A Margaretville artist's original line drawing of the historic New Kingston Post Office will be featured on a special postmark offered July 5 as part of a community-wide celebration.
The hamlet of New Kingston's historical district was recently named to the state and national registers of historic places, and events include guided walking tours, a special postal cancellation, art exhibit and reception at the post office and a display of photographs and other items in the Presbyterian church.
Postmaster Rebecca Newman said Oneida Hammond's drawings and watercolors are well-known in the Middletown area.
"She has done a lot of commissions of houses," Newman said. "In addition to the drawing for the postmark, she did another beautiful sketch of the New Kingston Post Office for a postcard."
On July 5, the post office will have a reception from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hammond will be there from 10 a.m. to noon to sign the postcards, Newman said. A selection of Hammond's paintings of New Kingston homes will also be on display.
Middletown Town Historian Shirley Davis and former New Kingston Postmaster Fran Faulkner will lead walking tours of New Kingston at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The tours will last about an hour as the group walks past 26 homes, Davis said Wednesday.
The New Kingston Historical District is a rural hamlet that developed in the latter part of the 19th century and includes 50 buildings, including houses and places of worship.
Newman said the post office has been almost continually active since 1840.
Organizers said people wishing to take the tour should meet at the Presbyterian church, also on the historic register, where they can view the display as well as purchase copies of the Historic Resources Survey, which details each structure in the New Kingston Valley.
Davis said the tour will feature information about three of the oldest houses in the community, each dating back to the 1840s and 1850s.
"The oldest house was built in two sections," Davis said. "The older section has a flat roof and the newer portion has a peaked roof. It is a plank house that was a blacksmith shop at one time."
The 2 p.m. tour group will have an opportunity to purchase the signed postcards at the church.
Copies of "The Long Papers, Historical Sketches of the New Kingston Valley" will also be offered for sale.
An exhibit of New Kingston postcards, photographs and memorabilia will also be on display at the Middletown Town Hall through the month of July, and can be seen weekdays except for July 4 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
To obtain a pictorial postmark, submit a mail order request before Aug. 4 by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope or postcard inside a larger envelope to Postmaster, New Kingston, NY 12459.
