John Cox surveyed and drew this survey map on the nineteenth of September in 1795. His description “Map of a farm at Rhinebeck in the possession of Geo. Ring.” was succinct. Since the scale is “Four Chains to an Inch”, we know that Cox carried a chain for measurement. He drew the directional needle with an S for South and his depiction of a fleur de lis rather than an N to represent North.
After viewing about 400 postcards in the Scott G. Cruikshank postcard collection, I selected these four based on the memorable text and the images. In order from a sweet note to a grandpa, great reminiscing of the County Fair and ice cream at an old time pharmacy, another on East Market Street, and the final one. (Don’t miss it!)
Frank L. Asher (1881-1959) documented car accidents and fires for insurance companies and took compelling portraits. With a total of close to 2,000 photos featuring a variety of subjects and clients, including Vincent Astor, in the Asher Collection, images of Rhinebeck life and people in the late 1930s-1950s have been documented and preserved in the archives.
Eighty five years ago in July of 1941, Frank L. Asher wandered the roads of Rhinebeck to take a series of 8×10 black and white photographs of the one-room schoolhouses that dotted the landscape. By the end of the 1950s, all had been closed. After that time, most became homes for local families and retained evidence of the charm and architecture of their past.
This collection captures a view of the Cotting Family and The Palatine Farmstead, the historic property they called home. Built before the American Revolution, The Palatine Farmstead still stands in honor of the ancestors of the many Palatine descendants who have remained in the Rhinebeck area and those descendants who have travelled far afield throughout America and other countries around the world.
Robert Asher and other photographers preserved the visual history of Rhinebeck people (including those wearing hats!).
The Rhinebeck Historical Society celebrated the Bicentennial with its publication of A Rhinebeck Album in 1976. This photo of General Richard Montgomery and a copy of his last letter to his wife Janet Livingston Montgomery are two of the many items included in the archives.
Whether viewing “Fritz’s Establishment”, the 1898 delivery service, Albertina Traver and her Great-Grandmother” sharing a special moment, “W. Stickle at the Gas Works” pausing a moment from his hard day of labor to pose with his dog, or smiling with “Two Boys with Flowers”, the photos curated for this edition of “From the Archives” reveal human emotions, settings around town, and sometimes the fashions of the time.