Howard R. Baird, Sr.
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Road crews began construction in August on a new sidewalk along Route 44 connecting Amenia’s town center to Beekman Park, a project scheduled for completion in spring 2026.
Photo by Leila Hawken
Work also advanced on plans for a new town garage and salt shed. Town crews completed site preparation throughout the year, handling initial land clearing and grading in advance of construction, which is scheduled to begin this spring.
Community groups played a role in enhancing public spaces as well. In early May, members of the Amenia Garden Club planted a native pollinator garden at the Amenia Free Library. Now established, the garden continues to attract bees, insects and birds native to the region.
New businesses added energy to the town in 2025. Isabela, Amenia’s newest restaurant, opened in late March and quickly built a loyal following, drawing steady local interest. In July, the Silo Bakery opened in Wassaic, offering an array of pastries, breads and pies and becoming another popular destination.
Preservation efforts also moved forward during the year. In late May, donations from the Amenia Historical Society and local residents supported restoration work on the town’s 1937 Sanford fire truck. Once complete, the town’s first fire engine is expected to return to public view, including appearances in local parades.
A long-anticipated preservation milestone was marked on July 3, when the town officially accepted the donation of the historic Wassaic Charcoal Kilns. The ceremony formalized the transfer of the two restored 19th-century stone kilns to the town on the eve of Independence Day celebrations.
A sign detailing the history of the charcoal kilns and the recent restoration now stands at the site of the historic kilns on Deep Hollow Road just off Route 22 in Wassaic. The sign and restoration were part of an effort by the Amenia Historical Society and Bernie Leighton, who cleaned up the site and restored the kilns. Photo provided
Community events drew visitors throughout the year. Despite clouds and intermittent rain, classic cars lined Wassaic’s Main Street in late May for a car show organized by Fenders and Flowers. In mid-October, months of planning culminated in the first annual Amenia Harvest Festival, which brought together vendors, residents and visitors.
Equestrian events also expanded in 2025. The Silo Ridge Masters returned to Keane Stud with an additional weekend of show-jumping competition. Riders were drawn to Amenia again in early October for a three-star competition, followed the next week by a new five-star event under the Highlands Cup banner. The expanded competition included two nights of concerts and a car competition.
Voters weighed in during the November election, continuing the town’s support for Democratic candidates. Rosanna Hamm won the supervisor’s race, defeating Republican Terrence McCauley by a margin of 686 to 402. Democrats also strengthened their presence on the Town Board, with Walter Dietrich winning one of two full-term seats and Vicki Doyle securing the remaining year of an unexpired term. Republican Nicole Ahearn won the second full-term seat.
Amenia voters also narrowly chose to retain the town’s ban on retail cannabis sales, approving the measure by a vote of 560 to 515.
Looking ahead, the coming year is expected to bring the completion of the Route 44 sidewalk project and construction of the new town garage and salt shed, along with continued progress on repairs to the Water District’s facilities, including new well heads and pumping station.
Max Amsterdam reaches out to pet a red panda at the Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo on Millbrook School’s campus on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Amsterdam is a senior at Millbrook School and serves as the zoo’s head student curator.
Photo by Aly Morrissey
Stahl said the zoo has been engaged in a long-range master planning process for several years as part of preparing for its next Association of Zoos and Aquariums accreditation review in 2027. “We knew we had to make a plan and look toward the future,” Stahl said. “We had to think about what more we could be doing for the animals, for students and for the community.”
Construction is nearing completion on a new animal holding barn, the first step toward housing off-exhibit animals. Funded by philanthropist Barbara Tober — whom Stahl described as the project’s “catalyst” — the facility is required under AZA accreditation standards. The holding barn will serve as a first stop for new animals required to quarantine before entering an exhibit. It will also safely house animals when enclosures are being repaired or when they need rehabilitation.
The new animal hospital, which zoo staff are referring to as an animal wellness center, is poised to be four times larger than the existing space. Stahl said the team is looking forward to dramatically expanding the zoo’s ability to treat animals on campus, eliminating the need to transport them off-site for procedures like X-rays or ultrasounds.
Max Amsterdam feeds a red panda at the Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo on the Millbrook School campus on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Amsterdam said he became interested in the school's zoo in his freshman year when he watched an older student perform a biopsy on a wolf that had passed away at the zoo.Photo by Aly Morrissey
Stahl said a primary goal of the master plan and the animal wellness center is to “bring the outside in.” The public will be allowed to watch certain procedures and operations to learn more about the veterinary work that goes on behind the scenes.
In addition to the zoo’s around-the-clock staff, rotating veterinarians visit the zoo each week to check on the animals and perform routine procedures. The current space is limited, and zoo staff are eager to have an expanded footprint.
“Right now we’re very limited space-wise,” Stahl said. “This new facility will let us have more space, more vets and more learning happening.”
Max Amsterdam has lived at the Millbrook School as a boarding student for four years and has held a working role at the zoo throughout that time. Today, in his senior year, he serves as the zoo’s head student curator — a coveted leadership role that requires a formal application and selection process.
When Amsterdam first applied to Millbrook School, the zoo was not front-of-mind. Although he wanted to become a veterinarian as a young child, the desire dissipated until he set foot in the Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo as a freshman.
“I watched a senior perform a biopsy on a red wolf that had passed away from a uterine tumor,” Amsterdam said. “I didn’t even know that students could do that. I realized right then how incredible this place was and the zoo became my thing.”
Over his four years at Millbrook, Amsterdam has assisted veterinarians, shadowed medical procedures, conducted necropsies and even traveled with staff to national AZA conferences. “As you grow, you gain a relationship with the staff and vets, and when they know you can handle it, they let you do more,” he said.
With graduation on the horizon and plans to study biology at Bucknell, Amsterdam admits he’s a little jealous of the future students that will benefit from the new zoo facilities.
At the end of the day, he is grateful for the hands-on experience he has received in his leadership roles at the zoo. Millbrook School is the only high school in the country with an AZA-accredited zoo on its campus.
“I’m jealous, but I’m also so grateful that the zoo got that donation because it’s needed,” Amsterdam smiled. “We deserve it, too. It’s a lot of hard work by the staff and students — it’s 200% effort seven days a week, and not many people see that.”
