Editor's note: Beacon was created in 1913 from Matteawan and Fishkill Landing.

150 Years Ago (August 1875)

About 400 Black residents of Fishkill Landing, Peekskill, Cold Spring and other nearby locations had planned an Emancipation Day excursion for Aug. 11 but were left disappointed on the dock. The steamer Echo was going to take the group and two bands to Poughkeepsie, but the captain said the pickup had to be at 7 a.m. because it had other engagements. According to a news report, he waited until 8:30 a.m. before leaving, but not everyone had arrived, and the affair was postponed.

As the Saratoga Special was passing through Dutchess Junction, late by 10 minutes, a broken bolt flew from the engine at the speed of a bullet. It passed between a couple, cutting the ribbon in the woman's hat, and struck the depot between two boys sitting there. After cutting a 1¾-inch hole in the iron sheathing, it rebounded and hit the station agent in the shoulder, ripping through his coat and causing a slight wound.

W.H Mase of Matteawan purchased eight shares of the National Bank of Fishkill at auction for $105 each [about $3,100 today].

After driving to Murphy's saloon on the Matteawan road, Theodore Hyatt offered two 7-year-old boys 50 cents [$15] to water his horse. When the boys approached the horse with a pail, it suddenly bit one of them in the face, shook him and threw him 4 feet. The boy suffered a severe wound to his cheek.

The Fishkill Landing Machine Co. was still using the 50-foot main belt installed 22 years earlier, when the plant opened. It was double thick and 12 inches wide.

Theodore Wood was going downhill toward the river when he rear-ended a wagon driven by Samuel Leith. Wood's horse broke its neck.

A watch stolen from Mrs. H.H. Hustis of Fishkill Landing was recovered at a jewelry store in Newburgh, where it had been sold for $8 [$235].

For reasons not reported, Robert Gibson, assistant superintendent of the Newburgh Water Works, fired a pistol at Alfred Post, president of the Highland National Bank, on the street in Newburgh on a Tuesday afternoon. The bullet grazed Post's neck; Gibson aimed for a second shot but forgot to cock the gun.

The Empires of Matteawan hosted the Kelloggs of Cold Spring for a Saturday afternoon baseball game, winning 24-23 in 10 innings.

125 Years Ago (August 1900)

Patrick Murray of Fishkill Landing was contracted to rehabilitate the Groveville Carpet Mills property for $8,000 [$300,000]. There were new roofs and about 1,000 panes of glass to be installed; the job was expected to take 20 men about two months.

George Moore of Fishkill Landing, with the assistance of a Washington, D.C, agent, received a back military pension of $806.93 [$31,000]. He had served during the Civil War with the 19th Regiment from Newburgh.

Mary Phelps retired after 30 years as the manager and operator of the Western Union Telegraph Co. office at Fishkill Landing.

The Matteawan Manufacturing Co. erected a tent on a Leonard Street lot to make hatboxes because of the lack of space in its factory. The firm had expanded its fur hat business, which occupied the former straw hat space, to include wool hats.

Andrew DeGroat, the ferryboat engineer, died at age 53 of mouth cancer. Fifteen co-workers attended the funeral at his home and then took his remains by ferry to Newburgh for interment. The ferry company contributed a floral arrangement shaped like an anchor.

School district residents in Fishkill Landing and Matteawan voted to provide free textbooks to students.

According to the Matteawan Journal, a freight train made an unscheduled stop at midnight at Fishkill Landing to unload a livestock car. Unfortunately, the 13 bulls inside had broken a thin partition and trampled the 51 calves, killing 11. The carcasses were removed, the bulls moved to a new car and the train continued to New York City.

100 Years Ago (August 1925)

The position of railway post office clerk on trains between Beacon and Pine Plains was eliminated be...