Millerton kicks of 175th celebration

MILLERTON — The village’s 175th anniversary celebration kicked off Saturday, July 11, with a full day of activities for children, families and attendees of all ages.

Millerton will spend the next week celebrating its anniversary, commemorating the village’s history since the arrival of the Harlem Valley Railroad in 1851, a moment that the village’s founding fathers and historians have long heralded as the birth of the community.

The Saturday’s main event was the parade, which rolled down Main Street around 4 p.m., marking the official start of the nine-day celebration. About 200 people gathered along Main Street’s sidewalks and beneath the shade trees in Veterans Park to watch.

More than two dozen craft vendors set up shop in Eddie Collins Memorial Park on Saturday, selling a myriad of handmade goods ranging from decorative to practical including pottery, jewelry and soaps.

Also taking up residence in the park was a community flea market. Millerton and North East community members peddled gently used items at the park, and two residents in the village signed up to have yard sales put on a map of the town for interested shoppers to go visit.

The day included a dedication ceremony at the Town of North East’s Highway Garage, where town officials dedicated the building to the late Bob Stevens. Stevens served as the town’s Highway Superintendent for more than 20 years at the time of his death in March.

Millerton resident Tim Watson was sitting in his wheelchair underneath the shade at Veterans Park around 2:45 p.m., waiting for the parade to start. He said the week-long celebration coming to fruition and the crowd downtown that came out to celebrate demonstrated a strong sense of community.

“This is a perfect example of community support,” Watson said.

Photo by Nathan Miller

Community youngsters ride their bikes in the Saturday afternoon parade that kicked off the event.