Local Beacon Author Shops For You For Cocktail Cheer Kit Themed Gifts: Gifts Fit For "Cocktails Across America"

For a cocktail-inspired Gift Guide, local Beacon author Diane Lapis, who is president of the Beacon Historical Society and co-author with Anne Peck-Davis of Cocktails Across America: A Postcard View of Cocktail Culture in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s has traveled Main Street to see which shops might have just the right cocktail enhancement for your home or that as a gift. The cocktail recipe book contains over 50 classic recipes (as well as several modern twists), fascinating historical vignettes and over 200 pieces of vintage ephemera. Pick up at Binnacle Books today - right now!

By Diane Lapis

Let’s lift our spirits and send some holiday cheer to friends and family!  Shop local and send a creative cocktail-themed gift basket to your loved ones.  Since celebrations can happen anywhere… set up a virtual happy hour with your cocktail-loving kin and enjoy drinks together! 

Beacon is the perfect place to find fun and festive cocktail items. From glasses to garnishes, you can find the right combination of essentials and spirits that will meet every budget. Start at the west end of Main Street (by Route 9D) and pick up all the accoutrement that you need for your kit!

Contact the store for hours and curbside pickup where available.

Utensil, 143 Main Street
Find bar essentials at Utensil, a practical, and affordable kitchenware shop. Utensil has a wide selection of tools such as strainers, shakers, stirrers, citrus squeezers and peelers, ice cube molds, glassware, coasters, bar towels, Raft bitters and syrups, and mouthwatering Woodford Reserve Bourbon Cherries.  

Artisan Wine Shop, 180 Main Street
Stock up on a marvelous selection of rare whiskeys and mezcals, as well as gins, rums, amaros, vermouths, tequilas, and bitters at Artisan Wine Shop, a wine and spirits store.  Unique liqueurs and cocktail modifiers from near and far take the home bartender on myriad cocktail adventures. Jiggers, strainers, muddlers, flasks, and single malt and rocks glasses are available.

Homespun Foods – 232 Main Street
Homespun has a unique offering of amaro, sherry and mistelles in full bottles for some holiday cheer! When your feet need resting after the day of shopping, sip on a hot spiced cider with Palo Cortado sherry. Many of the selections are organic or biodynamic. Homespun’s back patio is open with a fire pit, but the indoors remains for take-out pickup and ordering only.

The Last Outpost - 314 Main Street
This mainly menswear, lifestyle, and outdoor store carries many options for the cocktail enthusiast. Grab yourself a shaker, a vintage cork screw, a flask, or a glassware set from the modern era. It’s all at the Outpost and it’s all ready for you to make the perfect drink.

Dennings Point Distillery – 10 North Chestnut Street
Dennings Point Distillery has something for every spirits enthusiast – from their aromatic, citrus-forward Great 9 Gin to their award-winning cask strength Beacon Bourbon, and Beacon Apple Brandy, distilled from 100% local apples.

Binnacle Books – 321 Main Street
Pick up a copy or two (one for yourself!) of Cocktails Across America:  A Postcard View of Cocktail Culture in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s written by Beacon resident Diane Lapis and coauthor Anne Peck-Davis.  Cocktails contains over 50 classic recipes (as well as several modern twists), fascinating historical vignettes and over 200 pieces of vintage ephemera.  The reader will be transported to an era of unbridled indulgence and distinct glamour.

The book is also available at Amazon http://bit.ly/CocktailsAcrossAmerica

Beacon Bath and Bubble - 458 Main Street 
Garnish your cocktails with CANDY!!! Beacon Bath & Bubble has an amazing selection of old fashioned and retro candy from to make your cocktails look and taste special. Add a sweet finish to your drink… pierce some gummy bears on a cocktail pick, drop a Blow-Pop in a martini, or place a peach gummy slice on the rim of a margarita. Colorful and fun for the holidays!

Raven Rose – 474 Main Street
Set the mood for your cocktail hour with colorful candles in seasonal scents alongside flowers or wreaths. Ask about the CBD Ginger Bitters.

Denise Gianna Designs - 480 Main Street
Denise Gianna Designs Interior Design and Shop makes staying cozy at home a luxury! In addition to their usual projects, they design bespoke home bars & lounge spaces for intimate cocktails & future gatherings.  Denise Gianna has everything you need for the home bar: bar carts, tables, seating, bar accessories, glassware & linens.  

Berte - 500 Main Street
Berte is a new shop in Beacon (in the former Loopy Mango space) and specializes in ambiance. Whether you're searching for ceramic coasters for your cocktail glass, a brass bottle opener to crack open that ginger beer, or some hand carved candlestick holders to set the mood, this shop has the perfect gifts for those who like to imbibe, but make it a bit extra.

After you wrap and send your cocktail cheer kit… sit back and relax with your own copy of Cocktails Across America… travel back in time with a cocktail in hand… cheers! 

Beacon's Original Wonderbar From The 1930s :: Open Now :: The Original Story

Photo Credits: Top Left Beacon Historical Society; Top Right: Wonderbar Beacon; Left Bottom: Wonderbar Beacon; Right Bottom: Collection of Barbara Schell Rowan.

Editor’s Note: Back before the Wonderbar that we know today in 2020 was being built, extensive efforts were made to bring a high quality renovation to the movie theater it is connected to, restoring several original details and creating new ones. The current movie theater, Story Screen Theater (formerly known as the Beacon Theater) has temporarily gone back to its roots as an outdoor pop-up movie theater during the pandemic-induced movie theater closure. Subscribe to ALBB’s newsletter because we’re including showtimes when we know about them.

Part of the dream of the movie theater was to have it be connected to food and drink. Right next door! In what was formerly Harry’s Hot Sandwich and several other eateries, now is The Wonderbar, which brings the space full circle to its original namesake from 1934. The owners hired interior designer Nicole Ashey of Burlock Interiors to restore a lounge vibe, and worked closely with the Beacon Historical Society in order to restore as many original details to the Wonderbar as they could.

Diane Lapis, president of the Beacon Historical Society, and coauthor of Cocktails Across America: A Postcard View of Cocktail Culture in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, with Anne Peck-Davis, has written for A Little Beacon Blog an in-depth history on the original bar..

This article was supposed to publish after the Wonderbar’s long-awaited opening in February 2020, but then the pandemic hit, forcing the temporary closure of every bar and restaurant in New York State.

The anniversary of the Wonderbar’s original opening in 1934 is August 30th. Right now in history, the Wonderbar in 2020 is open in a way it has never seen before during a pandemic, with limited seating inside and a beautiful parklet outside. As you explore its current history, add to your Beacon trivia the Wonderbar’s sprawling early years, written and researched by Diane Lapis:

THE WONDERBAR
THE STORY BEHIND THE ORIGINAL BAR
AND ITS MODERN NAMESAKE COCKTAIL LOUNGE

By Diane Lapis,
Co-Author of Cocktails Across America: A Postcard View Of Cocktail Culture In The 1930s, ‘40s, ‘50s,
and president of the Beacon Historical Society.

Beacon’s offerings of amazing eateries and drinking establishments delights visitors and locals alike. The new addition of the Wonderbar cocktail lounge at the east end of Main Street will remind us of why Beacon is considered one of the “cool small towns in America.” Located in the Story Screen Theater (formerly known as the Beacon Theater) the Wonderbar, opened its doors in February 2020.

The First Wonderbar - 1930s

The original signage painting on the original brick of the original Wonderbar in Beacon.
Photo Credit: Jason Schuler

If you could time travel to one place on Main Street, it would be the original Wonderbar in the 1930s. There, “dressed to the nines,” you could sip a cocktail and dance to the music of Searles Stretch and His Aristocrats! While few folks are alive today to reminisce about this once glamorous restaurant and bar, you can still see the white hand-painted “Wonderbar” sign on the brick wall outside the Theater that beckoned funseekers so long ago.

The repeal of Prohibition on December 5, 1933 changed the drinking and dining experiences across the country and on our Main Street in Beacon. Thanks to Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the 21st Amendment into law, the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol became legal for the first time since 1920. The repeal allowed new opportunities for hoteliers and restaurateurs to open legal drinking establishments where customers could satisfy their thirst for beer, wine, and spirits. Beaconites did not lack for a place “to have a few.” In a town with a beer joint on almost every corner, the Wonderbar stood out above the rest.

Grand Opening Of The Original Wonderbar

Opening on August 30, 1934, the Wonderbar’s co-owners Julius Ginsberg and Thomas Hanlon sought to create a luxurious venue and elegant atmosphere never seen before in Beacon. Fashioned after cocktail lounges and hotel bars in Manhattan, it offered an exotic menu and large dance floor. The restaurant’s location above the old Beacon Theater at 445 Main Street, was the perfect go-to place for the after-theater crowd. [Editor’s Note: See the historical recount of the old opera house that was here, which was connected to the Beacon Hotel across the street].

As a sidebar, part-owner Thomas Hanlon got his start in the food service business in the late 1920s, when he and his wife Anne owned the popular Owl Lunch Diner on North Elm and Main Street in Beacon. The local newspaper praised this small 10-seat burger joint as a “lunch wagon known throughout the state.” Anne’s pies, made fresh at home and brought to the diner in wicker baskets, were highly sought after. The small quarters and good food brought hordes of patrons willing to wait outside the door for their orders. The Hanlon’s moved their business to the theater in 1934 and the diner continued operating under new management through the late 1930s.

Art Deco Reigns In Beacon

Returning to the Beacon Theater and Wonderbar...it was noted moviehouse architect William I. Hohauser who designed the building in the Art Deco style. Nineteen other theaters across the country bore his mark, two of which are in operation today: the Avon Film Center Theater in Avon, Connecticut and the Directors Guild of America Theater in Manhattan. Prior to the Beacon Theater, Hohauser redecorated the famous Rosoff’s Restaurant located at 43rd and Times Square. Other extant buildings include the 30-story Franklin Towers at 331 West 86th Street and 307 Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Photo Credit: Beacon News ~ August 30, 1934. Courtesy of the Beacon Historical Society.

Wonderbar Open For Business - With Dance Floor

The Wonderbar, a winning combo of a tap room, restaurant, and dance floor, was described in glowing terms by the Beacon News after it opened. The News was particularly impressed with the Wonderbar’s “modernistic” designs and beautiful entranceway arch. The spacious dining room was arranged around a specially built dance floor and stage area for the orchestra. The architect’s choice of colors: peach and silver walls, lemon yellow ceiling, and Chinese red banquettes added to the ambience. The taproom’s mahogany decor included 6 booths and tables of varying sizes.

The Original Wonderbar’s Exotic Cuisine

Photo Credit: Beacon News ~ advertisement July 3, 1935. Courtesy of the Beacon Historical Society.

The Wonderbar’s menu, with its attractive rich orange-flocked cover, listed a varied menu in both pricing and selection. One could enjoy a ham sandwich for 15 cents or filet mignon for $1.15. Of even more culinary interest were the exotic food preparations from chef d'extraordinaire Harry Maik, an expert in both Chinese and American fare and formerly of Broderick’s in Manhattan.

The original orange menu of the Wonderbar.
Photo Credit: Wonderbar Beacon

Later, replacement Chef Wong Fu’s specialties were the ever popular egg foo young and chow mein plates, reasonably priced between 40 and 75 cents…unusual dinner fare for Beacon at that time.

The restaurant also served large gatherings, including community groups, political clubs and family celebrations. The Society section of the local paper reported on various parties: one in honor of local celebrity Melio Bettina, for winning the World Light Heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden in 1939; another for the Beacon Democrats’ victory dinner celebrating Roosevelt’s reelection in November of 1940; and farewell suppers to soldiers leaving for active duty. For these large dinners, a “Thanksgiving” meal was served, with all the trimmings.

Now Swinging!

Jim McCabe behind the bar. The orchestra was fitted with a striped canopy like the one above the back bar. The new Wonderbar from 2020 features a rounded mirror behind the bar… reminiscent of the mirror and archway in its namesake bar.
Photo Credit: Photo from the collection of Barbara Schell Rowan.

One of the features that made the Wonderbar so… well wonderful, was the entertainment. A striped canopy constructed over the “stage” created an enchanting space in which vaudevillian acts, singers, comedians, and 6 to 8-piece orchestras performed. Searle Stretch and his Aristocrats, Irwin Banks and his Musicians, the Melody Kings, and the Wonderbar Orchestra, an in-house ensemble played Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The Poughkeepsie Vagabonds included Eddie Mandel, golden-voiced tenor and Johnny Laporis and his guitar.

When the restaurant first opened, Falace’s Orchestra played nightly. Swinging and swaying the night away enabled patrons to forget their troubles and enjoy a night on the town. Jazz, swing, and country music peppered with the popular hits of the day such as Cheek to Cheek, Over the Rainbow, or Mona Lisa made for a special evening. Hanlon was a consummate host who created a fun and lively atmosphere for his patrons.

World War 2 And The Wonderbar - Letter Writing

Through the war years, Hanlon sponsored the “Letter Writing Club,” one of the functions of the American Women’s Voluntary Service. Meeting at the Wonderbar, the local chapter of the AWVS would write letters and collect local newspapers to send to Beacon, Fishkill, and Glenham soldiers in army camps throughout North Africa, the Pacific, and England. Hanlon supplied stamps and stationery. After receiving a package, one soldier wrote back to the club stating that, “the picture of Beacon is a nice one to paste on the wall. Some of the other soldiers might like to show their friends what Beacon looks like if only on a picture postcard.”

Remembrances

Tom Hanlon with an unknown patron. Salty snacks like lamb’s tongue (featured on the right) were typically served at bars during this time period.
Photo Credit: Photo from the collection of Barbara Schell Rowan.

While Hanlon commandeered the bar, it was his wife Anne who captained the ship. The Hanlon’s granddaughter Barbara Rowen fondly remembers her grandparents. “Grandma Anne oversaw all aspects of the establishment knowing that if she wasn’t there 24/7, someone would rob the till. Grandpa Tommy had a big personality and was very friendly with all the customers. While Anne loved people and loved entertaining them, she was very conscientious and made sure that everything ran smoothly.” Barbara recalled that her uncle, Anne’s brother Jim McCabe ran a taxi service. “During the war, McCabe would drive to the Beacon ferry dock to pick up soldiers who were stationed at Stewart Air Force Base in Newburgh, and bring them to the Wonderbar for a night’s entertainment. After grandpa died in 1947, Anne, her two sisters Francis and Nelly, her brother Jim, and Chef Wong ran the business.” The Wonderbar closed 3 years later in 1950.

Decline And Rebirth Of The Wonderbar

The Beacon theater survived another decade until new and larger movie complexes in the surrounding towns appeared, and expensive digitalization forced it to close. From 1968 through the 1990’s the space became a storage facility, then later used by the Church of the Everlasting Covenant. In 2010, 4th Wall Productions produced theatrical productions and performing arts programming at the theater. Five years later, project developer Brendan McApline reimagined 455 Main with a big nod to the past. The restored black and white marquee beckons movie-goers once again! While part of the building was converted into residential units, three modern theaters with an inviting lobby, concession stand and lounge delight the community and cinephiles near and far (read all about it here).

What Is The New Wonderbar In 2020?

The Wonderbar’s parklet, to accommodate diners during the 2020 pandmic.
Photo Credit: Wonderbar Beacon

As part of the remodeling, the retail space to the east side of the theater’s lobby was converted to an intimate cocktail lounge inspired by and named after its predecessor, with a modern take on the Art Deco Style of the 1930s. While Beacon is home to a host of great eateries and bars, the new Wonderbar, owned and operated by Marjorie Tartar, is a welcome addition to this city’s food and drinks scene.

The Wonderbar’s new interior for 2020.
Photo Credit: Wonderbar Beacon

You won’t have to “dress to the nines” to enjoy the Wonderbar’s classy decor. The use of black and white creates a stunning and dramatic effect throughout the restaurant, from the tiled floor to the painted walls, columns, and crown molding. The room’s “loungy vibe” features a magnificent marble-topped bar and a striking backlit curved mirror. Mementos and photographs of the original Wonderbar and the Beacon Theater, including the orange-flocked menu, adorn the walls courtesy of the Beacon Historical Society and Barbara Rowen. Currently, the Wonderbar is offering cocktails by mixologists Lynette Marrerro and Jess Gonzalez, and small plates under the direction of Chef Adam Sternberg. Guests can choose to sit Indoors, dine outside under the theater’s marquee, or order take-out.

Eighty six years later since its original opening, the Wonderbar’s faded white-painted sign on the outside of the Theater beckons passersby once more. Traveling back in time is possible… at the new Wonderbar!

About The Author: Diane Lapis loves to visit and write about historic places. She is president of the Beacon Historical Society and the coauthor of Cocktails Across America: A Postcard View of Cocktail Culture in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, with Anne Peck-Davis.

Today’s lettering on the window. Designed by Rabe and Co.
Photo Credit: Wonderbar Beacon

The Telephone Building – Unearthing the Past to Create the Future

This article was written and prepared by Diane Lapis, Trustee of the Beacon Historical Society.

The hand-written signature discovered on a section of window molding in the Telephone Building tells two stories: one of the man who signed it, and the other of the woman who saved it.  

Deborah Bigelow was established in the business of conserving antique furniture and decorative arts when she purchased Beacon’s original Telephone Building in 1992. Historic building restoration calls upon the talents of many artisans. Deborah’s passion for fine craftsmanship, as well as her conservation skills, are on view in the impeccable adaptive reuse of this early 20th-century building.

The First Telephone Service in Beacon Conducted from The Telephone Building, 291 Main Street

The Telephone Building, 291 Main Street, circa 2017.

An original telephone in the Hudson Valley with the familiar 914-831 digits.
Photo Credit: Beacon Historical Society

Travel back in time to 1880 when telephone service first arrived in the twin villages of Fishkill Landing and Matteawan (now Beacon). According to the Beacon Historical Society, telephone service started with 37 subscribers who had devices connected to an exchange. As the two villages grew, so did the need for additional access to telephone service. The Hudson River Telephone Company provided the technology, and moved into its new quarters at 291 Main Street in 1907. 

It had taken two years to modernize the lines, with over 15 miles of cable and a million feet of wire strung between Fishkill and Beacon. Newly designed phones replaced the old ones, and huge storage batteries, charged by an electric generator in the basement, powered the system. Telephone operators ran a switchboard, connecting calls when a subscriber lifted the receiver off the hook. The first floor of the building had special booths for transient users of the service – a precursor to the modern-day telephone booth.

Beacon's Telephone Building, as replicated on a postcard, circa 1910.
Photo Credit: Beacon Historical Society

Photo Credit: Beacon Historical Society

Not one Telephone Building, But three Sister Buildings

Completed at a cost of $18,000, the modified Italianate masonry structure - faced in brick and trimmed with limestone, bluestone, slate and tin - was considered an important civic building of its day. Campbell & Dempsey, and A. E. Dederick, contractors and builders from Kingston, built both the Beacon structure and a similar one on Brown Street in Peekskill, NY, in 1907. They knew what they were doing: Two years prior, the team had built a larger building on Broadway in Kingston, NY. 

All three buildings share common elements, but it was A. E. Dederick’s signature on a section of window molding, found while renovating the bathroom in the Beacon building’s basement, that linked together the construction of the three sister buildings. The Kingston Daily Freeman newspaper reported on the construction of these early communication exchanges by this crew.

Today, only the Beacon building is a thriving concern: The Peekskill office was demolished in 1952, while the Kingston office is used as a storage facility for Verizon.

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Kingston's Telephone Building

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Peekskill's Telephone Building

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Beacon's Telephone Building

While the Peekskill and Kingston offices featured the title “TELEPHONE BUILDING” engraved in limestone above the door, the Beacon office’s imposing Roman letters are today made of cast iron, assembled with pins on a 10-foot-long cast iron plaque set in the Main Street cornice. According to Beacon architect Aryeh Siegel, the brick and limestone columns are unique for a Main Street façade, signifying the importance of this civic building.  Siegel’s comment directs a passerby's attention to the limestone capitals atop the brick columns and the keystones above the windows and front door, along with the elaborate tin cornice featured along the roofline - all hallmarks of the building’s classical influences.  

Ownership History of The Telephone Building

The Telephone Building served the Beacon community for almost 60 years before it was sold to James Letterio, CPA, who operated his accounting business from the location for decades. When Deborah Bigelow purchased it, the building had been in use for roughly 85 years. While the original front doors were gone, the rest of the original work remained intact, though buried under layers of flaking paint, a drop ceiling and linoleum flooring. Prior to renovation, the entire building was featured in a B-rated film called “Super Troopers.” With the building transformed into a police station, the film’s art director judged the old battery room’s flaking paint perfect for some of the scenes. He noted that the “look” of the room was almost impossible to fake.  

Restoration of the Telephone Building Since 2003

Since 2003, Deborah has been on a mission to restore the architectural beauty of the building by recovering and saving original material wherever possible. For example, the original oak windows are preserved with their weights, pulleys, and slate sills intact. The building displays other beautiful features such as intricate iron grillwork, elegant cast-iron radiators and staircase, floating maple floors, and brick-lined arched doorways. When Deborah and her crew sandblasted the interior brick, she discovered that the brick came from Dutchess Junction’s own Budd Brick Company (1888-1910). Today, she replaces missing mortar with a version that has been color-matched by Package Pavement in Stormville, NY.

Photo Credit: Beacon Historical Society

The cornice was painted with a sand-filled paint to look like the limestone foundation below and was constructed of galvanized tin fascia and dentils nailed into the brick wall. Paint samples analyzed by the Williamstown Art Conservation Center identified the original materials and colors used in 1907, and this information guided Deborah’s choices during restoration. The icing on the “cornice cake” came when she discovered fragments of original, 24-karat gold leaf on the TELEPHONE BUILDING letters that had eluded sample analysis. A master gilder, Deborah replaced the gold leaf last summer.

Beacon's Telephone Building Today, Circa 2017

Deborah enjoys sharing the beauty of the Telephone Building and its history with her tenants - many of whose 21st-century businesses fittingly involve communication and public service. Among her tenants, Beahive and A Little Beacon Blog occupy the first floor. The second floor includes individual Beahive office spaces, apportioned by shoji screens to provide privacy without loss of light. Deborah’s own business, Gilded Twig, shares the lower-level suite of offices with financial advisor Aaron Verdile.

Now that Beacon is fast-growing and changing, the Telephone Building stands like a stalwart sentinel guarding the past as well as embracing the future. Deborah’s notes and photographic documentation of the building before and after renovation inform its history. Her research will remain part of the building’s, as well as the city’s, historic record.

Live Presentation of the Telephone Building with the Beacon Historical Society

Deborah Bigelow, art conservator, master gilder, and owner of Beacon’s original Telephone Building will talk about her renovation of the building since purchasing it in 1992. Ms. Bigelow will show before and after photographs, artifacts found during its renovation, and offer a glimpse of preservation procedures and the art of gilding. BHS Trustee Diane Lapis will discuss the 1907 building’s architecture and its place in the city’s history. The presentation will take place on Tuesday, November 28, at 7 pm at the Howland Cultural Center, 477 Main St. in Beacon. 

Deborah Bigelow up on the boom in 2017, completing her restoration of the cornice of the Telephone Building at 291 Main Street.
Photo Credit: Beacon Historical Society

Postcards From Beacon: What's In A Name? Word Play - Origins and Meanings of Local Names in Beacon

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A vintage postcard from Beacon, illustrated with pictures of what made Beacon Beacon at the time of printing.
Photo Credit: Published with permission from The Beacon Historical Society.

"Postcards From Beacon" is an original series on A Little Beacon Blog in partnership with the Beacon Historical Society to continue keep the history and stories of Beacon alive, known and talked about. Trustee Diane Lapis is the author of this series. This series is presented by our sponsor, Accuprint Pac 'N Ship, located at 242 Main Street near Homespun and Isamu, who can ship the smallest postcard or envelope to the largest box. They are happy to pack it for you, and even serve as a drop-off location for your pre-paid shipping, like returns from online ordering.

Melzingah, Fishkill, Matteawan, Tioronda, and Beacon are familiar names to Beaconites… but how did these names come to be?

Melzingah Was Almost the Original Name of Beacon

Prior to 1913, our city, before it was called Beacon, was comprised of two separate river village entities: Fishkill Landing, near the Hudson River and its busy ports, which incorporated as a village in 1864; and Matteawan, an industrial hub located near the Fishkill Creek, which incorporated in 1886.  These two villages shared common interests and a growing population: schools, police, fire companies, and Main Street. After nearly 25 years of operating independently, a formal Charter Committee met in 1910 to discuss joining forces. 

The original Charter Committee favored the name Melzingah, an old Native American name well known in the area. According to Double Dutched: The Puzzling State of New York’s Native American Place Names, by Evan Pritchard, the Wappinger Indians held council fires on the small island they named Maysingweh, or "tree-place spirit," in what is now Madam Brett Park.  “Tree-place spirit” is quite a perfect description of what is now that park, don’t you think? If you haven’t walked there, A Little Beacon Blog’s Historical Hiking contributor Dylan Price wrote you a guided tour, and the Highlands Current wrote an in depth description of why an island there was once called Fairy Island.

This series is presented by our sponsor, Accuprint Pac 'N Ship, located at 242 Main Street near Homespun and Isamu, who can conveniently ship the smallest postcard or envelope to the largest box. They are happy to pack it for you, and even serve as a drop-off location for your pre-paid shipping, like returns from online ordering.

Other members of the Committee suggested Mt. Beacon, Tioronda and Dutchess City.  When word of the name Melzingah leaked out, the press had a field day.  The committee decided to drop the “h” so that “any fool could spell it”.  Here is what the Wappingers Chronicle had to say about the name:  “Melzingah may sound well to the Fishkill-Matteawanite but to the outside world it has a flavor of the Arabian Nights mixed with a nightmare dream after a feast of welsh rarebit, mince pie, cream cake, and hard cider.  A brand new city, taking its first toddling steps among its sisters and neighbors in the race for preference should not have been compelled to carry a handicap like Melzinga”.

On May 15, 1913, nearly three years after the original meeting to join the two villages, legislation was passed to merge the two river villages into one city with the name of Beacon, a name that came from the signal fire built atop Mount Beacon during the American Revolution. If you are wondering where the dividing line between Matteawan and Fishkill Landing was, stand on the corner of North and South Chestnut Avenue and Main Street by Rite Aid, the old Schoonmaker’s Department Store.

The old Schoonmaker’s Department Store on the corner of of North and South Chestnut Avenue and Main Street by Rite Aid.

The Name Melzingah Lives On

The name Melzingah was not to be forgotten!  When a chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) formed at the Madam Brett House in 1896, who immediately took measures to mark local historical sites, members choose the name Melzingah, as it was "the most pleasing to the ear and also associated with the old tradition of the place."  In Beacon, a road, a dam, and a reservoir still hold this name today.

Madam Brett's house, the location for the meeting of a chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) when meeting to select their chapter name. Katherine Wolcott Verplanck was a founding member.
Photo Credit: Published with permission from The Beacon Historical Society.

The Origins of the Name Matteawan

According to Mr. Pritchard, Matteawan is derived from a name given by the Munsee tribe who coexisted with the Wappinger Indians in what is now Beacon.  It’s original name Mettawan, meaning, “trout stream,” was changed to Matteawan or “humble little stream”.  The Munsee were poking fun of another tribe, the Kitchewank, located further south, who lived near a larger stream and called themselves “People of the Great River”.

The Origins of the Name Fishkill and Tioronda

Whether you pronounce it “crick” or “creek”, there are a few stories of how Fishkill Creek got its name.  The Dutch settlers called it “Vis Kill” or “fish creek” due to the abundant amount fish in the stream. “Vis” is the Dutch word for “fish,” and “kill” is the Dutch word for “creek”  So, when you say Fishkill Creek, the word Creek is essentially redundant: “Fish(creek) Creek”!  The creek was also known as Tioronda, named by the Iroquois tribes of the area, translating to "little stream that flows into big water".  

Another local legend attributes the naming of the creek by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, a Native American historian, and expert on Indian languages and customs.  According to this story, Henry was walking along the creek in 1845 with Charles Fenno Hoffman, author, poet and editor.  Henry suggested an Indian name “Tioronda” meaning “meeting of the waters."

The Mill Bridge Dam, Fishkill Creek in Beacon, NY.
Photo Credit: Published with permission from The Beacon Historical Society.

The ancient lands comprising our community, named by the Native Americans centuries ago, still maintains its tree-spirit and scenic meeting of the waters, while paying homage to our western history and culture.

Glossary Recap

Tioronda:

"little stream that flows into big water": named by Iroquois tribes of the area
“meeting of the waters": named by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft

Fishkill

“Vis Kill” or “fish creek”: named by the Dutch due to the abundant amount fish in the stream

Matteawan

Originally called Mettawan, meaning, “trout stream.”
Changed to Matteawan or “humble little stream.”

Melzingah

Inspired by the name Maysingweh for an island at Madam Brett Park where the Wappinger Indians held council fires and felt the spirits of little people, fairies, or "tree-place spirit."

Beacon

Named for signal fire built atop Mount Beacon during the American Revolution. The town was named for the mountain beneath which it sits.
 

About the Beacon Historical Society

To learn more about the history of Beacon, please visit the Beacon Historical Society at the Howland Cultural Center, 477 Main Street in Beacon, NY on Thursdays from 10-12 pm and Saturdays 1-3 pm.  For more information, check out www.beaconhistorical.org, on Facebook, or email us at beaconhistorical@gmail.com. Join us at 7pm on the fourth Tuesday of each month for interesting presentations about Beacon’s history.