Mapping the Sawkill | Histories of the Sawkill Through Human Impacts

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Please note: Seating is very limited.

As part of the Mapping the Sawkill Watershed Project, join Woodstock Town Historian Richard Heppner and Ulster County Historian Eddie Moran for presentations tracing the evolving relationship between people and the Sawkill Creek. The workshop spans from Lenape fishing practices and floodplain agriculture, to European colonists harnessing its waters for the tanning industry, to its role in 20th-century municipal infrastructure. Participants will explore how these shifting uses reflect changing values, including the rise of tourism and its influence on environmental preservation in the region. The program will take place primarily at the Woodstock Historical Society, concluding with a short walk to Tannery Brook to connect these stories to the present-day landscape.

Richard Heppner has served as Woodstock Town Historian since 2001 and currently serves as President of the Historical Society of Woodstock. His most recent book, Woodstock: From World War to Culture Wars (SUNY Press), was selected as the Foreword INDIES Bronze Award Winner in Popular Culture. He is also the author of Woodstock's Infamous Murder Trial: Early Racism in Upstate New York and Women of the Catskills. He holds a BA in Political Science/History from SUNY Albany and an MA from the New School for Social Research in Media Studies.

Eddie Moran currently serves as the appointed Historian for Ulster County, NY. He graduated with a BA in history from SUNY New Paltz in 2020, began work as a tour guide at Historic Huguenot Street in 2017, and managed historical interpretation there full-time beginning in 2022 before being appointed Ulster County Historian in September 2024. He is a lifelong resident of the Wallkill River Valley.