Before the sensational cases of Amanda Knox and Casey Anthony—before even Lizzie Borden—there was Polly Bodine, the first American woman put on trial for capital murder in our nation’s debut media circus. Between June 1844 and April 1846, the nation was enthralled by her three trials—in Staten Island, Manhattan, and Newburgh.

The Witch of New York vividly reconstructs an epic mystery from Old New York—and uses the Bodine case to challenge our system of tabloid justice of today.

Join the Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands and the Newburgh Free Library for a a visit with Alex Hortis, lawyer, criminal historian and author of The Witch of New York: The Trials of Polly Bodine and the Cursed Birth of Tabloid Justice. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing from Golden Hour Books.

This event is at the Old Courthouse at 123 Grand Street.

Join as we reopen the Crawford House for the 2024 season! Meet and mingle with our Board of Trustees, volunteers and members! We are pleased to announce that we will have a classical music performance by Anastasia Solberg (viola) and Marcia Gates (flute) at 1 pm in our parlors. We will also unveil our new exhibit From Farm to Ferry: The Art of Charles Keller in Newburgh in the Stone Floor Gallery. Light refreshments will also be served.

Join us as we close the Crawford House for the season. Come and enjoy the festive decorations and some light refreshments as the Newburgh Chorale will sing some holiday favorites at beginning at 3 pm.

The tradition of our Annual Candlelight Tour of historic homes and buildings will resume this year on Saturday, December 9, from 12-5 pm!

For over forty years, the Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands has organized a holiday Candlelight Tour of historic homes, churches, and buildings in and around Newburgh. The Candlelight Tour is one of the most anticipated Newburgh events of the year and the Historical Society's biggest fundraiser.

This year's tour will feature a combination of public and private spaces, including stately homes, buildings that have recently been rehabilitated, new construction and some of Newburgh's most cherished landmarks. And, of course, the Captain David Crawford House, authentically decorated in a nineteenth-century style with flowers and greens, will serve as a centerpiece.

Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 purchased at the door.

We want everyone to join us for the tour this year! If the cost of tickets is a hinderance, please email historicalsocietynb@gmail.com requesting discounted tickets (max 2).

Click here to purchase tickets online.

“Collections and Cocktails at Crawford House” with Sam Wiley. Our "Collections and Cocktails" series has had an amazing first year, as we've had at- or near-capacity audiences every month since we started way back in April! Our November Collections and Cocktails will be our last for 2023; Join us as our Board President Samantha Wiley will host a Newburgh History Trivia Night at the Crawford House! Come and enjoy the historic interior of Crawford House while sipping on a cocktail or mocktail. 

This talk, led by volunteer Lorelei Stevens, will provide some insight into her recent research into the institutional records of the Newburgh Alms House (also known as the City and Town Home), a publicly funded charitable organization in the city of Newburgh. She will highlight the kind of records that survive for this organization and other similar institutions and how documents such as board minutes and expense reports can provide not only a window on the history of organizational cultures but can also be used to explore compelling social historical narratives. Registrants will receive a selection of readings including some transcriptions of the records for the Newburgh Alms House to read in advance.

Register by Saturday, October 28.

Stop by in your best Halloween costume for candy, history and photo opportunities!

Visit our headquarters, the 1830 Capt. David Crawford House! Guided tours are available.

Also see our 2023 Exhibit “Newburgh Underground” documenting the 1913 infrastructure work laying electric lines in now-vanished downtown neighborhoods along Water Street and Broadway.

Gift Shop: Open 1-4 pm.

HSNBH Volunteer Erika Gallagher and former Beacon Historical Society President Diane Lapis will present the Historical Society’s collection of postcards in a talk entitled “Greetings from the Crawford House: the Rise and Fall of the World's First Social Network”. Come and enjoy an evening at the Crawford House while sipping on a cocktail or mocktail. Light refreshments will be served.

Our Annual Meeting will be held at the historic St. George’s Episcopal Church on Grand Street this year. At this meeting, our Board President Samantha Wiley will discuss the Society’s achievements over the past year and plans for next. We will also hear details about the history of St. George’s Church from St. George’s Trustee Catherine Costello. This year’s keynote lecture entitled “Newburgh: An American Center for Horticulture and Fruit Breeding” will be delivered by J. Stephen Casscles, author of Grapes of the Hudson Valley. Light refreshments will be served, including some wines fermented from historic cultivars originally developed in Newburgh. Signed copies of the author’s book will also be available for purchase.

Join author Julia Park Tracey at the Newburgh Free Library for a discussion, reading and Q&A of her novel, The Bereaved. Based on the author's research into her grandfather's past as an adopted child and the surprising discovery of his family of origin and how he came to be adopted, Julia Park Tracey has created a mesmerizing work of historical fiction partially set in Newburgh, illuminating the tragic history of the Orphan Train. For more info, please check the Newburgh Free Library website.

Join us at the Newburgh Brewing Company for a fun night of local beers and and local history! We will have a variety of raffles and the Newburgh Brewing Company will also donate 10% of the night’s taproom sales to the Society! So come, drink, support local history, and be merry!

The Newburgh Brewing Company is located at 88 South Colden Street.

Visit our headquarters, the 1830 Capt. David Crawford House! Guided tours are available.

Also see our 2023 Exhibit “Newburgh Underground” documenting the 1913 infrastructure work laying electric lines in now-vanished downtown neighborhoods along Water Street and Broadway.

Gift Shop: Open 1-4 pm.

The Newburgh Historical Society is thrilled to host a pop-up art exhibition for Newburgh OPEN Studios on Saturday, September 30 and Sunday, October 1, from 12-6pm!

Enjoy an art exhibition of local artists in the historic 1830 Capital David Crawford House, an impressive neo-classical home decorated in 19th-century splendor. Artists include Sandra Brandman, Joann Johnson, Anne Marie Silvani, Robert Trondsen, and Barbara Valentino. All artworks are for sale with a percentage of the proceeds benefiting the Historical Society.

For more information on Newburgh OPEN Studios, visit: http://www.newburghopenstudios.org/.

The Newburgh Historical Society is thrilled to host a pop-up art exhibition for Newburgh OPEN Studios on Saturday, September 30 and Sunday, October 1, from 12-6pm!

Enjoy an art exhibition of local artists in the historic 1830 Capital David Crawford House, an impressive neo-classical home decorated in 19th-century splendor. Artists include Sandra Brandman, Joann Johnson, Anne Marie Silvani, Robert Trondsen, and Barbara Valentino. All artworks are for sale with a percentage of the proceeds benefiting the Historical Society.

For more information on Newburgh OPEN Studios, visit: http://www.newburghopenstudios.org/.

Visit our headquarters, the 1830 Capt. David Crawford House! Guided tours are available.

Also see our 2023 Exhibit “Newburgh Underground” documenting the 1913 infrastructure work laying electric lines in now-vanished downtown neighborhoods along Water Street and Broadway.

Gift Shop: Open 1-4 pm.

HSNBH Board Member Dave Fekishazy and former HSNBH President Allynne Lange will speak on the Crawford House collection of ship models. Come and enjoy an evening at the Crawford House while sipping on a cocktail or mocktail. Light refreshments will be served.

Visit our headquarters, the 1830 Capt. David Crawford House! Guided tours are available.

Also see our 2023 Exhibit “Newburgh Underground” documenting the 1913 infrastructure work laying electric lines in now-vanished downtown neighborhoods along Water Street and Broadway.

Gift Shop: Open 1-4 pm.

Visit our headquarters, the 1830 Capt. David Crawford House! Guided tours are available.

Also see our 2023 Exhibit “Newburgh Underground” documenting the 1913 infrastructure work laying electric lines in now-vanished downtown neighborhoods along Water Street and Broadway.

Gift Shop: Open 1-4 pm.

Visit our headquarters, the 1830 Capt. David Crawford House! Guided tours are available.

Also see our 2023 Exhibit “Newburgh Underground” documenting the 1913 infrastructure work laying electric lines in now-vanished downtown neighborhoods along Water Street and Broadway.

Gift Shop: Open 1-4 pm.

Visit our headquarters, the 1830 Capt. David Crawford House! Guided tours are available.

Also see our 2023 Exhibit “Newburgh Underground” documenting the 1913 infrastructure work laying electric lines in now-vanished downtown neighborhoods along Water Street and Broadway.

Gift Shop: Open 1-4 pm.

Michael Green, founding board member of Newburgh’s Fullerton Cultural Center and former HSNBH Board Member, will discuss the Monell portraits on display in our dining room in a talk entitled “We Don’t Know What We Have Forgotten”. Come and enjoy an evening at the Crawford House while sipping on a cocktail or mocktail. Light refreshments will be served.

Visit our headquarters, the 1830 Capt. David Crawford House! Guided tours are available.

Also see our 2023 Exhibit “Newburgh Underground” documenting the 1913 infrastructure work laying electric lines in now-vanished downtown neighborhoods along Water Street and Broadway.

Gift Shop: Open 1-4 pm.

Visit our headquarters, the 1830 Capt. David Crawford House! Guided tours are available.

Also see our 2023 Exhibit “Newburgh Underground” documenting the 1913 infrastructure work laying electric lines in now-vanished downtown neighborhoods along Water Street and Broadway.

Gift Shop: Open 1-4 pm.

Visit our headquarters, the 1830 Capt. David Crawford House! Guided tours are available.

Also see our 2023 Exhibit “Newburgh Underground” documenting the 1913 infrastructure work laying electric lines in now-vanished downtown neighborhoods along Water Street and Broadway.

Gift Shop: Open 1-4 pm.

Visit our headquarters, the 1830 Capt. David Crawford House! Guided tours are available.

Also see our 2023 Exhibit “Newburgh Underground” documenting the 1913 infrastructure work laying electric lines in now-vanished downtown neighborhoods along Water Street and Broadway.

Gift Shop: Open 1-4 pm.