Issue 49 Patriot’s Weekend II, Saturday May 3rd May 2008 The Valley In- well as the Piermont and This is where Major John An- stitute is pleased to present Tappantown Historical Socie- dre remained as a prisoner for Patriot’s Weekend II, 2008 ties. his collaboration with the infa- which will be held Saturday, mous . The On a side note, in 1932, May 3, 2008 at Piermont and Andre Monument marks the Charles H. Johnson made the The Ma- place where the Continental DeWint House a National sonic Historical Site (DeWint Army hanged him. Historic Site. Johnson be- House) in Tappan, . lieved it preposterous to have Also, this town possessed a tall Furthermore, this event marks such a historically significant elm serving as a warning sys- the 225th anniversary of Gen- place demolished. Since tem during the American Revo- eral George Washington’s then, the New York Masons lution. It remained until 1953. meeting with British General, have maintained the grounds For a while, Tappan even con- Guy Carleton. This historic and, from 1993 to 1994, the tained the world’s largest encounter at the DeWint Masons restored the house to Weeping Willow, measuring House involved negotiations its original condition. eighty-five feet in height with a over the evacuation of remain- circumference of forty inches. ing British officers. Even The tree, however, witnessed its more significant; Carleton demise during a storm in 1987. officially recognized the Since 1965, the Tappantown United States of America as an Historical Society has been on a independent nation. Thus, to mission to preserve these build- celebrate, subsequent activities ings and natural settings will include the arrival of Gen- through the enactment of spe- eral Guy Carleton, the meeting cial zoning. between Washington and Carleton, their ride to the Equally important, the Town For more information on the DeWint House, agreements of Tappan (founded 1686) many historical places of Tap- made surrounding British contains additional historical pan please visit the Tappantown evacuation, followed by a tac- structures and sites encom- Historical Society’s website tical weapons demonstration, passing a total of eighty-five http://www.tappantown.org/ and a soldiers retreat. This acres. These places are the index.html commemoration will be held Mabie-Beech, Bogert-Haring, from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Haring-Adams, Cardona, Patriot’s Weekend Pamphlet Mabie (aka Old 76) and De- Sponsors of this event include

HUDSON RIVER VALLEY Clark-DeWint houses, the The Hudson River Valley Na- Reformed Church of Tappan tional Heritage Area, the Hud- as well as the Tappan Li- son River Sloop Clearwater, brary, Bartow-Samett Town the Hudson River Valley House, the Manse building as Greenway, M&T Bank Chari- well as the Village Church table Foundation, the Living Green and Andre Monument. History Education Foundation, In fact, Old ‘76 House played The Brigade of the American an important role in the Revolution, the Boston Beer as well. Company, Samuel Adams, as Paul Contarino

Inside this issue: Special points of interest: HRVI Honored by Locust Grove 2 • Read about Locust Grove’s ceremony Featured Historic Site 2 honoring the Hudson River Valley Institute Featured Historic Town 3 on page 2 Featured Historic Website 3 • Check out the new content being offered on the web by the FDR Library and Mu- YOUR GATEWAY TO THE Meet the Intern 4 seum on page 3 Contact Us 5 • Say farewell to our graduating class of Staff Listing 5 interns on page 5

Hudson River Valley Institute Locust Grove Honors Hudson River Valley Institute

The 180-acre Locust Grove Samuel 12; [email protected]. educators, and anyone curious about the Morse Historic Site, overlooking the region. In addition to the website, HRVI is

Hudson River is to honor the Hudson finishing its eighth year of public program- River Valley Institute of Marist College ming that commemorates the 225th anni- on Friday, June 6, 2008. The Locust versary of the American Revolution. 2008 Grove Annual Spring Garden Party will also marks HRVI’s sixth annual series of include cocktails, great food, a Silent Teaching American History workshops; an auction, jazz music and dancing in the opportunity offering lectures, research and evening. The event will honor the In- technology to teachers from the mid- stitute for promoting the Hudson River Hudson region. Valley culture and history through pro- Alicia Sharp grams at Marist. Tickets run from $150 per person or table sponsorships rang- ing from $1,500 to $3,000. For infor- mation about sponsorships, Garden Party Journal advertising or to purchase The Hudson River Valley Institute is being tickets, contact Ann Melious, Director honored for providing resources to the sur- of Development, at 845 454-4500, ext. rounding communities, scholars, families, Featured Historic Site — Locust Grove

rented by the Young family and was used as a summer home. In 1901, the family purchased the land from Morse’s heirs. Understanding the historical sig- nificance of the land, the Young family honored it by displaying collections of historic relics within the home, many of which are still currently displayed. The estate was then preserved in a trust left by the will of the Young daughter An- nette. Recently, Locust Grove was able to pur- chase two other estates, Southwood and While the grounds of Locust Grove are Edgehill. The purchase expands the open all year, the historical site will begin historical site by a total of 33 acres and, offering its seasonal tours this month. with the purchase, the site will now be The site is highlighted by its beautiful able to expand the trails on the grounds. rd garden and spectacular views from the On May 3 , in part to honor preservation hillsides, which overlook the Hudson. month, the staff will be giving tours of Locust Grove, the historical estate of the new grounds, along with the chance Samuel Morse, offers an insight into his to see rare pictures from the historical life with an introductory video and ex- estates. The cost of the guided hike is hibit. After viewing the exhibit there are $3. tours to view the grounds, including a For more information about Locust look into the home that once belonged to Grove, tours and general information the Morse and Young families. In 1847, he purchased the land and move please visit their webstie http:// in with his three children. It is at this time Morse is most famous for patenting the www.lgny.org/ or call them at 845-454- that the estate was named Locust Grove. electromagnetic telegraph, an invention 4500 In 1851, he had the house remodeled to that would have tremendous influence on resemble that of an Italian villa, which is Kim Maschak the advancement of communication tech- the current architectural style present to- nology. However, he also spent much of day. his time painting. Several of his works can be seen on display in Locust Grove. After Morse’s death in 1872, the land was

Page 2 HUDSON RIVER VALLEY INSTITUTE Historic Town — Yonkers Located seventeen miles north of the a bustling trade hub with a diverse com- ans and young people at St. Joseph’s Semi- southern tip of Manhattan Island on the munity. By the time of the Industrial nary where he addressed a crowd of over eastern bank of the Hudson River sits the Revolution, Yonkers had several indus- 25,000 people. During his historic visit, city of Yonkers, New York. Settled in the tries including cotton, sugar, and carpets. the Pope reflected on his troubled child- late 1640s by Adriaen Van der Donck, the Its ideal location along the Hudson River hood of being forced into the ranks of the city was strategically located at the junc- made the city easily accessible to ships Hitler Youth. He proclaimed to the crowd tion of the Hudson and Nepperhan Rivers. and the emerging dominance of the rail- that that the, “evils of substance abuse, Van der Donck had been given the land road. On June 1st, 1872 New York Gov- by the Dutch East India Company and had ernor John Thompson Hoffman officially constructed the first saw mill in the New incorporated Westchester County’s first World. He was often referred to as “Jonk city. Herr” or young gentleman. Over the dec- The city of Yonkers has a tradition of ades, his name changed to Younckers and historic firsts. In 1861 it was the first then finally to its current form of town in the county to feature street light- Yonkers. ing. In the following year Elisha Otis Van der Donck soon turned over the invented the first safety elevator. The city rights to his land to the Philipse Family in was witness to the invention of the the late 1600s. By this time, the city was world’s first elevated mass train system in 1867. On Lake Avenue in 1888, the first golf game was played in the United States. In 1912, Yonkers resident Edwin H. Armstrong invented the FM radio homelessness and poverty, racism, vio- broadcast. The 20th Century also brought lence, and degradation of girls and women the invention of the trolley car which was result in people being treated as objects rapidly replacing the horse as a form of and the denial of God given human dig- public transportation. nity” re-affirming the American value of On April 19th, 2008 the city of Yonkers, equality. as well as the Hudson River Valley, had For more information about Yonkers the privilege of hosting Pope Benedict through the centuries, visit the Yonkers XVI during his Apostolic Journey to the Historical Society. United States of America. In his visit to Yonkers he attended a rally for seminari- Jason Jacondin Featured Website— FDR Library and Museum Digital Archives

The FDR Library Digital Archives is a Safe Files; The Confidential Files; The Dip- graphs of President Roosevelt, Eleanor repository of original, digitized primary lomatic Files; The Departmental Files; and Roosevelt, the Great Depression, World documents available online for the view- The Subject Files. These subject areas, as War II, and other influential events dur- ing public to enjoy and freely browse. well as others, are well represented in the ing the Roosevelt Administration. Fur- Hosted by Marist College for the Frank- Digital Archives and allow a visitor the free- thermore, the digital archive provides a lin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Li- dom to browse as they please amongst the substantial collection of primary docu- brary, the Digital Archive allows the five series. For the first time, the FDR Li- ments which illustrate the relationship public to access the digitized versions of brary, in this initiative, is allowing the view- between the United States and the Vati- primary documents which have been ing public the ease of access to their substan- can in the pursuit of peace during the scanned, compiled, and made available tial collection of documents, from the com- World War II era. online from the FDR Library’s impres- fort of their home. To browse the collection for pleasure or sive collection. In addition to the organizational system, sev- research, please visit their website. Most of the documents found in the FDR eral other sub-collections have been made Their homepage provides visitors with a Library Digital Archives come from the available through the FDR Digital Archives. brief overview of what the archives have collection known as the President's Sec- Many of President Roosevelt’s Fireside to offer as well as instructions for prop- retary's File (PSF). The PSF is arranged Chats are now available which maybe of in- erly citing documents found in the ar- alphabetically by correspondent and sub- terest to FDR researchers and scholars. Also, chives. ject, and is divided into five series: The the digital archive features over 1,000 photo- Jess Boyle

Page 3 HUDSON RIVER VALLEY INSTITUTE Meet the Intern—Tricia Lynch Tricia Lynch is from ment Law or Environmental Law. ing quality time with friends, Tricia has Long Island, and is a spent her four years at Marist as a mem- Tricia was a writing and research intern at senior at Marist Col- ber of Marist College Singers and the the Hudson River Valley Institute as a lege. She will be Literary Arts Society. She also volunteers sophomore, but she decided to return as a graduating this May as a tutor in the Writing Center and works senior in order to help with the Walkway with a B.A. in Eng- as a student secretary in the School of Over the Hudson project. In addition to lish and a Paralegal Liberal Arts at Marist. interning at HRVI, Tricia also spent last Certificate. In the summer interning at the Suffolk County Over the summer, Tricia plans to work in fall, Tricia will be- District Attorney’s Office. She gained a law firm near her home and prepare gin her first year at valuable experience by assisting in re- herself for the next phase of her life. Hofstra University search for open cases in the Asset Forfei- School of Law. She Tricia Lynch ture Unit. ultimately hopes to pursue a career in Sports and Entertain- In addition to her schoolwork and spend- Meet the Intern — Richard J. (RJ) Langlois

It has been a year and a half now that RJ set the record straight that he did com- at HRVI was well spent and immeasurably has been under the good graces of the plete his work on time for that assign- enlightening in more ways then the piece’s Hudson River Valley Institute. Though he ment. Returning in the spring, RJ found word limit will allow articulation of. RJ must honestly say that when he first got himself promoted to sergeant major as asked this humble involved with the program he had no clue well as returning to his old position of (and entirely reli- as to what he was getting himself into. the editor of the monthly HRVI newslet- able) narrator to Colonel pointed his index finger one day ter. And for some reason unbeknownst leave this parting and RJ was committed till the rest of his to him, HRVI asked RJ to return for his message: I came days at Marist College, and without a final semester at Marist where he be- not knowing why, doubt for the better. came the assistant editor of the newslet- and leave finding ter, revised Clearwater once more, and that which I was Starting as an (un)common intern during worked on the Mill’s Mansion project looking for; I shall the fall of his junior year, RJ was assigned (all under one credit this narrator might be back. the historical topic of Clearwater, which add). But when this humble narrator followed him till his ending days at HRVI asked RJ what he thought of the en- (and most likely beyond at the going deavor, he explained to me that his time Richard J. (RJ) Langlois rate). This humble narrator would like to Meet the Intern — Robert J. Harvey

Robert J. Harvey, graduating cum laude being a freelance writer while looking for a enviously remember the painful 9 o’clock in May with a BA in English with a con- position as an English teacher. internship hours when he is forced to wake centration in writing, has prospered here up before the crack of dawn to get prepared As the semester comes to a close, Rob’s at Marist College and the Hudson River for the workday. days are full of excitement and crunched Valley Institute. His time here at Marist writing. He has completed and presented Robert J. Harvey College and HRVI has prepared him to his independent writing project where he enter the workforce and, unless he wins displayed a portion of his novel-in- the lottery or Powerball in the next few progress Lavender Kiss. Also, he has dili- months, he will begin to prepare for a gently finished his writing for his final job as a high school teacher. Capping project and presentation as well as Prior to entering the workforce, he vows alleviating some of the technical burden for to enjoy one last care-free summer. He creating the two Capping publications off will spend his summer enjoying gradua- of his professor’s back. tion party after graduation party until he Yet, with all the positives that college has travels to Ireland in early June. Assum- brought, the only thing his college career ing he returns from Ireland, he will work has been unable to teach him is how to for his teaching certification and spend wake up any earlier than noon. Rob will the 08-09 year working odd jobs and

Page 4 HUDSON RIVER VALLEY INSTITUTE Contact Us

The Hudson River Valley is one of only 37 congressionally designated National Heritage Areas in the United States. As one of the most important The Hudson River Valley Institute regions in the United States, it is the fountainhead of a truly American Marist College identity. Recognizing the area's national value, Congress formed the Hud- 3399 North Road son River Valley National Heritage Area in 1996 to recognize, preserve, protect, and interpret the nationally-significant history and resources of the Poughkeepsie, NY 12601-1387 valley for the benefit of the nation.

Phone: 845-575-3052 The Hudson River Valley Institute (HRVI) is the academic arm of the Fax: 845-575-3176 Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area. Its mission is to study and E-mail: [email protected] promote the Hudson River Valley and to provide educational resources for heritage tourists, scholars, elementary school educators, environmental organizations, the business community, and the general public. Its many projects include the publication of The Hudson River Valley Review and the The Hudson River Valley : management of a dynamic digital library and leading regional portal site. ”The Landscape that Defined America” As the center for the study of the Hudson River Valley, the Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College is the central hub for information about the region that Congress called "the Landscape that defined America." www.hudsonrivervalley.org

Staff Dr. Thomas Wermuth, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, Director, Hudson River Valley Institute

Dr. Colonel James M. Johnson (U.S. Army, ret.), Executive Director, Hudson River Valley Institute

Christopher Pryslopski, Program Director

Ann Panagulias, Business Manager

Contributors to this issue:

Robert Harvey , Editor-in-Chief RJ Langlois, Assistant Editor

Jess M. Boyle, Intern Tricia Lynch, Intern

Paul Contarino, Intern Kimberly Maschak, Intern

Jason Jacondin, Intern Alicia Sharp, Intern

Page 5 The newsletter is the production of the interns of HRVI HUDSON RIVER VALLEY INSTITUTE