Valatie eyes making street one-way

By HOWARD BLUE, Copake Town Historian

TWO HUNDRED YEARS ago, in April 1824, the Town of Copake was founded. Under the expert leadership of Kellie Nardin, chair of the Bicentennial Committee, a group of Copake citizens has planned a comprehensive celebration of that historical event.

The historical event that Copake is celebrating needs to be seen in context. At that time, Copake’s farmers lived in difficult circumstances. The origin of their problems lay in Robert Livingston’s mid-18th century receipt of two grants of land from New York state’s governor who owed him a favor.

There are several important aspects to the story of Livingston control of Copake and adjoining areas. First of all, Robert Livingston never actually owned the Copake area. One grant he received gave him the right to buy a parcel near the Hudson River; the other was close to the Massachusetts border. But Livingston, a conniver, pretended that he was given the right to buy the large area between those other two, which apparently, he did not even pay for.

One result of this situation was that tenant farmers were paying rent to “a landlord” whom in fact they were not legally obliged to pay. In addition, the Livingston/tenant farmer legal arrangement was an example of semi-feudalism. Thus, besides paying rent in the form of animals and crops, many tenant farmers had to provide a day’s unpaid labor at the Livingstons’ personal estate, a miniature example of feudal practice of the Middle Ages in Europe.

Of course, slavery in the U.S. was even more onerous. But the plight of both Black plantation slaves and Hudson Valley’s tenant farmers were somewhat related. Both situations were examples of powerful minorities exerting undue influence over the lives of large numbers of aggrieved, often poor people.

Throughout much of the long period when the Livingstons’ controlled most of Copake’s land, tenant farmers periodically expressed their frustration and anger about their plight. Some of this materialized even before the Revolution. And then, 20 years after Copake’s foundation as a town, on December 12, 1844, things came to a head. That’s when in Copake, Dr. Smith Boughton, one of the leaders of an anti-rent movement seeking to wrest power from the Livingstons and other Hudson Valley semi-feudal barons, came to Copake.

In disguise as a so-called “Calico Indian” – a tribe which did not exist – at Sweet’s Tavern, Boughton seized legal papers that the county sheriff was using to try to seize crops and animals from two rent striking tenant farmers. A week or so later, Boughton was arrested and later tried. He was given a life sentence. Yes, a life sentence! However, when a new governor came to office, he pardoned Boughton.

Boughton’s confrontation with the sheriff did not immediately end the tenant farmer arrangement. But it had influence, and throughout the rest of the century pressures on the land barons eventually forced them to sell off their land so that farmers could finally own it themselves.

The American Revolution achieved some wonderful results. It helped remove British power over Americans, substituting a somewhat democratic system for monarchical rule. The term of “somewhat” is of course necessary partly because Black Americans were still denied political equality and power.

But the revolution did not address the inequities experienced by Copake’s tenant farmers. They needed land reform, an issue that still exists in some parts of the world today.

Just as we are rightfully pleased to celebrate the official founding of our wonderful town, in 2026 we will celebrate the semi quincentennial of the American Revolution (its 250th anniversary). Both anniversaries deserve to be properly honored. But as Thomas Jefferson wrote years ago, “The Price of Liberty Is Eternal Vigilance.” While we celebrate both the current anniversary and the forthcoming one, we need to be aware to protect our democracy and our Constitution from those who would do them harm.
Contact Howard Blue, copaketownhistorian@gmail.com