Lost

Columbia County Past Revealed

People have been drawn to Columbia County, New York, for years. Beyond the region’s picturesque streams, lakes and mountains, the county is filled with the magic of history. Famed pirate Captain Kidd and local Lord of the Manor Robert Livingston were once in cahoots regarding the plundering of the seas. A roaring nightclub fashioned as a ship marooned on dry land, named the Show Boat, drew legendary acts like Ella Fitzgerald and Redd Foxx in the 1930s. The hills and caves of Austerlitz feature a pond that appears to have no bottom, there have been sightings of the “Beast of the Berkshires” and the area was home to outlaws, gangs and many wishing to remain remote. Author Allison Marchese reveals the lost people, places and things of Columbia County.

Casting a legacy

Long before automobiles made Detroit the Motor City, the city boasted a flourishing and diverse industrial economy, albeit on a more modest scale. Among the myriad industries that defined the nineteenth-century city, none held greater significance or broader influence than stove fabrication. Three manufacturers—Detroit Stove Works, Michigan Stove Company and the Peninsular Stove Company—dominated this sector, collectively contributing more than 10 percent of all cast-iron stoves produced and distributed throughout North America. At the forefront of this triumph were Jeremiah and James Dwyer, whose vision and ingenuity played pivotal roles in shaping the industry’s success.

Historian Gerald Van Dusen explores the key role that this early industry played in laying the groundwork and facilitating the production of automobiles.