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Published by the Town of Monterey |
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The book is available for sale from The Bidwell House at $25 plus
post and packing. Please contact us if you wish to have a copy sent. mailto:info@bidwellhousemuseum.org |
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| Starting with an introduction to the Muhikonneneuw (or Mahican) who first inhabited this area, the book covers the history of Monterey from when it was created as part of Township Number One in 1737 (later incorporated as Tyringham) through the split from Tyringham into a separate town in 1847 and into the modern day. | |||
 Photo from an old postcard, photographer & date unknown, courtesy of June Tryon. |
The book incorporates diaries,
journals, maps and photographs preserved by people whose families have
lived for generations in Monterey. One example is the diary starting in
1865 of Elihu Harmon (1850-1940) who became a teacher and lived in this
former parsonage for nearly fifty years. His diary was found in the
attic after the house had been abandoned. |
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| Included is the town's long history as a summer vacation home for New Yorkers and others, its rich and continuing farming tradition, the period in the 19th century when there was a paper mill in the center, and the recreational facilities of Lake Garfield, renamed in honor of the assassinated President who had spent time as a youth in the town, and the State Forests, Arthur W. Swann and Beartown, through which runs the Appalachian Trail. |  Amy Loom on Lake Garfield,1900. Photographer unknown, courtesy of June Tryon. |
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| Many local people contributed to the book: some professional historians, some amateur; some telling their personal or family history with the town, others telling the story of education in Monterey - from one-room to regional, of the private water company, of the venerable volunteer fire department and so on and so on. It is a delight to read. | |||
