history

New Millerton marker commemorates birthplace of local legend Eddie Collins

New Millerton marker commemorates birthplace of local legend Eddie Collins

Aayan Munir, Evan Pagett, Joe Natalizio and Manav Patel remove the black plastic from the new historical marker commemorating the Millerton Inn as the birthplace of famous baseball player Eddie Collins. The Arlington High School seniors acquired a grant for the marker from the Pomeroy Foundation as part of a history project.

Photo by Nathan Miller

MILLERTON — Students from Arlington High School unveiled a historical marker commemorating the Millerton Inn as the site of an early home of baseball Hall of Famer Eddie Collins.

Aayan Munir, Evan Pagett, Joe Natalizio and Manav Patel researched Eddie Collins as part of a history project where they had to secure a Pomeroy Foundation grant for a historical marker.

“A lot of historical figures are chosen, but not a lot of sports figures,” Patel said.

The Millerton Inn is reported to be the birthplace of Eddie Collins. His grandparents owned and operated the property, known as the Simmons House at the time. On May 2, 1887, while his mother, Mary, was visiting the Simmons House, she gave birth to Eddie, according to a biography by Rick Huhn.

Collins began his professional baseball career at the age of 19 while still attending Columbia University. He spent his first season playing only in the minors, but by his third season in 1909 he was a full time player and the starting second basemen. Collins finished the 1909 season with a .349 batting average and 67 stolen bases.

Collins became known for excellent playing offensively and defensively. He became the sixth player ever to achieve 3,000 hits in 1925 and is to date the 12th highest ranked player by total hits with 3,315. Collins is one of four players to have stolen more than 500 bases — he stole 745.

Collins played with the Philadelphia Athletics until 1914, including all five seasons the Athletics won the World Series while stationed in Philadelphia. In 1915 he joined the Chicago White Sox where he was a part of the infamous “Black Sox” team that threw the 1919 World Series, although Collins was not implicated in the scandal and arrived on the other side unmarked by the controversy. In 1924 he was named player-manager of the team, a position he held for two seasons.

Collins retired from play in 1930 and went on to coach and manage the Boston Red Sox. Under his leadership, the Red Sox played winning seasons in seven out of 12 years and won their first pennant in 28 years in 1946. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. He retired in 1947 at the age of 60.

Collins died after years of struggles with heart problems in a hospital in Boston in 1951 at the age of 63.

history

Latest News

Millerton Police Dept. rebuilds after fire; new cruisers on the way

Millerton Police Dept. rebuilds after fire; new cruisers on the way

The borrowed Pine Plains cruiser parked on Main Street in front of the Millerton Inn during the Millerton Street Fair on Saturday, June 28.

Photo by Aly Morrissy

MILLERTON — After receiving substantial state grant funding in July 2024 and beginning to roll out new equipment that fall, the Millerton Police Department suffered a setback when the February fire at the Village Water and Highway Department building destroyed much of its newly acquired gear — including patrol vehicles outfitted with cutting-edge technology.

Thanks to full-value insurance coverage and swift support from the Town of Pine Plains — which loaned the department a vehicle — Millerton officers were able to remain active in the community. Millerton Police Chief Joseph Olenik said two custom-built, four-wheel-drive Ford Interceptor cruisers are now in production and are expected to arrive by the end of the summer.

Keep ReadingShow less

Uncertainty looms over Millerton community pool timeline

Uncertainty looms over Millerton community pool timeline

Groundbreaking of the new pool planned for Eddie Collins Park has been delayed after the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation intervened to determine the status of wetlands in the proposed building site.

Archive photo

MILLERTON — The long-awaited groundbreaking for a new community pool at Eddie Collins Memorial Park — once expected this past April — now faces significant delays with no definitive timeline in sight, Mayor Jenn Najdek said.

The primary setback stems from a still-pending permitting process, as the village awaits final approvals from the Dutchess County Board of Health and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regarding septic placement and wetland buffers. A patch of wetlands on the site — roughly five feet by five feet, Najdek said — requires a protective buffer, which could range anywhere from 5 to 100 feet. That determination will dictate whether the current pool design needs to be altered or moved altogether.

Keep ReadingShow less

North East town records brought into the digital age

North East town records brought into the digital age

Chris Virtuoso reorganized parcel records in the North East Town Hall basement by parcel number during the process of scanning and digitizing the documents.

Photo by Grace DeMarco

MILLERTON — Within the walls of the two-story Victorian housing the North East Town Hall lies a room-full of town records dating back to the late 19th century. Stored in labeled cardboard boxes and protected by dehumidifiers, the records are in the process of being dated, organized, and scanned into categorized online programs.

As the Town Hall works to relocate to 5603 Route 22 at the former Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witness, the consolidation and digitalization of records, as well as the disposal of those unneeded, is a time-sensitive project. Marcy Wheatley, the Deputy Town Clerk, emphasized their current heavy focus on organizing and scanning. “Now, when we move, we can get rid of a lot,” Wheatley stated.

Keep ReadingShow less

Fun, food and facts bring crowds to downtown Millerton

Fun, food and facts bring crowds to downtown Millerton

Nora Garcia, 6, of Millerton, bottom right, gets a face painting treatment from Maddy Rowe, a Webutuck High School senior. Nora’s sister, Juliana, 8, top right, is decorated by Giana Kall, a Webutuck senior. The program was sponsored by the Webutuck PTA.

Photo by John Coston

Locals and visitors packed into downtown Millerton Saturday, June 28, for the first ever Millerton Street Fair hosted by the Millerton News, the Millerton Business Alliance and Townscape. Representatives from local nonprofits, businesses along Main Street, Bee Bee the Clown and face painters from Webutuck High School drew in crowds all afternoon.

Festivities officially opened at 10 a.m., and a steady stream of visitors soon followed. Volunteer firefighters hosted a bouncy castle, a duck pool, a “put out the fire” ring toss game, and the “touch a truck” event at the fire department’s garage.

Keep ReadingShow less