Presented by Dr. Gray Brechin.

Dr. Gray Brechin is an historical geographer, the author of Imperial San Francisco, a frequent radio and television guest, and a popular public speaker. He is currently a visiting scholar in the U.C. Berkeley Department of Geography and founder and project scholar of the Living New Deal.

Dutchess County was transformed by President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal work relief agencies designed to lift the U.S. out of the Great Depression. From fine schools to roads and sewers, parks, post offices, and works of art still used and enjoyed eighty years on, it’s all around you but largely unseen. Dr. Gray Brechin will talk about the Living New Deal’s ongoing work to reveal a lost civilization whose creator lived at Hyde Park.

On January 7 at 7:30pm click here to join the Zoom presentation.

Film and discussion led by Gregory Edmonds.

In honor of Black History Month — Red-Tailed Angels: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen, produced by the Pare Lorentz Center at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, will precede a discussion led by Gregory Edmonds, President of the Ohio Memorial Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. The film was produced in 2006 and contains interviews with Tuskegee Airmen who are no longer with us.

On February 4 at 7:30pm please click here to join the Zoom presentation!

Presented by historian, speaker and writer Shannon Butler .

On March 4 at 7:30pm please click here to join the Zoom presentation!

Explore the Delano family and their rise to fame and fortune as the result of their involvement in the opium trade in China. Butler will offer her insights about the illegal business venture, including the Delano’s experiences during the Opium Wars and what they did with their wealth when they returned to the U.S. Eventually the fortune trickled down to Sara Delano Roosevelt and her son, 32nd President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Our membership gets together for a potluck supper and to elect trustees and officers. Have a nomination for our Board? Please email info@clintonhistoricalsociety.org. Please join us for this event! Bring your favorite dish to share. Beverages and dessert will be provided.

Presented by Fred Schaeffer.

This will be a Zoom only presentation. The live event for this program has been cancelled.

When he served as chairman of the Walkway Over the Hudson, Fred Schaeffer led the organization’s efforts to convert the abandoned railroad bridge into the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park. Fred's presentation will include a history of the Poughkeepsie–Highland Railroad Bridge and it’s conversion to the Walkway.

On May 6 at 7:30pm click here to join the Zoom meeting or join us in person at the Creek Meeting House.

A celebration of the installation of a new historic road marker on Fiddlers Bridge Road is set for May 22 at 2 PM. The Clinton Historical Society obtained a grant from the W.G. Pomeroy Foundation to purchase a permanent metal sign commemorating the local legend of the Fiddlers Bridge Ghost. The legend notes the 1808 murder of a local fiddler on his way home after playing at a dance. His body was found under a bridge (long gone) on what is now Fiddlers Bridge Road. The celebration will include a visit from the fiddler who will recite the legend, local musician Vito Petroccitto performing his original song "The Legend of Fiddler's Bridge Road", refreshments, hay rides and the sign unveiling.

This event will be held at the Primrose Hill Farm, 203 Fiddlers Bridge Road.

Presented by Crystal Middleton and Bob Schoch.

A joint presentation by Crystal Middleton, program coordinator at the Clinton Community Library, and Bob Schoch, owner of Primrose Hill Farm, on local history in Clinton. Crystal will show a children’s educational program that she developed and Bob will talk about plans to permanently preserve the farm, its collection of farm equipment, and historical records of the Cookingham family.

On June 3 at 7:30pm click here to join the Zoom meeting or join us in person at the Creek Meeting House.

The Clinton Historical Society summer exhibit features a look at early farming and farm family life in Clinton and Dutchess County before electricity and tractors arrived.  The strict nature-driven schedule of the farmer, the supportive tasks of his wife and business partner, the education of the children, and the social life of the family are described in text and vintage images.

** Highlights **

* Over 120 vintage images with captions

* 40 early farm-related artifacts

* horse-drawn antique farm implements

The exhibit is open every Saturday and Sunday in July, from 1-4pm.

Presented by Chip Holman.

Olin Dows (1904 - 1981) was raised at Glenburn in Rhinebeck and studied painting at Harvard and the Art Students League. A lifetime painter of Dutchess County scenery, he was a leader of Roosevelt's Depression era art programs in public buildings and post offices. Chip will speak on Dows' local work on the early 1930s and the period up to World War II. We are partnering with the Southlands Foundation which was founded by Olin Dows sister, Deborah Dows.

On September 9 at 7:30pm click here to join the Zoom presentation.

Due to circumstances beyond our control this event has been canceled

Driving Tour 11AM – 4 PM

Garden Party Reception 4-5:30 PM

The Clinton Historical Society is holding its second annual driving tour of registered local landmarks on Saturday, September 24, 11 AM to 4 PM. Trained docents will explain the historical and architectural significance by providing exterior tours at ten historic properties. With the aid of a map provided by the Society, the tour is self-guided concludes with a garden party reception at an historic private home. The Town of Clinton is remarkable for its rich tapestry of historic properties and well-preserved rural landscape.  A recent historical resource survey identified 231 historically significant properties in the town.  Join us on September 24 and learn about ten of them as you ramble through the lanes and back roads the Town of Clinton, a little-known Dutchess County gem.

$30 members of the Clinton Historical Society/$50 nonmembers.

Presented by A. J. Schenkman, Gardiner town historian.

A. J. Schenkman has recently been named Best Author of 2022 by Hudson Valley Magazine for his book Patriots and Spies in Revolutionary New York. Mr. Schenkman is a prolific author on historical topics in the Hudson Valley. He is a teacher, popular historian, and frequent lecturer.

NOTE: This program is ZOOM ONLY!

On October 7 at 7:30pm click here to join the Zoom presentation.

We're at it again! Our gigantic tag sale has been extended so if you missed us last week, stop by this coming weekend. There is still lots of great stuff for your shopping pleasure! 

This popular event brings members, friends, and neighbors together for an enjoyable evening. The first stop is for wine and cheese, followed by dinner at another home and ending at the Creek Meeting House for dessert and coffee. Guests pay a minimum donation of $50 per person for CHS members and $60 per person for non-members. If you wish to participate in this important fundraiser, as a host or a guest, please contact Lisa Noval at 845- 266-4903 or ljnoval@optonline.net by 10/5.

Presented by Dr. Mark Lytle, emeritus professor of history and environmental studies at Bard College.

Dr. Lytle will speak on the 1944 presidential election when both candidates were from Dutchess County. President Roosevelt—seeking his fourth term—was from Hyde Park, while Governor Thomas E. Dewey was from Pawling. Dewey campaigned against the New Deal and for smaller government and less regulation of the economy. This was the only time both presidential candidates were from the same county.

On November 4 at 7:30pm click here to join the Zoom meeting or join us in person at the Creek Meeting House.

Please join us for this festive and fun evening! Bring a covered dish to share & a wrapped gift to auction.

We'll also have delicious homemade soups and baked goods for sale! Eat in or take out!

For more info...

Presented by Dr. Vincent Cookingham.

Dr. Cookingham will speak at Clinton Town Hall on the Germond family murders. In 1930 four members of the family were brutally murdered on their dairy farm in Stanfordville. The murders remain unsolved ninety years later and Dr. Cookingham, a distant relative of the sheriff who initially led the investigation, has applied modern forensic knowledge to the case. Presented in partnership with the Clinton Community Library

This event requires registration. Please register here.

This event is being held in person at Clinton Town Hall, 1215 Centre Rd, Rhinebeck NY.