As a historian it has astounded me as to how much things have changed over the years. The house I grew up in was built by one of my ancestors in Copake, New York in 1687. Matthews was a simple tenant on Lord Livingston’s 160,000 acres manor. He rented about 80 acres, had to pay rent, build a house and a barn. Clear and fence the land, tend the live stock, plant wheat, an orchard and work on the road to the Manor House. Of course he had a slave bound to the farm to help. When the Massachusetts Bay Colony set up a township nearly 70 years later it included that farm. They were giving a 100 acres homestead free to new settlers and that started the Anti Rent War.
How times have changed. Still we seem to be held back by the inertia of the past. I remember when the minister of our church suggested moving the summer service up to 10; 30 from 11. One of our older board members and a stalwart of the church exclaimed; “It has always been held at 11!” That was it for change.
You can still see the same resistance to change today. It could be the County Chamber of Commerce that came out against the proposed Kohl’s Department store. Resistance to change is seen in the organization opposing the housing development of what was my farm. When a much smaller development was proposed for part of my land Mrs. Wilson organized resistance and about 50 people signed a petition opposing it and the project was eventually killed. It was particularly hard on my son Frank that wanted to take over the farm and I. That was because we just had our barn burned by the arsonist and need the funds from the sale of the land. I don’t like the proposed development by the way. It isn’t on the most sutable part of the two parcels the developers own.
While I no longer live in Copake I can see things that are needed for today and tomorrow. Long’s store was great. There was also the Circle Deli where you could shop. Today the Long’s store building wouldn’t meet the needs of the community. It was built by my great grandfather over a hundred years ago. It might make a better professional building or even an antiques shop or put to other uses. What Copake needs is a modern store to meet the needs of today and tomorrow. The people of Copake would be wise to look at where it should go to the best advantage. I have my own idea of where it should go.
I wrote two books. The first is Scandal in the Courtroom, found Guilty without Trial. It is a story of how Investigator Cozzolino wrote a statement and forced Frank to sign it. Frank never uttered on word of what he wrote but, a Federal Judge ruled it was a confession and granted the County a summary judgment motion prevented Frank for denying it. It is the story of how I went from owning a multimillion dollar farm to having just $200 in my pocket 12 years ago when I moved to Ohio. My second Book is Rebels of the North, how Land Policy Caused the Civil War. It too has much of the history of the area. Both were published at my expense and it is my hope to at least recover the cost of publication. Both are available at my web site http://www.grantlangdon.com/.
Grant Langdon
