Ryder Farm, located on Starr Ridge Road in the southeastern section of Brewster, NY, is one of the oldest family-owned farms on the East Coast.  It was first established by Eleazer Ryder in 1795 and is the only property that has been in the hands of a single family for the entire existence of Putnam County, which was founded in 1812. The Ryder family is a substantial and historic family as they were among the early settlers of the Town of Southeast and members have owned and maintained the Putnam County National Bank for over 150 years. Eleazar Ryder was a tenant farmer who had leased property around Peach Pond (today’s Peach Lake) for several years; following the American Revolution, he purchased the land and he and his wife Mary built the original farmhouse known as “The Sycamores.” According to early agricultural censuses and farm diaries, the Ryder family utilized horses and a team of oxen to help raise successful crops including wheat, corn, oats, and potatoes. They also maintained a large orchard, grew crops of hay, raised flocks of chicken, and herds of milk cows, which contributed to the success of Putnam County’s flourishing dairy business throughout the 19^th century.

The farm has passed to Ryder descendants over the next 200 plus years. Betsey Ryder, a descendant and trustee of the Southeast Museum, currently resides on the farm and the land is owned by the Ryder Family Corporation.  Today, the entirety of the land is home to SPACE on Ryder Farm, a nonprofit residency founded by Emily Simoness, a Ryder descendant, and others, for artists of all kinds. The Ryder family and SPACE participants continue to devote the farm’s gardens to organic farming with a focus on soil replenishment, protection of pollinators, and raising organic, nutrient-rich food.  Produce and fresh flowers are sold at their farm stand and at farmers’ markets.

Artist’s Statement:

A barn quilt is a large piece of wood painted to look like a quilt block and hung on the exterior of a barn, house, garage or other building. It resembles a traditional quilt and is primarily used as decoration. Barn quilts are square-shaped with geometric designs, usually made of solid colors and composed of simple geometric shapes such as squares, rectangles, and triangles.

The inspiration for my own barn quilt is based on the stately sycamore tree that is on the property at Ryder Farm and serves as part of the logo for SPACE on Ryder Farm. We used the green and white color from the logo and incorporated a lighter green shade to brighten up the quilt. I choose these pattern colors because they are naturally connected to the farm and its identity. This barn quilt depicts Ryder Farm’s role in the important agricultural history of the Town of Southeast.

Resources: https://www.spaceonryderfarm.org/mission-and-history

Morningthorpe Manor is an impressive and historic property located in the Town of Southeast and was the former residence of Seth B. Howes. It is modeled and named after the historic castle, Morning Thorpe in England, which had belonged to the Howes family since the 1600s. Howes was a prominent figure in the early American circus and operated his accounting business out of the house and it is thought that he also housed many of his menagerie animals on his property. The original Howes family homestead was located miles away near Brewster Hill Road where the Bog Brook Reservoir was being built by New York City. It is said that Howes feared the dam of the reservoir breaking and flooding his home, so he began building the estate on the higher ground of Turk Hill, just outside the Village of Brewster.  

Howes acquired the farm property, including an original farmhouse at the corner of Turk Hill and Allview Avenue, from the estate of Ira C. Mead who had long farmed in this region and had an impressive herd of milch cows, swine and a team of oxen.

Morningthorpe was Howes’ dream home and was filled with personal touches that told the fascinating story of his life. The interior of the castle contained the Huys family coat of arms, a unicorn; the Huys name was changed to Howes some time prior to their arrival in America. The exterior is modeled in a Tudor fashion and its barns and outbuildings once housed horses and carriages.

Morningthorpe, also called Turk Hill Castle, was purchased by the Delancey Street Foundation in 1980.  This is a self-help and rehabilitation organization that provides residence to recovering addicts and former inmates to pursue a GED, learn vocational skills and get back on their feet. Residents learn a variety of skills, including but not limited to the culinary arts, moving and trucking, handcrafting terrariums, ceramics and woodworking, construction, accounting, automotive repair, antique refinishing, and interior decorating. The castle house, barn, the carriage house, and Seth B. Howes’s in-law's house that he built across the road all still remain to this day, while other sections of the property have since been sold off in parcels. Delancey Street uses the main building to house residents and uses the barn for their workshops.

Artist’s Statement:

The quilt design shows chess pieces which show Seth B Howe’s love for chess and the battle the residents have to overcome their addictions and reintegrate into society. The quilt also has the Delancey streets logo in order to honor the impact that Delancey Street has had on the town. We altered the knight to look like a unicorn to further tie it to Mr. Howe, as his family crest, has a unicorn on it. We also added corner bundles as they can be seen throughout the home in the intricate woodwork.

Green Chimneys is a nonprofit organization located on a historic farm property in the Town of Southeast, along the east portion of the Croton River, crossing over into Patterson, NY, which has an agricultural history dating back to the 18^th century.  The farm was originally known as the Boni-Bel farm of Joshua Barnum and later was named the Dell-Howe farm. The early Barnum owners established a family cemetery on the property which contains approximately 20 marked graves.  During the height of Barnum farming, they produced a significant number of crops such as rye, potatoes and corn, and their livestock included horses, milch cows, teams of oxen, cattle, swine and poultry.  It operated as a successful dairy farm well into the early 1900s. 

The property was acquired by the Ross family in 1947 and Green Chimneys was created to provide a unique educational experience and recreation for young children incorporating interaction and care for animals. According to Dr. Samuel Ross’ 2011 book, “The Extraordinary spirit of Green Chimneys: connecting children and animals to create hope”,  the name Green Chimneys was derived from a story passed along by Colonel Henry Breckinridge, the former owner of the farm:

Before leaving on a business trip, he hired an itinerant minister to paint the chimneys.  The minister found some green paint left over from another project and proceeded to use it on the chimneys as well as the cupolas of the barns. This was the talk of the town as chimneys were only painted white, red, or black in those days.  Immediately, locals began to give directions to the Dell-Howe Farm by saying, “Go down the road, it’s the farm with the green chimneys.” 

Over time, the farmland and educational campus grew to incorporate agricultural efforts and livestock was replenished, including cows, ponies, ducks, geese, chickens, pigs, sheep, and goats. Dr. Ross realized that many of his students had special needs and that this environment, over a typical school one, vastly benefited them, as did the special attention the staff were able to give them when it was understood they were struggling. By 1976, a significant portion of the enrollment at Green Chimneys were special needs students referred to the boarding school by local school districts, and the curriculum was modified accordingly.

Today, Green Chimneys continues to provide therapy, educational programs, and animal interactions to improve the lives of children. It currently serves more than 200 students and offers both day education and residential education opportunities and is home to nearly 200 different kinds of birds and animals, both farm and domesticated animals, and wildlife, such as injured birds of prey or other imprinted wildlife species who cannot be released back into the wild.  Additionally, The Country Store is located on the footprint of the Boni-Bel farm, serving the community with a local farmers market and gift shop.  It also serves as a vocational program for students.

Artist Statement:

We chose to use Green Chimney's logo as inspiration for our quilt and added "stitching" to further the illusion of the quilt.

The Brewster Elks Lodge, formerly known as Budd’s Tavern or Budd’s Corners, is a historic building in the Town of Southeast and has existed since the early 19^th century. In the early 1830s, Hiram Budd, a coach builder on Broome Street in New York City, moved to the Town of Southeast over fear of a massive cholera outbreak. He purchased farmland property along the stage road (today’s Route 22 at Milltown Road) and built a home and tavern on the farm which doubled as an inn for drovers driving their beef cattle and stagecoaches travelers passing through the Hudson Valley. This property was also known as “The Mountain House” and “Kishawana Hotel”, given its proximity to the local lake that was named Kishawana (today’s Bog Brook reservoir).

During Hiram Budd’s lifetime, the farm had expanded to 150 acres of farmland and was operated as a dairy farm, producing about 12,500 gallons of milk sold per year. After Hiram’s death, the Budd family sold the farm in 1910 to a gentleman farmer named Quimby.  At this time, the property was one of the earliest to receive electricity from the Jeungst factory outside of Croton Falls. Over the following years, a number of private families owned the property and by 1959, the Elks Lodge No. 2101 raised money to purchase the property and hosted the lodge’s formal dedication on September 11, 1960.

As a fraternal organization, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks promotes the principles of charity, justice, brotherly love and fidelity.  According to its mission statement, they recognize a belief in God; promote the welfare and enhances the happiness of its members; quicken the spirit of American patriotism; cultivate good fellowship; perpetuate itself as a fraternal organization, and provide for its government, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America. The Brewster Elks Lodge #2101 serves the people, schools, and community through charity and outreach programs in order to uphold the pillars of its order.

Artist’s Statement:

A barn quilt is a wooden square painted to look like a quilt block.  The purpose of a barn quilt is to represent someone or something. They are hung on a barn or a house/ garage. We were inspired by Hiram Budd’s job as a coach builder, incorporating a coach wagon wheel.  The wagon wheel is just to appreciate the original owner of the farm and depict what he did to earn the money to buy the farm.  We also incorporated elk antlers because the elk has stately qualities that the Elks Lodge follows, such as charity, justice, brotherly love, and fidelity. We chose red, white, blue, and black because American patriotism is very important to the Elks Lodge. In closing, the barn quilt reflects the history of how Hiram Budd chose the Town of Southeast as a safe haven when deciding where to move to. We find the mission of the Elks admirable and recognize that it is important to research and become educated about historical sites in our own backyard.

Salinger’s Orchard is a prominent family-owned-and-operated agriculture-based business located on Guinea Road in the Town of Southeast. Originally known as the Brookdale Farm in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, it was owned by David Adams as far back as the 1880 census. During his tenure on the historic property, Adams ran a successful dairy farm with 32 milch cows and raised poultry and swine.  In 1879, apple trees on the property produced 50 bushels of fruit.  In addition, Adams grew abundant crops of corn, potatoes, and hay.

Around the turn of the century, Brookdale Farm was purchased by Edgar Salinger, a German immigrant who studied agriculture and farm management at Cornell, Columbia, and New York University.  In the many years that the farm and orchard has remained in the family, the name changed to Salinger’s Farm and later became known as Salinger’s Orchard. To date, the farm and orchard has passed through the hands of five generations of the Salinger family and is today operated by Tim Salinger.  Their main selling item was always apples and peaches, though they have since expanded to sell baked goods, pies, jellies, and apple cider as well.  All the baking is done in-house by family members; previously, prior to Tim Salinger’s inheriting the business, all baking was done by his mother Maureen Salinger.

Artist’s Statement:

A barn quilt is a block of wood that is painted to look like a quilt, and it is made to represent the culture or traditions of the land. We were inspired by designs we found online of real quilts, and we came up with the design because it was an apple farm, and we felt we should incorporate them. We chose the pattern of apples because Salinger’s orchard holds residence to many apple trees, and they incorporate apples into their baked goods and their famous apple cider. Our colors, orange, red, and green, represent the fall when the apples ripen and apple cider donuts are piping hot at the facility. The barn quilt represents the agricultural history of the Town of Southeast by applying the harvest goods of Southeast, such as apples, as a primary piece in our design. It represents the work gone into planting and picking the apple and creating it into delicious baked goods the people of Southeast will enjoy for generations to come.

Pegasus Therapeutic Riding Association is a prominent venture that made its home on part of the historic Vail Farm in 2007. Located on Peach Lake Road in the southeastern section of the Town of Southeast, neighboring North Salem, Westchester County, this therapeutic riding association dates to 1974 when a group of women sought to create a unique style of physical and emotional therapy revolving around horseback riding.

Pegasus Farms dedicates 20 acres to therapeutic riding and pasture for the horses that provide important therapy. In the 19^th century, this property was part of H. Vail’s Farm where he raised milch cows, grew wheat, corn, oats, potatoes, hay, tended to fruit trees, collected honey, and cut wood. This farm consisted of 175 acres along today’s New York State Route 121, and almost a third of it was preserved as woodland or left unimproved.  As if tradition dictated it, three horses were part of Vail’s livestock to help work the farm back in 1880. Throughout much of New York State’s history, horses have played a vital role in farmwork and transportation. Today, they remain on some farms throughout Putnam County and are primarily enjoyed for horsemanship and therapeutic services like that offered by Pegasus. 

In 2008, Pegasus began construction on the Ann Pinkerton Riding Arena, their first outdoor arena. It was opened for programming in 2009, and in 2017 they opened the Michele Arnhold Education Center to house their horses and provide a welcoming educational space for all. Pegasus Farms boasts a staff of 13 horses and 6 PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship)- certified instructors, a barn and indoor arena, and a sensory trail designed for students and riders with special needs to be able to safely navigate various sensory stimulation stations with peaceful interludes through a winding seven acres of woodland in between. Pegasus also offers valuable therapeutic programs for first responders and veterans.

Artist’s Statement:

Within the United States’ rich history is the American-born tradition of creating barn quilts. Barn quilts are typically large wooden squares that are painted with intricate and meaningful details, meant to mimic the patterning and layers of a fabric quilt. They originated in the U.S. as a way for farm owners to display their pride and the cultural history of their farms by hanging a colorful tapestry. Most barn quilts show the farm's history, which can be seen by incorporating symbols, colors, and patterns that relate to what they produce or why they were formed. Not only did this monumentalize the farms' colorful backgrounds, but it also benefited them by drawing the public's attention to the beautiful works of art. The design of our barn quilt features a mythical creature called a Pegasus, a winged horse that originated within Greek mythology. Not only is the Pegasus the symbol of Pegasus Farms, but it also represents speed, strength, and artistic inspiration. All of these adjectives relate to Pegasus’s history because the group of women who founded it exhibited the strength and determination to build a sanctuary for those who needed it from the ground up. It also must have taken an artistic mindset to be able to dream of a place where equine therapy could provide support for troubled individuals. Equine therapy is a way to help individuals express themselves and learn how to blossom into their best versions. The color scheme chosen matches the colors of the farm. This barn quilt represents the agricultural history of the town of Southeast as this farm is made up of horses, and integrating the Pegasus symbolizes both the name of the farm and the main focus of the farm, which is unique, as it differs from a normal farm, as this is a therapeutic farm and not a working farm model.

The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Putnam County’s Apiary is an important agricultural feature situated on the Tilly Foster Farm on the western side of the Town of Southeast. The historic property was originally a dairy farm, and later used as a horse breeding facility; it was purchased by Putnam County in 2002, and in 2014 the farm became fully operational and open to the public. The apiary was introduced to the farm by beekeepers in 2021 and its bees have become important pollinators for fruits and vegetables grown at the flourishing farm and their hives produce native honey.

Beekeeping is an agricultural tradition dating back thousands of years that has had an active community in Putnam County since the 19^th century—as early as 1860, Beeswax and honey have been recorded in the county’s agricultural censuses. Cornell’s apiary consists of boxes for Carniolan honey bees which are appreciated for their quality honey production and gentle demeanor. 

People associated with the Cornell Apiary work to educate the public about the complexities of beekeeping practices and how bees are vital to the environment.  They work in conjunction with other educational outreach programs at the property and are supported by the Center for the Advancement of Apiculture (CAA) and its president, Rodney W. Dow.

The vegetable plants pollinated by the bees supply the county’s Office of Senior Resources and the Tilly’s Table restaurant, while also being available to the public through the local farm stand, along with native honey.

Artist’s Statements:
A barn quilt is a large piece of wood that is hung outside a farm in a visible position. The wood is painted to look like a quilt, and the design often reflects the values of the farm. These barn quilts were originally used to direct people to specific farms, but nowadays, some are known to create a network of quilt trails.

Our design was inspired by the crossroads quilt. The design, according to Underground Railroad legends, was used to point enslaved people towards freedom. It symbolizes the many different paths a person can take throughout life to achieve their goals. Our design combines this sentiment with the importance of bees and the paths they take. Without the presence of bees, plants wouldn’t be pollinated, and humans’ sources of nourishment would decrease drastically. Fortunately, bees are present almost everywhere around the world. Therefore, no matter what path you may take in life, bees will always be there to sustain the environment you’re living in. When designing our quilt, we wanted to emphasize the importance of bees and we incorporated five bees to represent the efforts of the bees at the Tilly Foster Apiary. The borders of our design also contain honeycomb, which is a substance that bees create to store their honey, pollen, and offspring. We also included coneflowers, which grow in Putnam County and are pollinated by the bees at Tilly Foster Apiary.  These bees also pollinate many other crops throughout our town, which has maintained our agriculture for generations.

When selecting our colors, we mostly used yellow to paint the honeycomb and the bees. However, we drew pink flowers with green leaves to add color and interest to our design.

Tilly Foster Farm is a prominent historic property located on the western side of the Town of Southeast near the former Tilly Foster post office and iron mine that shares the same name.  The land has been farmed for over 200 years and in the 19^th century, it was operated as a dairy farm by Theodore Kelly where he also raised swine and poultry and, in the fields, grew corn, potatoes and hay. Horses and a team of oxen helped work the fields.  By 1901, it became the Bloomer Family Farm.  During this time, the farm produced milk, cheeses and other dairy products well into the mid-20^th century.  In 1943, the farm was purchased by Edward. E. Benedict, who renamed it Benedict Farms and expanded by almost 1,000 acres. Although milk production in New York State declined in the early 20^th century, this farm was still operating as a dairy farm shipping to outside dairies. Eventually, Benedict turned to the breeding of thoroughbred horses, beginning Tilly Foster’s history as a horse breeding farm and producing several racing stars. After Benedict’s death, the farm fell into disrepair and in the late 1990s the farm was divided and sold off in parcels. Because such a large area of land was ripe for development, many local residents banded together to fight for the preservation of the remaining roughly 200 acres.  In 2002, Putnam County purchased the farm for $3.9 million and restored it as a working farm and more. Today, it produces enough food to fill pantries at the Senior centers throughout the county through the Office of Senior Resources and supplies local food pantries as well. It also operates a farm stand where locals and visitors alike can purchase any fresh produce that is available. Tilly Foster Farm also offers educational opportunities through partnership with the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Putnam County, as well as BOCES & ARC, striving to teach culinary skills, farming and harvesting, and animal care to the local youth. The farm is also home to Tilly’s Table, a farm-to-table restaurant, and the future home of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Putnam County’s headquarters, which will be a new two-story barn that will fit into the current footprint of an older barn that was on site.

Artist’s Statement:
Barn Quilts represent American folk art and encapsulate the spirit of the country's quilting tradition with a celebration of rural areas and agricultural traditions, while also promoting travel to these regions.

After looking at pictures of other barn quilts, I was very interested in the dynamic shapes and triangles. People were creating designs akin to sunflowers and plants, choosing colors to match their ideas. Specifically, the sunflower inspired some ideas to use triangular shapes to create something that looks like a sun.

Tilly Foster Farm has been a beacon of agriculture for decades, and it deserves to be represented by warmth and light and what better design to represent those things than the sun? Looking at pictures of Tilly Foster Farm, there happens to be a lot of bright green grass, white fences, and burgundy buildings. Nice bright yellows and oranges really bring together and compliment the greens and whites of the farm.

This barn quilt represents the agricultural history of the Town of Southeast by bringing together vibrant colors that show the vibrant history of the town and Tilly Foster Farm itself. With the shape of the sun and the yellows and oranges, it makes the Town of Southeast look healthy and mellow with all the green grass, healthy plants, and flowers around the whole area.