We recently discovered that Hillsdale shopkeeper Matthew White has assembled one of the most complete collections of late 19th and early 20th century Hillsdale postcards. It gave us the idea for this blog post. And, as often happens, researching the topic led us to explore the history of a humble item that turns out to […]
The hamlet of Green River in the northeast corner of Hillsdale has intrigued and puzzled the Hillsdale Historians for some time. Franklin Ellis’s History of Columbia County (1878) identifies it as “…a hamlet in the valley of the Green river … formerly known as Green River Hollow.” But immediately to the north, in the town […]
The Columbia County Historical Society (CCHS) has announced a new permanent outdoor exhibit, the Early Heritage of Columbia County Outdoor Narrative Panel Exhibit, featuring eight narrative panels set along the treeline of its rural properties along Route 9-H including the c.1850 Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse and the 1737 Luykas Van Alen House located in the Town […]
Our friend and fellow history buff Sally Laing recently gave us a copy of a news clipping from the April 17, 1889 edition of the Hillsdale Harbinger. The clipping is of an article listing half of the questions on the arithmetic exam that was given to the students, presumably eighth graders, at the Hillsdale School. […]
by the hillsdale historians
Every now and then, we set out to research something, and while we may uncover some interesting facts and anecdotes, there isn’t enough to warrant an entire blog post. So, we chuck what we have found into a folder and stash it, like a jar of old screws and bolts, on a […]
by the hillsdale historians
Now that secondary education in the Roe Jan region by Zoom is becoming the exception instead of the rule, it’s worth remembering that for the first 114 years of its existence, Hillsdale had no high school at all. Until 1903, an eighth-grade education had been deemed adequate — the “Three Rs” equipped […]
The building that houses the Hillsdale General Store was built in 1852. The original part of the Hillsdale House dates back to 1797. And the Closson farm’s ice house that gradually evolved into today’s Passiflora was almost certainly a 19th century structure. So it would be understandable if one assumed that the building nestled between the […]
Connecticut, long known as the Land of Steady Habits, came late to the railroad craze that swept the country in the 19th century. In fact, neighboring states had to prompt Connecticut into its first railroad ventures. When completed, however, these lines provided both a much more efficient means for the industrial and agricultural products of […]
-by the Hillsdale Historians
In November 2020 we wrote about the history of the Hillsdale Post Office in Post Office Pentimento. In painting, pentimento is defined as earlier images that have been changed or painted over and are no longer visible to the naked eye but still exist, under the surface, like ghosts.
Buildings also have these […]
-by the Hillsdale Historians
Black History Month spurred us to investigate the institution of slavery in the Hudson Valley and, more specifically, Hillsdale. Like most Americans, we’ve been inclined to think of slavery as largely a Southern institution. But it was hugely important in the colonial North. From the earliest days of Dutch occupancy right up […]