Navigating Newburgh

City Historian Mary McTamaney presented “Our Surprising Community: Local People of Color Across the Centuries” to shine a local light on Black History Month. On Friday, February 21 the public joined her at SUNY Orange in Newburgh for a look back at over 300 years of remarkable stories of historical people of color. Figures included physician Elisha Hawkins whose daughter founded Newburgh’s first Kindergarten, and Effie Smith who was a servant at Smith Farm in the center of the City and whose portrait hangs at the New York State Museum in Albany.

The presentation was made possible by the SUNY Orange Multi-Cultural Clubs in Newburgh and Middletown. You can download her presentation here.

Mary writes a local history column for the Mid Hudson Times and has served as City Historian since 2003. She is a wealth of information about Newburgh’s past which spans over 300 years.

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