An Update on our Post About Alander Artist David Milne

Editor’s Note After our first post (see below) about Canadian Artist David Milne's connection to Alander Mountain, we requested additional information from the professor who had originally contacted us. His response follows.

I am just starting out this project and beginning to do my research so forgive my poor description as I still trying to get a hold on what the project will be.

I am a Canadian artist and educator based in Ithaca New York and have long been an admirer of David Milne’s work from as far back as when I used to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto growing up.

A couple of years ago I went back to take a look at the Milnes which the AGO had as I had become increasingly interested in his work through other contemporary artists being influenced by Milnes painting. I picked up a catalogue there and was interested to discover that he had lived in the U.S. for a long period of time and even more interested to discover that he had built himself a cabin and lived in the woods for a winter atop Alander Mountain.

I am hoping to make a film which will document the former site of Milnes cabin and also the surrounding landscape which he painted. Eventually I hope this results in an exhibition of the film and also a reconstruction of Milnes cabin for the gallery setting.

Landscape painting in Canada has been fundamental in helping shape how Canadians perceive the wilderness, comprehend the vast geography of the country in addition to helping formulate ideas surrounding national identity. It has long been dominated by the Group of Seven and Tom Thompson and not that Milne's influence on Canadian art is neglected but I am really interested in knowing more about the environment and region in which Milne painted abroad and how his time in the New York and Mass influenced his art practice. Partially this is personally motivated as I feel an affinity towards that particular period of his work being a Canadian living in the U.S.

Anyhow thanks for all your help and generous support in helping me look for the site of his cabin. If anybody locally has an additional information surrounding Milnes’ Alander period please feel free to forward on my information so that they may get in touch with me!

All the best
Josh Bonnetta

Making Historic Connections via Friends of Taconic State Park

This report on the local history of a Canadian artist is provided by History Advisory Board member Milbrey (Mibs) Zelley. Mibs is also the president of Friends of Taconic State Park.


We sometimes forget how much the internet has changed our lives. Occasionally, we are reminded how powerful this magic tool of technology can be.

Recently, board member Deb Cohen received an email message sent via our website from a professor at Ithaca College. His message said:

Hello, I am a filmmaker and professor based in Ithaca, New York. I am working on a project about Canadian painter David Milne. In the winter of 1920-21 he built a cabin on Alander Mountain and I am trying to find the former location. I’m wondering if there is any historical record of this or if you might put me in contact with someone who may have more information.

Deb Cohen forwarded the e-mail message to me, hoping that I might be able to fill in some gaps. I asked myself, “now, who might possibly know anything about this?” and decided that Bill Miles, owner of Copake Lumber, long-time Mount Washington, MA resident and very loyal supporter of FTSP, would be my most likely candidate. I was not disappointed!

In a long conversation with Bill I quickly realized I’d chosen the right candidate. “I’m probably one of the few people around who knows where that cabin was” Bill told me. He was very excited to learn of the professor’s interest in David Milne and gave me a very small photo copy of the cabin made from an original photo that Bill has in his possession. He told me that the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City had a brochure and CD with information about the artist having included him in a retrospective at the museum in 2004.

Then he shared the local connection: David Milne first rented a cabin on the west side of Alander in the early part of the 20^th century, but found that it was not remote enough for him. Sometime in the autumn of 1920 he had the Alander cabin constructed. It was built of birch saplings, bent into arcs. It was not very large (maybe eight feet in diameter) with an outhouse. It was located in what used to be called “Longmeadows” about 80 feet on the west side of Ashley Brook “at a point where the brook bends” deep in the Mount Washington State Forest lands. The cabin burned in the May 1930 forest fire but the first cabin used by Milne still stands. Bill said that when he first saw it, he knew that it was an artist’s studio because of the large windows on its north side.

Of course I immediately shared this report on my research with the professor in Ithaca who replied with:

Dear Milbrey:

Absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!!! This is incredible!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!!!!!!

I cannot tell you how exciting this is for me as a Canadian artist living in America to be able to track this down. He was such an influential artist in helping define Canadian landscape painting and landscape painting in general and I am planning a small film for a gallery installation on Milne’s cabin. Thank you so much for putting me in contact with [Bill Miles]. I cannot express enough my gratitude in receiving this email. I am truly touched that you have taken the time and interest to look into this for me.

I look forward to speaking with you more and thanks for taking the time to look into this for me

All the best,

Josh

The Things Contest!

Editor's Note:  Eric Alberta, a member of our History Advisory Board and resident of Copake Falls, has worked for more than 30 years as an antiques appraiser with a particular specialty in antique toys and games.  Most recently, he catalogued the toy boat collection from the prestigious Forbes Gallery  in New York City for Sotheby's.  He can frequently be seen on Antiques Roadshow where he is often asked, "What's That Thing (worth!)?"

Welcome to The Things Contest! This is your chance to win a highly fashionable, soon to be collectible, Friends of Taconic State Park t-shirt.  Simply examine the photographs, “trove” the past, search your memory and report your findings! 

The first person to post the correct answers wins!

But first, a word about the inspiration for this contest. I am a proud member of Friends of the Taconic State Park and serve on the HistoryAdvisory Board.  At a recent meeting held at the Copake Iron Works Machine Shop, a room filled with  puzzling objects rich with the air of bygone eras, I was reminded of my own past.

I grew up in a rural area surrounded by relatives who were born at the end of the nineteenth or the beginning of the twentieth century.   I listened to their stories of ancient times with amazement and awe: kerosene lamps instead of electric bulbs, iceboxes instead of refrigerators, a world void of television, gas powered lawnmowers, and Polaroid film.  Perhaps because of this early education I developed a love of history and objects (Things!) that represent the past. By examining these objects we can get a glimpse of a vanished world and a deeper understanding of our own times. I hope this contest is fun for readers and will encourage you to look at everyday objects, learn what they are, and share your discoveries. I also hope that if you have items or stories associated with the Park and the Iron Works you will bring them to our attention (see below).

Clues have been woven into the introduction but here are a few more:

Photo 1 The Grim Reaper's Best Friend

Photo 1.  The photo’s background speaks to this Thing’s use. Bonus clue: This Thing is the Grim Reaper’s best friend.

Photo 2 - A thousand words!

Photo 2. This Thing was capable of producing the equivalent of a thousand words.

Photo 3 - Oh so cold!

Photo 3. If you think this Thing was used for logging you are very cold.

For the exciting conclusion to this contest including the answers and the name of the winner tune in next week to these pages.

But wait there’s more!  A Bonus Round! For a limited time only a second prize will be awarded to the person who writes the best description, provides historical information or anecdotes about the Park, delivers the most humorous answers or correctly corrects the author.  The bonus round prizewinner will be awarded a one-year Individual’s membership to Friends of the Taconic State Park. Since many of you are wisely already members, give the membership to a friend. In so doing your friend becomes a new Friend of the Friends of the Taconic State Park.

Report From the President

It was my great honor and pleasure to welcome a crowd of well-wishers on July 28th on the occasion of the dedication of the new Taconic State Park Visitor’s Center in Copake Falls during the Third Annual Meeting of Friends of Taconic State Park.  New York State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey and New York State Council on Parks Chair Lucy R. Waletzky shared ribbon cutting duties with Leslie Wood, chairperson of  the Copake Economic Advisory Board.    Also present were Garrett Jobson and Ray Doherty from the Office of Parks’ Taconic Region.  Ray and Garrett thanked Dr. Waletzky for her generosity in making the new building possible, and unveiled a plaque dedicating a young sugar maple in her honor.  With the ringing of the old train bell, now mounted on the roof, the building doors were open for the public’s inspection and tour.

 

Margaret Roach

The guests then walked over to the Copake Iron Works for the business portion of the Annual Meeting as well as a delicious pot luck picnic.  At the meeting officers were elected for the coming year, and the by-laws were amended to allow for the expansion of the Board of Directors to eleven members.  New board members are Brian Boom and Louise Peterson, both long-time residents of Copake Falls and devoted friends of the Park.  Treasurer Deborah Cohen reported that we have raised $105,00 of the $147,000 needed to construct the protective cover over the old furnace, and Edgar Masters gave a brief report on the progress of the engineering status of the cover,  saying that he is hopeful that the footings for the uprights can be dug in the near future. Margaret Roach, who could be found flipping burgers and hot dogs for the assembled, was thanked for all her efforts on our behalf.  She will be presenting her popular slide lecture, “Nonstop Plants: The 365 Day Garden,” as a benefit for us on Saturday, August 20^th (which also happens to be Copake Falls Day). 

The Friends group is thriving, with about  190 current members.  New members continue to join.  We encourage all of you “established” members to renew your membership.  Your continued support will make possible the restoration of the Copake Iron Works Historic District, an exciting restoration plan that will create economic, recreational and cultural benefits for all of us: neighbors and visitors, young and old, athletes and historians. 

With deepest gratitude for your interest and support,

Milbrey Zelley, President

Friends of Taconic State Park

Friends of Taconic State Park - July 28, 2011

Church of St. John in the Wilderness

The Church of St. John in the Wilderness was built by the owners of the Copake Iron Works during the first years of the Works' operation. Lemuel Pomeroy and his sons began their blast furnace operation in Copake Falls in 1845. In 1851 the Pomeroys and Isaac Chesbrough raised funds to build an Episcopal Church on lands donated by the Copake Iron Works Company.

The wood frame, board-and-batten church was designed by Richard Upjohn (1802-1878), an English-born architect who is best known for his many Gothic Revival churches including Trinity Church on Wall Street in Manhattan. Upjohn was also a leader in developing the profession of architecture in the United States, serving nineteen years (1857-1876) as the founding president of the American Institute of Architects.

Completed in 1852, the church has a simple nave, an articulated chancel, an entry porch and roof-top bell tower, all executed in wood. The roof is carried on simple interior timber arch struts which curve gently upward. Behind the chancel is a triplet of stained glass lancet windows. The simple interior includes church furniture designed by Upjohn.

The church's design reflects principles of the high church movement of American Episcopalians in which Upjohn played an important part.

Architectural historian William H. Pierson, Jr., (1911-2008) of Williams College called St. John in the Wilderness "a masterpiece of distilled grace" and "elegant in proportion and infinitely refined in scale." He called special attention to the bell tower, calling it "among the most subtly composed to be found in the small Gothic Revival churches of America." The importance of St. John in the Wilderness was recognized 1995 when the Church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural significance. 

In 2007 the church was again included on the National Register, this time as a part of the Copake Iron Works Historic District which recognizes the area's historical and industrial significance.

Editor's Note: Dale Petersen, AIA, a member of The Friends of Taconic State Park History Advisory Board, is an architect with the New York City Department of Design and Construction. He and his wife Louise, also a member of the History Advisory Board, have owned a home in Copake Falls for twenty five years. He has a special interest in the hamlet's historic structures.

The Historic Railroads of Taconic State Park By Frederick Sutherland

Trains ran through the heart of Taconic State Park over 150 years ago. Back then, the Copake Iron Works owned a portion of the land the park now controls. The first owner of the Copake Iron Works, Lemuel Pomeroy, had selected the site in 1845 because it fulfilled three basic requirements for a successful iron works. The site had good quality ore, running water (Bash Bish Brook) to power the equipment, and plenty of timber nearby to burn as charcoal for the furnace. Another reason for building an iron works here is that Pomeroy probably knew where the local railroad would be built. This railroad track, now the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, connected the Iron Works to New York City in 1852. The prospective rail line is clearly depicted on county maps (Figure 1) as early as 1839 and is located almost exactly where it would be constructed 13 years later. The direct connection allowed the Iron Works to receive the raw materials it needed for production more easily and to transport finished iron products more quickly and inexpensively than by the Hudson River.

After Frederick Miles, the new owner of Copake Iron Works, took over in 1862, a narrow gauge railroad line was installed on the property to help move goods to and from the furnace (Figure 2). This railroad line appears in the 1888 Columbia County Atlas (Figure 3). The tracks ran between some of the workers homes. Just imagine all the noise and soot resulting from a locomotive going by these houses! The narrow gauge loop transported raw materials like iron ore from the mines just west of the furnace, now the Ore Pit Pond, to the furnace. The locomotive also transported completed cast-iron goods to Copake Station (a rail depot) for wider distribution and disposed of waste products, like slag.

Today much of this railroad system is still visible in and around the Park. The Depot Deli, beside the Harlem Valley Rail Trail and the Taconic State Park entrance, was a railroad depot for the Copake Iron Works (Figure 4). A cut in the hillside just north of Saint John in the Wilderness Church allowed the narrow gauge track to pass through on its way to the furnace (Figure 5). Part of the bridge deck, where the train crossed Bash Bish Brook, is located on the streambed just east of the furnace area (Figure 6). Several tall stone retaining walls supported the bridge along the southern shore of this area as well.

I encourage all of you to explore your local archives at the Columbia County Historical Society, the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society, and the Hillsdale Public Library to see many more maps and historic pictures of the trains and tracks that ran through this region. If you wish to explore the remains of the tracks in the park please be careful, as some areas can be very steep and slippery. Taconic State Park staff may be able to provide you with a copy of the 1888 Atlas map to help you retrace where the tracks once ran inside the park. The legacy of railroads at Taconic State Park is an important aspect of our regional heritage that we can experience even today through the remains that surround us while visiting the Park.

Editor's Note:  Frederick Sutherland is a doctoral candidate in Industrial Archaelogy and Heritage Management at Michigan Technological University, the pre-eminent institution for the study of that topic.  Fred is a member of our History Adbisory Board and the author of  "From Forest, to Company Town, and Back Again: Survey and History of the Copake Iron Works."