As Austerlitz celebrates its bicentennial this year, the Columbia County Historical Society (CCHS) Volunteers present “The Bicentennial History of the Town of Austerlitz,” a free illustrated lecture by Town of Austerlitz historian, Thomas H. Moreland, on October 16.
Established in 1818, Austerlitz has a rich history. Moreland will discuss The Indian Deed of 1756, the first settlers and settlements, the Spencertown Proprietorship (1757-72), and title disputes.
Thomas H. Moreland has been the Town Historian for Austerlitz since 2016, after serving several years as chair of the Research Committee of the Austerlitz Historical Society. In June 2018, the Old Austerlitz Historical Society published Moreland’s book — ‘The Old Houses of Austerlitz.’ Based on six years of original research, the book contains the first full history of the Town of Austerlitz, an area first settled in 1757 as the proprietorship of Spencers Town, and a monograph, by Michael Rebic, on the local architectural styles in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Most of the book is devoted to individual histories of each of the 168 extant buildings in the Town of Austerlitz that appear on the 1888 atlas map of the town. These buildings –157 of them houses– date from as early as the 1760s.
Additionally, there are some 20 short articles on aspects of Austerlitz history, such as the turnpikes and old roads, schools, and huckleberry picking, as well as on famous and infamous Austerlitz residents, ranging from Edna St. Vincent Millay to Oscar Beckwith – AKA the “Austerlitz Cannibal.”
DATE/TIME:
Tuesday, October 16th, 2018: 7 – 8pm
LOCATION:
Van Buren Hall
6 Chatham Street,
Kinderhook NY 12106
ADMISSION:
Free
MORE:
www.cchsny.org
facebook.com/cchsny
twitter.com/cchs_ny
www.oldausterlitz.org
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J. Stephen Casscles of Athens, NY, author of Grapes of the Hudson Valley, and a winemaker at the 
Columbia County Current 