vinyl sheet has been added to protect the front cover.
The communities mentioned include: Amity, Arden, Bannerman’s Island, Bellville, Blooming Grove, Brewster, Bullville, Canterbury, Carmel, Chester, Cold Spring (Phillipstown), Coles Mills, Cornwall, Cornwall-on-Hudson, Craigsville, Crawford, Cuddebackville, Deerpark, Edenville, Florida, Goshen, Hamptonburg, Hatsville, Highland Falls, Honesville, Hopewell, Kent, Mahopac, Middletown, Milltown, Minisink, Mohegan, Monroe, New Hampton, New Windsor, Newburgh (Newburg), Oxford, Patterson, Philipstown, Port Jarvis, Putnam Valley, Red Mills, Salisbury, Scrub Oak, Searsburg, Sloatsburg, Southeast, Sugar Loaf, Tuxedo, Warwick, Washingtonville, West Point, and Wurtzboro.
Among the many and diverse topics in the booklet are: the Story of “Beverly” House, where George Washington’s late breakfast gave Benedict Arnold time to escape; the West Point Foundry, largest of its kind in 1841; Gov. DeWitt Clinton and the Erie Canal; West Point Military Academy, a view from 1840 including list of courses and a tour in 1940, complete with map; Thaddeus Kosciusko, who “erected the works” at West Point; Defense of West Point in the Revolutionary War; Vice President George Clinton and his family; Disastrous Attack on Minisink in 1779 by famous Indian Chief Joseph Brant; Attack on Forts Clinton and Montgomery, and the still "Gruesome Site" as seen months later; where the “Tuxedo” originated; the Harriman Estate; the grave of a great racehorse and the Good Time and Harriman Harness Racing Tracks; Free-roaming Swine; Growing Onions; a female Paul Revere; Hasbrouck House, where Washington refused a crown and Martha “mothered the generals”; the John Ellison House, with an escape stairway, and other places at the Site of the Last Cantonment; Cold Spring, where Lincoln would rather eat than watch cannons blast; the Captain Kidd Cave; the romance of Mary Pell; the Jackson Whites; the Claudius Smith Caves and much more.
The booklet has no index, but some of the names mentioned are: Col. Beverly Robinson, Gen. Israel Putnam, William H. Seward, Isaac Slot, Pierre Lorillard, Mrs. Emily Post, E. H. Harriman; John B. Jervis, Rex Stout, John Yelverton, Henry Wisner, William M. Rysdyk, William H. Crane, Benjamin Tustin, Isaac Jointer, Richard Upjohn, Cass Gilbert, Martinus Decker, Andrew Jackson Downing, Thornton M. Niver, Burger Mynders, Elsie Hasbrouck, Col. Lewis Nicola, Baron von Steuben, Major John Armstrong, General Gates, John Ellison, William Bull, General Knox, Nathaniel Parker Willis, Edward Payson Roe, John Burroughs, Mathew Patterson, Col. Henry Ludington, Sybell Ludington, Capt. George Austin, Francis Bannerman, Nathaniel Parker Willis; Col. Robert Parrott, Jacob Ruppert, Mrs. Russell Sage, Miss Anna B. Warner, Edgar Allan Poe, James Whistler, Ulysses Grant, Major Sylvanus Thayer, Dennis Mahan Michie, Margaret Corbin, Susan and Anna Warner; and the following sir names: Tyler, Jones, Little, Duncan, Vail, Wood, Finch, Martin, Middaugh, Wisner, Cole, Mead, Terwilliger, Lockwood, Forgerson, Townsend, Knapp, Bennet, Pierce, Norris, Shepherd, Decker, Williams, Wade, Wait, Talmadge, Dunning, Carpenter, Barney, Haskell, Mosher, Ward, Nierpos, Butler, Bailey, Thomas, Owens, Embler, Reed, Bradner, Ker, Fisk, Clinton, Thain, Tappan, Meeker, Hathorn, Wood, Brown, Logan, Livingston, Smith, Clark, and Fluelling.
ILLUSTRATIONS depict Northern View of West Point; Kosciusko’s Monument; Ancient View of West Point; Public Buildings at Goshen; Washington’s Headquarters at Newburg, DeWitt Clinton’s birthplace in New Windsor; Southern view of Newburg; the West Point Foundry; the Robinson House.
The Howe/Barber history covers the development of this area until about 1841, while excerpts from the WPA book, give a nostalgic glympse from a 1940 vantage point, including interesting historical notes, especially as they relate to sightseeing possibilities. There's also a small map of the area from a 1948 booklet printed by the New York Telephone Company.