Delaware County & The Anti-Rent War Back in the Spotlight
New York’s Anti-Rent War, a tenants’ revolt rooted here in the Catskills in the 1840s, has long been considered a forgotten slice of American history.
A new documentary titled Calico Rebellion has brought it back into the spotlight. The film is currently being screened in New York and beyond. Earlier this fall, viewers at the New York State Museum in Albany had the chance to see it, as did Andes Central School District students and the SUNY Oneonta community. Coming up, it will be screened at Glimmerglass Film Days in Cooperstown on November 14 and at the Hunter Mountain Foundation movie theater on March 19.
Seeing local history on the big screen is important, and especially for us at PMP, it makes us proud that our books have played a role in inspiring and guiding such projects. For example, the “Calico” filmmakers have stated how they read and reread Dorothy Kubik’s book, A Free Soil—A Free People: The Anti-Rent War in Delaware County as they researched their documentary.
Tim Duerden’s A History of Delaware County offers the broader context for the political violence that erupted here and ultimately paved the way for the abolition of feudal land tenures in New York. Duerden is executive director of the Delaware County Historical Association and an adjunct professor of history at SUNY Oneonta. This comprehensive, illustrated volume covers the region’s history, from Native American habitation, to pioneer farmers and tradespeople, to the Anti-Rent War, to the construction of the railroads and highways, and eventually the construction of the reservoirs for New York City’s water supply.
By chance, Dorothy Kubik reviewed Duerden’s book when it was first published in the beloved magazine Kaatskill Life, writing, “The empty space on the bookshelves of Delaware County researchers, historians and residents has finally been filled by Tim Duerden’s A History of Delaware County.” It is, she decreed, a “handy reference” with content that should inspire locals and newcomers alike.
Together Kubik and Duerden have relayed the important history of the Anti-Rent War. Both books are required reading for those wishing to understand the larger themes of community, resilience, and identity so deeply entwined in these events.
Tim Duerden’s A History of Delaware County offers the broader context for the political violence that erupted here and ultimately paved the way for the abolition of feudal land tenures in New York. Duerden is executive director of the Delaware County Historical Association and an adjunct professor of history at SUNY Oneonta. This comprehensive, illustrated volume covers the region’s history, from Native American habitation, to pioneer farmers and tradespeople, to the Anti-Rent War, to the construction of the railroads and highways, and eventually the construction of the reservoirs for New York City’s water supply.