Where in the Valley is Reed Sparling? (February 2009)

And the ANSWER IS...

Our congratulations to Janell Bonawitz of Pleasant Valley for being the first to respond to the February "Where in the Valley is Reed Sparling" contest. Janell recognized Reed as being at Madam Brett Park (Dutchess County).

The name of Madam Brett Park honors Catharyna Rombout Brett, Beacon's first lady. After the death of her husband in 1718, not long after the couple carved a home out of the wilderness within the city's present-day confines, she was forced to fend for herself and three young sons. Not to worry: She sold off portions of her 25,000-acre estate (inherited from her father) to new settlers, in the process populating much of surrounding Dutchess County. Her gristmill, located in or near the park along Fishkill Creek, was frequented by farmers on both sides of the Hudson.

The abandoned building adjacent to the park was built in 1879 to house the Tioronda Hat Works, back in the day when Beacon was the hat-making capital of New York, if not America.

Our congratulations to to Janell Bonawitz of Pleasant Valley for being the first to respond with the correct answer. She won an autographed copy of Reed Sparling's Hudson Valley Voyage: Through the Seasons, Through the Years. Try your luck with our March challenge!