Dear Friends,
Our very best wishes for the New Year! 2012 is significant for the Orangetown Historical Museum & Archives for many reasons – but most importantly because it reflects our 20th Anniversary. In 1992 a handful of visionary residents came together behind a simple but powerful idea – to create a historical entity dedicated to preserving and protecting the legacy of the Town of Orangetown.
Since that day in September of 1992 our collective achievements have been many. We have expanded our operations to include not only the historic Salyer House in Pearl River but also the DePew House in Orangeburg. We have curated and mounted 23 exhibitions highlighting local history, amassed a significant archive comprised of photographs, books, documents, objects and ephemera from the area and have served as a clearing house of knowledge on local history. We have fielded questions regarding topics from local ghosts to landing strips, mentored a small battalion on college students involved in history and set up an education program with the South Orangetown Middle School. We have sponsored lectures and extended knowledge of the Sparkill Creek, set up a website and generated a quarterly newsletter.
What we felt was lacking was a book that would help us to tell the collective history of the river villages and hamlets that make up the Town of Orangetown. I am very pleased to take this opportunity to announce that, within the ‘Images of America’ Arcadia Press series we have published ‘Orangetown’ a pictorial and historic overview. I hope that, as a friend of the Museum, you will consider adding this book to your library.
The publishing of our book kicks off the celebrations for our 20th year. The next exhibit at the DePew house, opening on April 28th, 2012 is ‘WE ARE ORANGETOWN’ a celebration of the six hamlets and four river villages that together create Orangetown. Independently they speak to our nation’s growth and development along ‘America’s river – the Hudson. Together, they verify the claim – Rich in History’. Our spring antique sale on May 19th will be a participatory event included in the annual New York Heritage Weekend. Our annual dinner this spring will honor County Historian Craig Long, celebrate our 20th anniversary and be an opportunity for us to look back together fondly and plan for the future, boldly. We look forward to your being along for this journey with us.
Sincerely,
Mary Cardenas
Director, Orangetown Historical Museum & Archives
Town Historian, Town of Orangetown
