Pine Plains Opera House celebrated with unveiling of historic marker

Pine Plains Opera House celebrated with unveiling of historic marker
From left, Gary Cooper, Thayer Durrel, Little Nine Partners Historical Society President Dyan Wapnick, Chairman of the Dutchess County Legislature Gregg Pulver (R-19), Dutchess County Historian William Tatum and Pine Plains town Supervisor Darrah Cloud celebrated the town’s first William G. Pomeroy Foundation historic marker commemorating the town’s Opera House on Saturday morning, May 1.
Photo by Kaitlin Lyle

PINE PLAINS — Falling in line with their work in honoring the past and preserving its future, members of the Little Nine Partners Historical Society (LNPHS) invited the Pine Plains community to join them in the unveiling and dedication of the William G. Pomeroy Foundation historic marker on Saturday, May 1, to commemorate the town’s Opera House.

Beginning at 11 a.m., the LNPHS couldn’t have asked for a more pleasing spring morning to hold the unveiling or a more delightful turnout in front of the Pine Plains Pharmacy, located at 2965 Church St., where the Opera House was once established. Welcoming everyone to the event, Little Nine Partners Historical Society President Dyan Wapnick disclosed to attending officials and residents that they were there to honor the first William G. Pomeroy Foundation historic marker the town of Pine Plains has ever commemorated. 

Since 2006, Wapnick announced that the Pomeroy Foundation has funded more than 1,300 signs across the U.S.

“When I first applied for the grant, these Pomeroy people really want you to succeed with this,” she said as she praised the foundation for its support and encouragement on the town’s application.

Wapnick voiced her gratitude to pharmacy owner Nasir Mahmoud for his support as well as Director of Dutchess County Highway Construction and Maintenance Gary Cooper and the Pine Plains Highway Department for finding a location for the marker. She also gave thanks for the encouragement the LNPHS received from local historians.

With a flourish, Chairman of the Dutchess County Legislature Gregg Pulver (R-19), a multigenerational Pine Plains farmer, and Dutchess County Historian William Tatum removed the marker’s covering and the community gave a cheer at the sight of it.

Considering the amount of work that went into checking its accuracy, language and other details before installing the marker, Tatum remarked, “This is a tremendous monument to your community.”

Applauding the Historical Society for its tremendous work, Tatum asked community members to remember whenever they see the marker that it represents months of hard work by the local and county historical societies and the Pomeroy Foundation to preserve local history.

Dressed as Jacob Bowman from head to toe, local resident Thayer Durrel delivered a reprisal performance of the visionary behind the Opera House to further enlighten the community of its historic value in their small town. Darrel previously took on the role of Bowman during the 2020 Evergreen Cemetery Tours organized by the LNPHS and the Pine Plains Free Library during Halloween.

As he recited that the Opera House was first built in 1895, Durrel proclaimed, “This has become a community space and I couldn’t be more pleased.”

Stepping back into the community’s view, Wapnick shed a light on what happened to the Opera House in later years: Bowman sold the Opera House in 1905 and passed away six years later. The Opera House continued under a succession of owners before closing in 1916.

Wapnick then encouraged the community to go to the Little Nine Partners website, www.lnphs.org, for more details.

Latest News

The Millerton News - March 26, 2026

The Millerton News - March 26, 2026

Download directlyDownload directly

Where the mat meets the market

Where the mat meets the market
Kathy Reisfeld
Elena Spellman

In a barn on Maple Avenue in Great Barrington, Kathy Reisfeld merges two unlikely worlds: wealth management and yoga, teaching clients and students alike how stability — financial and emotional — comes from practice.

Her life sits at an intersection many assume can’t exist: high finance and yoga. One world is often reduced to greed, the other to “woo-woo” stretching. Yet in conversation, she makes both feel grounded, less like opposites and more like two languages describing the same human need for stability.

Keep ReadingShow less
our community
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

To mow or not to mow?

To mow or not to mow?

A partially mowed meadow in early spring provides habitat for wildlife while helping to keep invasive plants in check.

Dee Salomon

Love it or hate it, there is no denying the several blankets of snow this winter were beautiful, especially as they visually muffled some of the damage they caused in the first place.There appears to be tree damage — some minor and some major — in many places, and now that we can move around, the pre-spring cleanup begins. Here, a heavy snow buildup on our sun porch roof crashed onto the shrubs below, snapping off branches and cleaving a boxwood in half, flattening it.

The other area that has been flattened by the snow is the meadow, now heading into its fourth year of post-lawn alterations. A short recap on its genesis: I simply stopped mowing a half-acre of lawn, planted some flowering plants, spread little bluestem seeds and, far less simply, obsessively pluck out invasive plants such as sheep sorrel and stilt grass. And while it’s not exactly enchanting, it is flourishing, so much so that I cannot bring myself to mow.

Keep ReadingShow less
the ungardener

Capitol hosts first-ever staging of Civil War love story

Capitol hosts first-ever staging of Civil War love story

Playwright Cinzi Lavin, left, poses with Kathleen Kelly, director of ‘A Goodnight Kiss.’

Jack Sheedy

Litchfield County playwright Cinzi Lavin’s “A Goodnight Kiss,” based on letters exchanged between a Civil War soldier and the woman who became his wife, premiered in 2025 to sold-out audiences in Goshen, where the couple once lived. Now the original cast, directed by Goshen resident Kathleen Kelly, will present the play beneath the gold dome of Connecticut’s Capitol in Hartford as part of the state’s America250 commemoration — marking what organizers believe may be the first such performance at the Capitol.

“I don’t believe any live performances of an actual play (at the Capitol) have happened,” said Elizabeth Conroy, administrative assistant at the Office of Legislative Management, who coordinates Capitol events.

Keep ReadingShow less
performances

Hunt Library launches VideoWall for filmmakers

Hunt Library launches VideoWall for filmmakers

Yonah Sadeh, Falls Village filmmaker and curator of David M. Hunt Library’s new VideoWall.

Robin Roraback

The David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village, known for promoting local artists with its ArtWall, is debuting a new feature showcasing filmmakers. The VideoWall will premiere Saturday, March 28, at 6 p.m. with a screening of two short films by Brooklyn-based documentary filmmaker and animator Imogen Pranger.

The VideoWall is the idea of Falls Village filmmaker Yonah Sadeh, who also serves as curator. “I would love the VideoWall to become a place that showcases the work of local filmmakers, and I hope that other creatives in the area will submit their work to be shown,” he said.

Keep ReadingShow less
film
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.