Newburgh Free Library Local History Room

08/31/2026

We can't think of a better way to engage with classical literature than to read and discuss it in a place where history happened! Check out Newburgh Free Library's newest book discussion group, which will be meeting at the Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands 1830/31 David Crawford House! Check the post below for more information!

08/28/2026

New to our collection! "Suffering for the Crown" by Kieran J. O'Keefe, Assistant Professor of History at Lyon College, analyzes the formation of Loyalist communities in the Hudson River Valley. In many respects, the American Revolution was a civil war, which pitted family members and neighbors against each other. In his work, Dr. O'Keefe presents the stories of the diverse communities who fought for, or were sympathetic towards the British government, and what happened to them during and after America won its independence. Of interest to genealogists and local researchers is Mr. O'Keefe's focus on loyalists from the Newburgh area.

A copy of this book is available for checkout in Newburgh Free Library's "Local Authors" section, as well as a permanent copy in our Local History Room for any who wish to use it to spark their own research!

To learn more about this and other items in our collection, contact the Local History Department at (845) 563-3616, or [email protected] !

08/26/2026

Check out this upcoming program being hosted by our friends at New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site! Click the link below for additional details!

Join us on September 12th for special programing!

08/25/2026

Behind the scenes in our archives, Local History Librarian Ashley has been busy indexing and re-housing our historic map collection! This collection contains over 600 individual maps related to Newburgh, the Hudson River Valley, and New York State; showing how our area was charted as far back as the 17th century! This work requires maps to be re-housed in special acid-free folders and accurately labeled before being placed back in their drawers. Once complete, researchers will be able to use the finding aid we have created to find the map related to their research, whether it's the flow of water along the Quassaick Creek, or the location of their ancestor's home in our city!

To learn more about these and other items in our collection, contact us by phone at (845) 563-3616, or e-mail us at [email protected]!

08/21/2026

Our Local History staff agree that this room is definitely fit for a librarian, and it was! This image comes from "Sketches", an architectural and interior design book of work by Newburgh architect Frank E. Estabrook (1860-1918). This interior shows a library and sitting room in the home of Lillie O. Estabrook at 204 Montgomery Street. Lillie, Frank's sister, worked as a librarian at our original library at 100 Grand Street for many years! This image comes from the Frank E. Estabrook Collection, which is available to view via our online collections page at New York Heritage here: https://nyheritage.org/collections/frank-estabrook-collection

For more information on this and other items in our Local History Collection, contact the Local History Department at (845) 563-3616, or e-mail us at [email protected]!

08/19/2026

Did you ever wonder what Newburgh's streets used to look like, or what a historic building looked like when it was brand new? Urban Archive is a fully interactive map that uses historic images from our Local History Collection to tell some of the stories of these buildings and the people who built and lived in them! Click on the link below to start your virtual historic tour of our city today! https://urbanarchive.org/city/newburgh

To learn more about this and other virtual resources in our collection, contact us by phone at (845) 563-3616, or by e-mail at [email protected] today!

08/17/2026

Don't forget to register for our upcoming presentation "Researching Your Old House", tomorrow night at Newburgh Free Library at 6:00 PM! Local History & Government Docs librarian Matthew Thorenz will be on hand to show some the tools and resources you can use to date historic buildings AND learn about their occupants throughout history! This program is in partnerhsip with our friends at Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands' "History House" series! Register using the link below today! https://newburghlibrary.libcal.com/event/17096478

08/12/2026

Yesterday, August 11, marked Frederick Douglass Day in Newburgh, which commemorates the visit of the famed abolitionist to Newburgh on August 11, 1870. Born into slavery in 1818, Douglass escaped to freedom in the North, where he became a vocal advocate for abolition and civil rights in the years leading up to, during, and following the American Civil War. On this occasion, he was speaking on the passage of the 15th amendment, which granted African American men the right to vote in federal elections. His speech at Moore’s opera house in Newburgh drew an estimated crowd of 4,000 people, and included a visit to Newburgh’s AME Zion Church.

In attendance with Douglass were Newburgh reverends Elijah Hawkins and Joseph Thompson. In a report of the event the following day, the Newburgh Daily Journal Recorded that “Ten years ago [African Americans] did not expect to see this day. Even here in Newburgh the procession today had been greeted and welcomed by all classes in the community”

Today, Frederick Douglass Day ceremonies are still held in Newburgh, notably at Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site, in which G. Oliver King presents as Frederick Douglass as part of the festivities.

To learn more about Frederick Douglass, as well as the Abolition movement in Newburgh, contact our Local History Department at (845) 563-3616 or e-mail us at [email protected]!

To learn more

08/10/2026

On this day in 1853, local potter James E. Horton, of 123 Montgomery Street, wrote in his diary "Extremely hot day", followed by an entry made on August 13th: "For three days it has been extremely hot. 90 degrees almost scorching day". Historic diaries like this one tell us not only about the daily lives of people who lived long ago, they also help us understand weather patterns in the days before global satellite systems and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association). The August 17, 1853 edition of the Newburgh Weekly Telegraph noted the average high temperature for that day being 83o, based on local thermometer readings. It also mentioned that on Sunday, (the 14th) "One of the heaviest showers of Rain, accompanied by lightning and thunder...passed over our Village. It continued only about two hours, during which time over one-and-a-half inches of water fell". On that day, Horton notes "Burning heat, about 6 o'Clock commenced raining, rained very hard Saturday. There was 5 or 6 sunstruck"

Did you ever, or still keep a diary? If so, did you ever record the weather?

You can read the rest of James' diary by visiting our online collections page on New York Heritage here: https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/newburgh/search/searchterm/James%20E.%20Horton%20Collection/field/relatig/mode/exact/conn/and Or you can stop by our library to view the rest of our historic newspaper collection, or by contacting our Local History Department at (845) 563-3616 or by e-mail at [email protected] today!

08/07/2026

On this day in 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant visited Newburgh while meeting with then Secretary of State Hamilton Fish! The former Civil War general, turned 18th President of the United States, was reviewing several gunboats that had been seized after it was discovered they were being illegally produced for Spain, who was at war with her former colonies of Peru, Ecuador, Chile, and Bolivia. While in the area, the President visited West Point and Washington's Headquarters!

These clippings come from the August 7th, 1869 edition of the New York Tribune, which can be found using our library's subscription to Newspapers.com!

To learn more about this and our other local history databases, contact the Newburgh Free Library Local History Department at (845) 563-3616, or [email protected]!