NEWSLETTER
A presentation on history at Staatsburgh State Historic Site
2:00pm, Saturday June 21
Staatsburg, N.Y. (6/3/25) — Following Juneteenth, Staatsburgh State Historic Site presents a weekend program at 2:00pm on Saturday, June 21, a talk by Bill Jeffway on how the Black community of 19th-Century Dutchess County engaged in economic enterprise, from the realm of global trade to the smallest self-sufficient farm: “Navigating Wealth and Poverty: The Varied Economies of the 19th-Century Black Community”. A short reception with light refreshments will follow. Reservations are required. Please visit: https://SSHSWealthandPoverty.eventbrite.com Cost: $5.
Bill Jeffway is the Executive Director of the Dutchess County Historical Society; he also serves on the research committee of Celebrating the African Spirit, and on the advisory committee to Vassar College's Inclusive History Initiative.
Juneteenth (June 19th) celebrates African American freedom; it marks the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed enslaved people that they were free, 2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Staatsburgh is delighted to present a talk that focuses on Black history in Dutchess County in the critical century that encompasses abolition of slavery in New York and the remarkable transition all Black residents had to navigate as their status and roles were re-defined against a context of continued prejudice and denial of full citizenship.
Staatsburgh State Historic Site is open for guided mansion tours by reservation, Thursdays through Sundays. To attend a mansion tour, please make advance reservations on www.Bookeo.com/StaatsburghSHS; admission is charged upon arrival. Visitors may also enjoy a picnic or stroll by the Hudson River, or a hike along the woodland trails in adjacent Mills Memorial State Park.
Staatsburgh State Historic Site and the Ogden Mills & Ruth Livingston Mills Memorial State Park are located on Old Post Road in Staatsburg, off Route 9 between Rhinebeck and Hyde Park. The historic site is one of 6 sites and 15 parks administered by the Taconic Region of New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. For more information, call 845-889-8851, or visit Staatsburgh’s websites at, https://www.Bookeo.com/StaatsburghSHS , www.facebook.com/StaatsburghSHS, and www.staatsburghstatehistoricsite.blogspot.com. Staatsburgh’s events are also listed at parks.ny.gov
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 parks, historic sites, recreational trails, golf courses, boat launches and more, and welcomes over 80 million visitors annually. For more information on any of these recreation areas, visit parks.ny.gov, download the free NY State Parks Explorer app or call 518.474.0456. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), the OPRHP Blog or via the OPRHP Newsroom.
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