Peg Kenyon displays book to bookstore owner John Mahoney during a recent book signing at Liberty Rock Books. (Photo by C. Schoen)
After many months of canvassing local residents, searching town records, and perusing old newspapers, Margaret Kenyon’s book, Kortright Invites You, is finally in print and available from a number of sources, including Liberty Rock Books in Hobart, which sponsored a book-signing event on September 3.
The book is subtitled “A Pictorial History of the Township of Kortright, Delaware Co., NY.” Using photographs and historical materials from the Town of Kortright records and archives and items from family collections of current and former community members, Kenyon has created a book on the history of the Town of Kortright which will provide a valuable research tool for generations to come.
In speaking of her book, the author said “I have worked on it since August of 2010. My main inspiration was to honor my uncle, Wilber Haynes, who currently serves as the Kortright historian.” The book was dedicated not only to Haynes, Kortright Town Historian since 1995, but also to the late Josephine McDougall, who served in that position before him, Erma MacArthur, Hobart Village Historian since 1992, and her sister, Evangeline MacLaury, who was historian of the Town of Harpersfield from 1966 to 2002.
The author credits several Kortright residents for helping in her search for information, including Karyl Hunt Eaglefeathers, JoAnn Rockefeller, Melanie Snyder, and Jill Hunt Walch. The book includes copies of article from local newspapers, maps, family and business records, recollections of their school days by area residents, photographs loaned by many families or winkled out of old yearbooks, and material from town files, among other sources. In creating the book, Kenyon worked with Decker Advertising and a firm in Georgia that specializes in this type of book.
The book includes sections on “Tour Our Town,” “Visit District Schools,” “Remember Past and Present Businesses,” “Honor Our Heritage of Faith,” “Reflect Upon Those Who Came Before,” and finally, “Celebrate Kortright History.”
Included in the first section is information on the Kortright Patent, information on early settlers, township roads and “hollows,” and photos of the hamlet. In the section on schools, the book displays pictures of the one-room schools within the township as well as the current South Kortright Central School. Former students recall their school days in short “memories.” The recently-closed Allen Center is also included in photos of the former Andrews Estate.
The modern town hall is contrasted with previous buildings which served that purpose, and photographs of the Bloomville Hotel, Sheffield Farms creamery, Snedecker’s Dance Hall, Coan’s Opera House and Dance Hall, a menu from the former Coach Lamp Inn, information on the Provimi veal packing plant, the old grocery and the post office.
The religious aspect of the township is reflected in photos and information on the many churches in the township: the Gilchrist, North Kortright, and the West Kortright Presbyterian churches — the latter now the West Kortright Center — the Bloomville Methodist Church and St. Paul’s Episcopalian Church, as well as a picture of a Memorial Day celebration at Riverside Cemetery.
Former residents of the township are recalled in one of the sections, with information on Andrew Lyon, William D. Ceas, the Doonan brothers and newspaper publisher S. B. Champion. Pictures also display long-ago baseball teams and family reunions. One of those included probably never lived in the township, but is forever a part of the town’s history, Elizabeth Kortright Monroe, wife of the nation’s fifth president, James Monroe, and a descendant of the original owner of the Kortright Patent.
The section on Kortright history includes photos of Emergency Squads, Fire Departments, the town’s first snow plow, a covered bridge, and selections from John Raitt’s “Ruts in the Road.”
It is available from the author, as well as at the Kortright Town Hall, Sal’s Traditional Meat Center (Bloomville Grocery), Adams Bookstore in Hobart, and at the Delaware County Historical Association for immediate purchase. In addition to the book signing event sponsored by the Hobart Book Village, another signing is planned to take place at the Hobart Historical Society building at a later date.
For those who would like to purchase the book directly from the author, she may be contacted at by e-mail at margaretkenyon@hughes.net. Her mailing address is 12830 Turnpike Rd., East Meredith, NY 13757. Her telephone number is (607) 278-5458. The cost of the book, including shipping and handling, will be $24.95.