Friday marked the opening of the Tompkins Corners Cultural Center in the former United Methodist Church, now to be the regular venue for a famers market. Fruit, vegetables, crafts, wine and entertainment (including the renowned John Cohen of New Lost City Ramblers fame). We missed the dinner and movie in the evening.
According to Wikipedia:
Tompkins Corners United Methodist Church is located along Peekskill Hollow Road (Putnam County Route 21) in Putnam Valley, New York, United States. It is a wooden frame structure built in the 1890s. In 1983 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the only property exclusively in Putnam Valley to so far receive that distinction.
The congregation was founded in 1789, making it one of the oldest Methodist churches in the state outside of New York City. It can trace its roots to early missionary work by Methodist evangelist Freeborn Garrettson. Today it is part of the United Methodist Church. Since 2011 it has been closed.
In 1833 the first church on the site was built. By 1890 it had become outdated, and the current structure replaced it the next year. Its L shape, unusual for that era, was necessitated by the reuse of the original church’s foundation. A nearby carriage house, used in the past for church events and today as storage space, remains from the original church. It is a contributing resource to the National Register listing.
After standing empty for four years the church has recently been purchased by a group of concerned locals so that it can become a badly needed community cultural center. More information can be found at: Historic Church to Become Cultural Center and on the Center’s Facebook Page.
The band.
Colorful bags.
Cherries. A bit out of focus, but my wife tells me that they tasted much better than the cherries she’d bought at the supermarket. We also got some blueberries, which I’ve yet to try.
Vegetables. We bought some very tasty tomatoes (and yes I know that they are fruits, but everyone seems to treat them like vegetables); and some golden beets, which I roasted last night for dinner.
Inside the church.