Everyday Will Be Sunday When the Town Goes Dry

by Eleanor (Ellie) Charwat

The focus will be on the Hudson Valley’s role in production, distribution, and sale of illegal liquor during prohibition. A PowerPoint presentation will accompany her talk.

Get ready for summer by cleaning out those closets—and help the Clinton Historical Society at the same time. Email info@clintonhistoricalsociety.org to find out when we begin to collect items for this year’s sale.

The story of John Dewey—Clinton Corners' legendary custom gunmaker—will be told by his son George in a presentation at the Clinton Historical Society on Friday, June 2. John Dewey had a national reputation for building highly accurate rifles and pistols. His business partners included the "Big Band" leader Artie Shaw, a renowned jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader, who died in 2004. Artie Shaw and his swing-era band were famed for hits including “Begin the Beguine,” "Frenesi," and “Stardust.” Shaw, whose eight wives included actresses Lana Turner and Ava Gardner, was also known as an expert marksman. Today John Dewey's shop and home are the site of the Evangelical Free Church on Salt Point Turnpike, not far from the Clinton Historical Society's Quaker Meeting House. George Dewey, who lived in Clinton Corners, is the founder and president of J Dewey Rods—Quality Gun Cleaning Equipment.

Every summer the Society organizes a special exhibit on a topic of local history in the Creek Meeting House. Exhibits are open to the public free of charge on weekends in July.


Music is the subject of this year’s interactive exhibit which runs July 8 - July 30 and will feature more than 22 vintage music machines and radios.

Click for details!

Every summer the Society organizes a special exhibit on a topic of local history in the Creek Meeting House. Exhibits are open to the public free of charge on weekends in July.


Music is the subject of this year’s interactive exhibit which runs July 8 - July 30 and will feature more than 22 vintage music machines and radios.

Don't miss 1930s ragtime piano player, Peter Muir, performing this Saturday, July 22 at 2 p.m. at the Creek Meeting House! All are welcome, free of charge.

Click for details!

It’s your last chance to see the exhibit that is the talk of the town!

See demonstrations of our antique music machines including c.1879 Swiss cylinder music box, 1890 parlor organ, 1895 Edison cylinder phonograph, 1903 Regina disc music box, 1925 player piano, 1930s Victrola, and 1950 Wurlitzer juke box.

Learn the history of radio from our “History of Radio” display panel and our twenty vintage radios, circa 1920 through 1950s, including a crystal radio set, a 1923 radio with 3 tuning dials, and a 1932 Philco cathedral radio broadcasting FDR’s “Day of Infamy” speech.

Experience our interactive exhibit demonstrating Morse code over an authentic 1879 transatlantic cable.

Reminisce over our seven large display panels showing original sheet music covers, music historical information, and backgrounds of the music and recording artists with photos for each decade from the 1890s through the 1950s, music machines “How It Works”, and a large collection of reproduced vintage advertising for music machines and radios.

Enjoy the interactive video station featuring 11 famous big bands and popular dances of the 1920s through 1940s.

Challenge yourself at a game of “Identify These Famous Radio Stars”.

Create a memory by having your picture taken in our 1920s Clinton living room including a vintage radio.

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A talk and slide show presented by Cynthia Koch, Clinton Historical Society president and former director of the FDR Library in Hyde Park. This presentation reviews Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s family history, his love of the Hudson Valley and all things “Dutch” and the ways in which he used these concepts of home and family to connect with people and communicate his policies. This slide show highlights 50 images from the collections of the FDR Library.

This program chronicles the early history of the once thriving community that—until 1932—was part of the main route from New York City to Albany before a bypass was constructed around the quaint village. Staatsburg was well known during the 19th century for its ice-harvesting operations, the famous Staatsburg Ice Tool Company, and one of the oldest stagecoach stops in the region (now a private residence). Anthony will also present captivating details about four estates that once occupied the village.

Members open their homes every fall for an evening of fabulous food and drink to benefit the Society. Delicious hors d’oeuvres, homemade dinners, desserts, and beverages are donated by volunteer hosts throughout the community. The evening begins with wine and cheese receptions in two or three locations, then guests “progress” to one of more than a dozen intimate dinner parties held in private homes. The evening concludes with a cornucopia of home-baked desserts at the Creek Meeting House.

Using records from the Ancient Documents Collection of the Dutchess County Court of Common Pleas, tales and incidents from the seedier side of life in 18th and 19th century Clinton and its predecessor municipalities will be explored. These will include the fate of unwed mothers who fell afoul of the town fathers, a grisly murder of an infant that bridged the divide between Clinton and Pleasant Valley, and how Quakers interacted with the county courts.

Join us on the First Friday in December for a festive potluck supper and whimsical auction of “Secret Santa” wrapped gifts.

The Society hosts local crafters, a holiday tag sale, and a bake sale. A great way to get your holiday shopping started—while benefiting the Clinton Historical Society!