A Local History Center in Dutchess County, JeZ,Se EWton

A LOCAL HISTORY CENTER IN DUTCHESS COUNTY by Jesse Effron

"To learn the abstractions of history and never to learn the concrete reality is to throw away local bread under the impression that imported stones are more nourishing."

Lewis Mumford, Amenia, N.Y., in an address to the Dutchess County Historical Society

"If we understand that something more than antiquarianism is needed to give us a rounded picture of man in his environment, even though that environment be nothing more than a village of five hundred souls, we have gone far along the right road to the frame of reference which embraces mankind itself." George Roach, Rhinebeck, N.Y., in an article: Final Report: Historical Records Survey in Upstate New York. The mid-Hudson Valley has provided a natural setting of transcendent beauty for some of the most significant events and movements in American history. One cannot explore the Revolution, the Constitution, American art, architecture, horticulture, literature, sports, business or education without quickly finding oneself in the Hudson Valley, and quite likely in Dutchess County. Indeed, the names of Hudson Valley residents evoke every facet of American achievement from the 18th century to the present day. (As a curious aside, it is interesting to recall that in 1944 the American people were given a choice of two Dutchess County residents for President.) But local history is not concerned only with those who have achieved success and recognition. There have been countless figures of lesser frame whose fascinating personalities and careers typify the variety of American life. Yet there is no museum or local history center for the mid-Hudson Valley. In a sense, this spirit of self denigration is a part of local history that requires explanation. Lewis Mumford has said that you don't have to see the state markers to know when you are passing from Connecticut to New York State. On the occasion when he made that remark he was suggesting no invidious comparison, but one does not have to be unusually sensitive to notice that the difference does not flatter New York State. The time is now ripe for the establishment of a center of local history in Poughkeepsie. This institution, concerning itself at first with Dutchess County would naturally and inevitably expand to become the chief center for collecting materials on the whole mid-Hudson Valley and would serve and attract scholars as well as general public interested in art, architecture, politics and literature, indeed, all aspects of life in the Hudson Valley. Scholars in the colleges would use such a center, as would their students. So would teachers on the high school and elementary school level. Genealogists, antiquarians, newspaper reporters, free-lance writers, city planners, environmentalists 26

and, of course, tourists as well as ordinary citizens, indulging their nostalgia - all these people would be attracted to a museum and center for local history. Support for such an institution would come, naturally, from all of the groups that would be attracted to it. Significant support financially might be expected from those families whose history has been intimately connected with the area. The educational institutions using the facilities certainly would add their support. In this connection it is not amiss to call attention to the fact that Franklin D. Roosevelt contributed his papers and arranged for a library to be built to house these papers at no cost to the government with the expectation that the library would specifically preserve and further his Dutchess County collection. In a letter to a Mrs. Walter Graeme Eliot, F.D.R. wrote, "In the new library there has been set aside, as you have probably read, a special room for documents and other historical material relating to Dutchess County." And about the same time he wrote to Helen Wilkinson Reynolds, "I hope to be home Sunday and I wonder if you and Mrs. Ver Nooy could come out one of those afternoons.... We could talk over the problem of staffing the Dutchess County Room in the new Library." Obviously, the President had in mind something more than mere custodial care for his collection of Hudson Valley material. Other supporters can be found among the various ethnic groups that have entered the Hudson Valley since colonial days and are very interested in preserving a record of their coming here and registering the contribution made by members of their community. An oral history program would be ideally suited to gathering information from the early settlers of the various national groups. This is a program that will lose much of its value unless it is started soon, and will become impossible in a decade or so. Various foundations and governmental departments are interested in promoting local history centers and their support should be sought. Finally, it goes without saying that progressive business firms would also support such an institution. A local history museum and center would eventually become a major institution in the Hudson Valley. It is not unreasonable to hope that some philanthropic person might be willing to give a gift of sufficient size to establish such a museum and endow it sufficiently to put it on a firm financial basis. Such an act would, itself, signal a reversal of the neglect that has plagued this region since the end of the 19th century. There are four principal collections of local history material in Dutchess County (not counting the records in the various governmental offices such as the County Clerk's Office, etc.): Adriance Memorial Library, the Dutchess County Historical Society, the F.D.R. Library, and Vassar College. Together they provide a formidable base for the study of local history. They have an enormous amount of manuscript material, complete runs of local newspapers dating back to the 18th century, many thousands of photographs, diaries, account books, and annual reports of businesses and community organizations. Their collections of bound books include just about everything of importance about the region. However, having paid tribute to their excellence

in many areas, there are certain weaknesses that should not be overlooked. First, the great strengths are in early preCivil War material and these have to do with the leading families of that period, while large areas relating to cultural, social, religious, ethnic, political and economic history - especially in the 20th century are lightly covered or entirely lacking. Second, none of these collections has a full time director of local history whose sole interest it is to fill out the thin areas and to go after new material that will answer the needs of future historians. F. Gerald Ham, writing in The American Archivist of January, 1975 addressed himself to the improved quality of present day archives. Thirty years ago personal and family archives accounted for 38% of all reported accessions; but they account for only 14% today. In this same period, records of labor, of social and political protest, and of social welfare increased from less than 1% to nearly 1/4 of all accessions. Unlike family papers these archives usually do not fall unsolicited into the hands of a waiting archivist, and their percentage rise on the accession charts is partly the result of the sensitivity and hard work of many archivists. Local history administration in Dutchess County would seem to be at the stage that Mr. Ham identifies with "thirty years ago" so far as the collections are concerned. To correct this situation here is a partial list of activities that should engage the attention of the local history center: local industries such as the manufacturing of bricks, iron, farm machinery, cough drops, canvas bags, as well as whaling, icepacking and glass blowing in the past; the history of firms that are presently active in the fields of banking, publishing, computer manufacturing, lumber wholesaling, and elevator manufacturing - to mention a few. The annual reports and other selected materials of public services should be kept. This would apply to hospitals, firefighters, police, water, sewage, utilities, and roads and transportation. The records of professional societies and trade unions should be preserved. The changing architecture of the area should be recorded. As was mentioned above, an oral history program should be undertaken, not merely among the ethnic groups but among all segments of the population, particularly those who can recollect services, songs, legends, and manners that are dying away. Certainly the black population which has become a significant proportion of the whole population of Poughkeepsie should be drawn into this program - especially since the pattern of life of that group is undergoing vast changes. Naturally, the traditional fields of collecting, namely, the memorabilia of important persons and older families, and the activities of the religious denominations should not be neglected. Obviously this kind of collecting cannot be done by a part-time basis or in a fit of absent-mindedness characteristic of the present collections. In order to fill the needs of Dutchess County in the field of local history, I would propose the following: 1. Locate a building easily accessible, of suitable size to house the following facilities: an exhibition room, or preferably two, each 30'x50'; a

reading room, research room, storage for books, periodicals, artifacts, photographs, tape recordings and archival material of the usual sort such as letters, diaries, and other manuscripts, and administrative offices. (The old Poughkeepsie City Hall would be ideal in size, shape and location, or possibly Vassar College, the F.D.R. Library or Adriance might expand their facilities to include such a center; Vassar Institute might be another suitable candidate); 2. Establish a staff, not necessarily very large, capable of putting on exhibitions, storing, indexing and conserving the material collected and establishing finding aids for local history materials located elsewhere, as for example in the New York State Library, the New York Public Library, etc.; 3. Build around the institution a supporting group ("Friends of Local History" or "Friends of the Hudson Valley") who would provide volunteers to assist in collecting material, putting on exhibitions and who generally would act as a link between the center and the public at large; 4. Establish a committee from the various colleges and local history societies to assist and guide the director in building and cataloging the collection. The key to success in this project is a dedicated and knowledgeable director. He would fill the center not only with relevant materials but with activities, making known to the world and to the local population the historic significance of this area. In the past many important documents have left this valley or have been lost through simple neglect. An institution such as we have described, properly directed would do much to put an end to this erosion. The director would make it his business to locate important materials and woo their possessors. At the same time, many people, who at present might be reluctant to part with important historic materials, would gladly give them up if they felt there was an institution functioning where the papers would receive proper care, would be cataloged and brought to the attention of scholars and writers and would thus be used rather than being buried away unnoticed. A proper local history center should not be difficult to establish at this time when interest runs very high. It would increase the self-respect of the residents of the region, a badly needed quality in an area where self-denigration has contributed so much to regional and urban decay.