Each year the Hastings Historical Society presents various programs of interest to the community, either as the sole presenter or in collaboration with other local organizations.
Our annual meeting (with an accompanying lecture program) is held each spring, often in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Friends of the Hastings Public Library.
A recurring event that began in 2017 is an annual or biannual star gazing party in Draper Park, co-hosted by the Westchester Amateur Astronomers.
In recent years we have also collaborated with the Hastings Village Arts Commission and the Hastings Conservation Commission. Scroll down for details on these and other recent events.
The Hastings Historical Society presents a lecture by Dr. Erik Weiselberg, Principal Historian for Revolutionary Hastings, a local group that is expanding our village’s monument commemorating the Battle of Edgar’s Lane.
During a patrol into the dangerous Neutral Ground in the autumn of 1778, an elite unit of Hessian cavalry was nearly annihilated in a devastating ambush carried out by an American party. Given the strength of Crown forces, how was such a stunning victory achieved? Travel back in time with Dr. Weiselberg, who helps us imagine the dashing young cavalry officer from Virginia named Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee, the helpful locals such as tavern-keeper Peter Post and mounted scout Isaac Odell, and the brave resistance by the doomed Hessians.
Dr. Erik Weiselberg will also provide a sneak preview of plans for an interpretive memorial near the site of Hastings’ Battle of Edgar’s Lane.
Our guest lecturer holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Oregon and has been a social studies teacher in Westchester for over 18 years. He is also the Principal Historian for Revolutionary Westchester 250, a group organized to commemorate Westchester County’s pivotal role in American Independence and the Revolutionary War.
In addition to the main presentation, there will be a short celebration and review of the Hastings Historical Society’s activities over the past year. Please join us for conversation and light refreshments immediately following the program.
Co-Sponsored by :
Revolutionary Hastings
www.revhoh.org
Fred Charles
Supported by:
Revolutionary Westchester 250
RW250.org
Constance Messerly Kehoe, President and Director
Marika Plater, a doctoral student in history at Rutgers University, used photos and historical accounts to give a program titled, Up at Dudley’s Grove: 19th Century Steamboat Excursions to Hastings-on-Hudson. Marika is studying how poor and working-class New Yorkers of the late 19th century found recreation outdoors.
Her talk and slide show took us on a steamboat excursion in July, 1878 from Manhattan to Dudley’s Grove, a picnic area on the Yonkers/Hastings border that was active from about 1860-1888. Some of the materials Marika utilized in her research are from our archives, including Dudley’s log book and a photo volume titled “Panorama of the Hudson.” Both were on hand for audience members to see after the program.
A team of amateur astronomers, including Hastings resident Rich Steeves, hosted another in a series of family stargazing parties in Draper Park. Telescopes were provided in hopes of viewing Venus, Jupiter and the Galilean Moons, globular clusters and other deep sky objects. Mother nature turned this event into a cloud gazing party, but we hope to hold another event in the fall of 2018. Details will be announced. Check out the WAA website at: westchesterastronomers.org
Hosted by the Historical Society and Hastings Village Arts Commission, this was a free community event that was part of the How High the Moon series of activities. Amateur astronomer Francis O’Reilly, and local amateur astronomer Rich Steeves, as well as a number of colleagues from Westchester Amateur Astronomers, set up telescopes on the field in Draper Park for great views of the moon, Saturn, the Ring Nebulae, and globular cluster M13. Dozens of people of all ages joined us for this wonderful occasion.
Award-winning author Dava Sobel spoke about her book The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars. This lecture was presented at the library in collaboration with the Village Arts Commission, as part of the How High the Moon art exhibit and related events. Ms. Sobel focused on how the astronomers in Hastings’ Draper family, particularly Henry and his wife, Anna Palmer Draper, and their niece Antonia Maury, contributed to the field of astronomy in the 19th century.
The Historical Society put together an exhibit about the astronomers in the Draper family and their contribution to U.S. scientific achievement, along with a history of the Observatory Cottage. This was displayed at the Municipal Building as part of the How High the Moon art exhibit in collaboration with the Village Arts Commission. We have plans to present our portion of the display as a permanent exhibit at the Cottage when space permits.
Prior to our annual meeting, we held an artifact and ephemera evaluation day at the Observatory Cottage modeled after the PBS television program “Antiques Road Show,” calling it “Hastings Road Show.” Visitors brought possessions ranging from paintings and household items to books and coins, as well as cereal box trinkets from their childhood. Our evaluators included Hastings resident Marc Rosner, who specializes in antiques, coins and old bottles; Tom Lecky, owner of Riverrun Books and Manuscripts on Washington Avenue; and Ruth Taylor, owner of an estate and tag-sale service Mostly Memories.
This was a two-part symposium, presented by the Hastings Conservation Commission, on the state of Hillside Woods. Part 1 discussed the factors contributing to the Woods’ current state of erosion and deforestation, while Part 2 offered possible remediation strategies.
As a co-sponsor, the Historical Society provided a history of the Hillside area from Native American times to today, which was presented on easels to those attending the event.
The Hastings Historical Society’s Spring 2010 house tour brought to life some of the most vivid personalities of Hastings’ past, through the Hastings places they called home. Volunteers researched the history of each home and were stationed at the stops on the tour to answer questions. Curious about that ruined stone castle on Pinecrest Drive or the estate homes that once commanded vast sections of our village? These properties and the people who built them were among the fascinating stops on our two-day, 15-home tour.
The full itinerary included:
The Gribben House, 60 Edgars Lane
The Sanger House, 155 Edgars Lane
The Locust Hill House, 31 Sheldon Place
Three Gables, 32 Sheldon Place
The Shreve House, 50 Euclid Avenue
The Farragut House, 128 Washington Avenue
The Observatory Cottage, 407 Broadway in Draper Park
The Cropsey Studio, 49 Washington Avenue
The Clark House, 17 Pinecrest Drive
The Norman Castle, 114 Pinecrest Drive
The Kosloff Stone Mansion, 131 Pinecrest Drive
The Read/Moore House, 142 High Street
