For everyone

DCHS Postcard Collection

The words of Frederick Douglass as spoken at College Hill on Emancipation Day, 1858, in contemporary expression. Performed under the auspices of Celebrating the African Spirit in recognition of Poughkeepsie’s 2022 Frederick Douglass Day. For best viewing click “Watch on Youtube.” Research & images provided by the Dutchess County Historical Society, Bill Jeffway, Executive Director. […]

Benjamin Drew published the book, The Refugee: or the Narratives of the Fugitive Slaves in Canada in 1856, capturing narratives of freedomseekers in first person testimony. Among the narratives is that of Sophia Pooley, who was born and raised ten miles south of Poughkeepsie in Fishkill. At the age of seven she was sold into […]

From the 1860s to the 1880s, Clowes’s career blossomed. Working from her backyard studio at Heartsease and her orange grove in Florida, she captured the bucolic spirit of rural America. Driven and dedicated to her craft, she wrote to her sister that she would not marry–she was “wedded to her easel.” By 1865, Clowes began […]

Traducción por Mildred Gopar. Foto por Phyenix Young-White. Dwayne Douglas Q: ¿Así que, usted nació y creció en Poughkeepsie? A:  Nací en St. Thomas, Jamaica, de hecho, en los Indies del Oeste. En agosto de 1990, me mudé a Poughkeepsie. Tenía 8 años; yo diría que fui criado aquí en Poughkeepsie. Q: ¿Cuándo se mudo […]

Photo by Phyenix Young-White. Dwayne Douglas Q: So were you born and raised entirely in Poughkeepsie? A: I was born in St. Thomas, Jamaica, actually, in the West Indies. In August 1990 I moved to Poughkeepsie. I was 8 years old. I would say I was raised here in Poughkeepsie. Q: When you moved here, […]

We are very grateful to Rob Gosselink for lending his beautiful 1868 painting by Caroline Clowes to the exhibition, Fertile Ground: the Hudson Valley Animal Paintings of Caroline Clowes. We have been able to locate three preparatory sketches Clowes developed (dated and signed in the summer of 1868) in advance of the painting (also dated […]

In our examination of the local history of the craft of Jewelry, we include silversmiths, watch and clock makers, engravers, and metal workers in general. The local story begins with the nationally renowned Andrew Billings, who was highly regarded, and frequently employed by, General Washington in both a personal capacity as well as an official […]

Invest in what is important Dear members and friends of DCHS,  While this seems like an obvious thing to say, we ask you to consider a greater than usual year-end contribution to the Dutchess County Historical Society that reflects our larger ambition and greater successes in recent years. By doing so, you will be ensuring […]