Top 10 History Museums in Catskill Region, Catskill Region

Hanford Mills Museum is one of a handful of operating water powered mills in the country. From May 15-October 15, the 70-acre historic site in the northwestern Catskills offers guided tours featuring demonstrations in the water-powered sawmill, gristmill and woodworking shop. Steam power demonstrations are offered on select days. In season, it is open Wednesdays - Sundays, and holiday Mondays (Memorial Day, Labor Day and Columbus Day). Kids 12 and under receive free admission. The Learning Lab offers young children and their families an opportunity to create, explore and build. Special events include: the Independence Day Celebration on July 4, the Dan Rion Memorial Antique Engine Jamboree & Powerfest, the Woodsmen's Festival, and the Ice Harvest Festival, which is held on the first Saturday in February. Hanford Mills Museum is located at the intersections of Delaware County Routes 10 & 12 in East Meredith, 10 miles from Oneonta, 15 miles from Delhi, and 30 miles from Cooperstown.

Explore the past, present, and future of Historic Reher's Bakery. Visit the Retail Shop ca 1959 to learn about Sunday mornings mid-century, when Kingstonians converged here to pick up rolls for breakfast on their way home from church. In the oven room, explore historic bakery equipment and hear how Frank Reher and his six children ran this business for 80 years.

Tour Hudson River Lighthouses aboard SOLARIS- Our 100% Solar Powered Tour Boat! Take a sailing lesson on the beautiful TIDBIT. Take a class in the wooden boat shop. Take a trip up the Roundout for local history tour. Check out our variety of beautiful spaces for events that including boat tours. 2020 Exhibit - "Mary Powell: Queen of the Hudson" Built in 1861, decommissioned in 1917, the Mary Powell remained a Hudson Valley constant during a period of incredible social and technological change in the United States. She saw the Civil War, the industrial revolution, Gilded Age, Progressive Era, and the start of World War I. Called “Queen of the Hudson” before construction was even completed, the Mary Powell, iconic symbol of “America’s Rhine.” Operated for most of her career by one enterprising family - the Andersons - Mary Powell also represented the best of Hudson River travel- the speed, elegance, safety, and attention to detail that made travel by water preferable.

Through our award-winning Main Exhibit—“Woodstock and The Sixties”—varied and engaging special exhibitions, growing collection of artifacts and reference materials, museum programs for children, youth, and adults, and the preserved historic site, the Museum immerses visitors in the story of the societal evolution of the 1960s, connecting visitors to the roots of today’s freedom of expression and the resurgent human spirit that defined the politics, music, art, and societal issues of that remarkable and challenging decade.

We are a living history museum with colonial period-attired docents interpreting the lives and lifestyles of the first European settlers in the Upper Delaware River valley during the Revolutionary War period and discussing their place in local and Early American history. Blacksmithing, candle making, farming, cabin keeping, spinning, weaving, woodworking, religion, schooling, musketry and cannon firings are among the daily activities with periodic encampments,lectures and militia drills rounding out the programs.