Historic Tales of Bethlehem, New York

by Susan E. Leath

Overview

Bethlehem's bucolic countryside and bustling suburbs reflect the town's rich history. Uncover the stories that shaped the town from its Dutch settlement to today. Nathaniel Adams, along with his wife, Rhogenia, opened a stagecoach inn and became the first postmaster in what is now Delmar. The opening of the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad broadened travel and freight transportation. The LaGrange family farmed the same land for over two centuries and exemplified the region's deep agricultural roots. Suburbs flourished in the region following World War II. Drawing from her articles that first appeared in Our Towne Bethlehem, town historian Susan E. Leath celebrates the enduring community spirit of Bethlehem with this fascinating collection of essays.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467118552
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	03/14/2016
Series:	American Chronicles
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Susan E. Leath has been a resident of Bethlehem, New York for over twenty years, attended her first Bethlehem Historical Association meeting in 1995, and was appointed town historian in 2007. She did graduate work in museum studies at Brown University and previously served as director of the Florence (South Carolina) Museum of Art, Science and History. Susan is the author of Bethlehem, which was published by Arcadia Publishing in 2011. Check out her blog at BethlehemNYHistory.blogspot.com.

Table of Contents

Preface 7

Introduction: Exploring Boxes 9

Part I Community

1 Bethlehem Public Library Celebrating One Hundred Years 13

2 The Delmar School 17

3 Bethlehem Baseball 20

4 One-Room Schools: Jericho and Bethlehem Church 24

5 South Bethlehem United Methodist Church 28

6 Fighting Fires in Delmar 31

Part II Commerce

7 Too Stubborn to Quit: Lehmann's Garage, 1913-2013 37

8 Always Cool and Comfortable: The Delmar Theatre 40

9 The Slingerland Printing Company 43

10 The Home Lawn Hotel 48

11 The Bank of Bethlehem Building 51

12 The Ice Industry and Henry Hudson Park 55

13 Bethlehem Blacksmiths: John Martin and David Baxter 59

14 Adamsville and the Delmar Four Corners 64

Part III Transportation

15 The Rail in the Trail 73

16 Elsmere Station 79

17 Normanskill Bridges at Normansville 83

18 Turnpikes and Plank Roads 88

Part IV Farming

19 Dairy Farming in Bethlehem 95

20 Dutch Barns and English Barns 98

21 Grandfather Winners House Down on Whine Road 101

22 The LaGrange Farm 103

23 The Stoffels Frueh Farmhouse 107

Part V Conflict

24 Bethlehem and the American Revolution 113

25 Revolutionary War Connections: Three Families 116

26 Revolutionary War Markers 121

27 Bethlehem Connections: Civil War Soldiers and Sailors 125

28 Kiss Clara for Me: The Civil War-Era Letter of Samuel West 129

29 The Cedar Hill Army Observation Post 136

Part VI Early Bethlehem

30 Boundary Lines 143

31 Native Americans, Henry Hudson and the First Bethlehem in Bethlehem 148

32 Slavery in Eighteenth- and Early Nineteenth-Century Bethlehem 152

Part VII Summer Homes and Suburbs

33 The Mansion at Cedar Hill 159

34 Van Wies Point Summer Homes 163

35 The Suburbs 167

36 The Palmer Home in South Bethlehem 170

37 The Sager-Breeze House 173

38 The Sprong House 176

Acknowledgements 179

Bibliography 181

Index 185

About the Author 191