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Under the heading, Dutchess County Defense Attitudes, the anthropologist Manet Fowler, early in her career, conducted interviews among Blacks in Dutchess County. She made three trips that included Poughkeepsie, Beacon, and a handful of small towns. We are not sure under whose auspices or direction these were conducted. A profile of Fowler is provided at right, including her obituary and some local newspaper references. She was for a time, Professor at Bard College and resident of Millbrook. When you click on any file, the pdf viewer will launch it in full view for best reading. To close the full view, and return to this page, either press the escape key on your keyboard, or click on the full screen icon that will be at the bottom right of your screen. March 29 and 30, 1941City of Poughkeepsie April 5 and 6, 1941City of Beacon May 9 and 10, 1941Multiple Towns

This award honors exceptional contributions to the Dutchess County community and beyond in the areas of preservation, history, and/or education. Prior Awardees Ralph & Doris Adams ~ J. Winthrop Aldrich ~ Myra Young Armstead ~ Barbara & Robert Bielenberg ~ D. David Conklin ~ Elizabeth A. Daniels ~ Frank Doherty ~ Edward E. Downey ~ Margaretta Downey ~ Rob & Sue Doyle ~ Jesse Effron ~ Frances Fergusson ~ John J. Gartland, Jr. ~ Joyce C. Ghee ~ Burton Gold ~ John & Gloria Golden ~ Frederica S. Goodman ~ Clyde Griffen ~ James F. Hall ~ Ada Scism Harrison ~ Bernard & Shirley Handel ~ E. Stuart & Linda Hubbard ~ Larry Hughes ~ Bradford H. Kendall ~ Michael Korda ~ Lou & Candace Lewis ~ Bill & Mary Lunt ~ Melodye K. Moore ~ Robert Murphy ~ Dennis J. Murray ~ Joseph N. Norton ~ Walter Patrice ~ Ruth Stafford Peale ~ Alice Provensen ~ Frances S. Reese ~ Caroline Reichenberg ~ Lorraine M. Roberts ~ Gretta Tritch Roman ~ Albert M. Rosenblatt ~ Fred Schaeffer ~ Dr. Sam Simon ~ Willa Skinner ~ Elizabeth Smith ~ Roger Smith ~ Marie Tarver ~ Gretta Tritch Roman ~ Denis D. VanBuren ~ Barbara Van Itallie ~ Norma W. VanKleeck ~ Kay Tremper Verilli ~ Mary Kay Vrba ~ Richard K. Wager ~ Kenneth Walpuck ~ Thomas S. Wermuth

For a business that demonstrates the long-standing tradition of service and commitment to local residents Prior Winners: Adams Fairacre Farms ~ Central Hudson ~ Children’s Home ~ EFCO ~ Marshall & Sterling ~ McCabe & Mack LLP ~ N&S Supply ~ Page Park Associates ~ Poughkeepsie Journal ~ Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery ~ Rhinebeck Bank ~ Saint Francis Hospital ~ Vassar Brothers Medical Center ~ Vassar-Warner Senior Residence~ Zimmer Brothers

Honors teachers at Dutchess County middle or high schools who bring innovation and creativity to impart a love and appreciation of local history. Prior Awardees: 2024:Jeff Ubrin, Education Specialist, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library & Museum, National Archives & Records Administration. 2022:Henry Frischknecht, Bulkeley Middle School, Rhinebeck 2021:Neil Murray, Pine Plains Central School District

In development

THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION TO AN UPDATED PLATFORM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE… This online exhibition offers insights into the October 1777 British action, as well as insights into Franklin Roosevelt’s unrelenting commitment to the understanding and publication of local history even as global war emerged and commenced. jump to FDR’s Yearbook Articles on the October 1777 event jump to British Ship Logs Obtained by FDR jump to June 1777 Livingston Letter: Me Worry? Won’t Happen! jump to What a Cannonball Can Do George Washington called West Point, just south of Dutchess County on the Hudson River,  the key to the North American Continent. Historians agree the success of the American patriots relied on the defense of the Hudson River Valley, which the British where the British hoped to take control to divide the emerging United States in half. In October of 1777 a single trip north by the British as far as Red Hook, Dutchess County, did show the potential for such a raid, and resulted in the complete destruction of the capital of New York at the time, Kingston. Certain homes, barns with agricultural products, and stores were targeted with cannon ball or were torched and burned. The dramatic event would attract the attention of any local historian. But the fact that the ships traversed the area of Franklin Roosevelt’s ancestral homes, gave it an extra dimension and power for him. FDR’s Yearbook Articles President Roosevelt wrote an article for each of the 1935 and 1936 DCHS Yearbooks, where his trusted partner, Helen Wilkinson Reynolds was editor. DCHS’s Helen Wilkinson Reynolds. back to top British Documents DCHS Collections: Envelope containing information from the British Admiralty directed to FDR, who then gave them to DCHS. The articles are written about the material he obtained through requests to the head of the British Admiralty and the US Embassy in London. Britain’s Lord Halifax shown at right. Middle top: with Nazi leader Herman Goering. Middle bottom: with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Right: with FDR. When Halifax was made US Ambassador in 1941, FDR broke with protocol and met Halifax in his private sloop. back to top Henry Livingston, Sr. Letter Poughkeepsie June 16, 1777 Loving Brother, Your negro just now delivered me the Bond and Tenant Books with your letter of the 7th instant and am sorry you are again attacked with the gout. Your being so long freed was in hopes it would have quitted you. Captain Phillip Cortland was here this morning and left Peeks Kill yesterday all in quietness and the Armies in Jersey as yet very peaceable. As for the English Army coming up this river I am under no apprehension of, because I think it would be great madness in attempting it. We are all in good health and join in our love to your sister and children. And am… your loving brother, Henry Livingston. back to top Henry Livingston, Jr. House The son of the author of the letter found his home hit by a single cannonball. The 1919 DCHS Yearbook published a photograph of the patched shingle at the front of the house (right). Among the artifacts in DCHS Collections is the beam that was damaged by the cannonball in 1777 (below). It was removed when the house was demolished in the late 19th century. back to top