“Celebrating Copake’s History: A Town Hall Exhibit” Opens to the Public August 13
The public is invited to the Grand Opening of a unique and permanent historical exhibit, which will take place on Saturday, August 13, at 11:30am in Copake Town Hall.
At that time, the town’s nearly 200-year history will come alive in the hallways of Town Hall. The exhibit will open with a short ceremony at the building’s entrance. Immediately afterward, the public will be admitted. The exhibit consists of 24 panels containing old photographic images of the town and relevant text. Over two years in the making, the exhibit is the work of Copake artist Nick Fritsch, Town Historian, Howard Blue, and former Town Clerk, Vana Hotaling, whom the Town Board appointed in early 2020. Fritsch spent countless hours designing each panel; Blue wrote the texts and provided photographic images obtained from numerous Copake families, and Hotaling served as a consultant.
The panels cover a wide range of topics. One panel depicts the 18th century story, How Five Kidnapped Germans Became Some of Copake’s Founders. Another tells of the 1824 arrest of Hudson Valley anti-rent movement leader Dr. Smith Boughton (AKA Chief Big Thunder), after an incident with the county sheriff in Copake. Boughton was given a life sentence. The incident is discussed in prominent historian Howard Zinn’s influential book, A People's History of the United States.
Other panels tell of Bash Bish Falls, ice harvesting, the beloved, but sad-fated Copake
movie theater, the town’s elementary schools, and the origin of Copake’s Memorial
Clock. Panels feature former postmaster and coach, Howard McGee; former Craryville
resident, Carroll Rheinstrom, The Man Who Sold Superman to the World; and Elinor
Mettler, founder and publisher of the Roe Jan Independent newspaper. One panel
is provocatively titled Winston Churchill, the Battle between the Monitor
and the Merrimack, and Copake. Churchill probably never visited Copake, but he did
make a profound comment about a historic event interestingly linked to Copake.
In the courtroom, the exhibit will also feature two original works, “First Town Meeting 1824” and “Depot” lent by Mr. Fritsch, and enlarged postcards depicting Copake landscapes contributed by Robert Callahan. Paintings by William Clark Vreeland and Donna Louise Vreeland, on loan from Thomas Vreeland, are on display in the Rheinstrom Conference Room.
The exhibit was funded by grants from the Rheinstrom Hill Community Foundation and the Bank of Greene County. It will be accessible Monday - Thursday, 8:00am to 4:00pm and Saturdays, 9am - 12 noon. Large groups might also be able view the exhibit on the afternoon of Sat. Aug 20 by special appointment. Contact Mr. Blue in advance at Copaketownhistorian@gmail.com.
Masks are currently required for entry into Town Hall.
