
The Buzz Board
Come catch up on things the Town of Pratttsville is working on. We will have flyers, Town Board documents and new committees we are excited about. If you have any questions please contact us at the Town Hall.
THE ZADOCK PRATT MUSEUM
WELCOMES A STOP BY
THE SECOND SCHOHARIE TURNPIKE – KAATERSKILL CLOVE RALLY
JUNE 10, 2023
“A house without a front porch is as insignificant as a
book without a title page.”
It’s June. Flowers, sun and fine weather beckon us outdoors. COVID=19 and too much time
indoors have inbued us with a renewed desire for peaceful, home-based activities, including
porch-sitting and the pleasures of the rocking chair. Join us on the porch of the Zadock Pratt
Museum where tea cakes, iced tea, several rocking chairs (and a few more folding chairs
for good measure) await you as the Town of Prattsville and the Zadock Pratt Museum
welcome the drivers of Second Schoharie Turnpike-Kaaterskill Clove Road Rally on June
10 and their beautiful driving machines.
The Rally, brainchild of artist and antique car enthusiast Robert Selkowitz celebrates a love of
maps and history and includes 135 miles of country roads and scenic vistas throughout our rural
hamlets and villages. The rally will start at 10 am with breakfast at Catskill Point in the Town of
Catskill where a parade of automobiles, new and antique, will wend their way up historic
Kaaterskill Clove through the lush and verdant hills of Greene and Schoharie with visits to the
Pratt Museum, Gilboa Museum & Juried History Center and, its terminus, the Old Stone Fort in
Schoharie.
The Museum also features a new exhibition of rare 19 th century drawings of Prattsville’s iconic
buildings by James B. Gregory, local artist and apothecary.
To learn more about the Rally, visit https://www.1903autorun.com/ or call Robert Selkowitz at
(845) 657-6982. To learn more about the Zadock Pratt Museum, visit
www.zadockprattmuseum.org
The mission of the Zadock Pratt Museum is to educate the public about of the local, state, and
nationally known significance of 19th century Catskill Mountains Congressman, banker, soldier,
and tannery owner Zadock Pratt, his family, and the greater Schohariekill-Prattsville area from
pre-Revolution to the 21st century. The museum is located in Pratt’s 19th century Greek Revival
home, built in 1828 and re-designed in 1856. Since 1986 the edifice has been on the National
Register of Historic Places. The museum opened to the public in 1959. To learn more, visit
zadockprattmuseum.org.
ZADOCK PRATT MUSEUM
OPENS THE 2023 SUMMER SEASON WITH
AN EXHIBITION OF RARE 19TH CENTURY DRAWINGS BY JAMES B. GREGORY
OPENING RECEPTION, SATURDAY, MAY 27, 2023 AT 1 PM
14540 MAIN STREET, PRATTSVILLE, NY 12468
The Zadock Pratt Museum opens the 2023 summer season with an exhibition of rare 19th century drawings of Prattsville’s iconic buildings by James B. Gregory, local artist and apothecary.
In 2017, an early American portrait of Theodoric Myer bearing the signature of the artist, J.B. Gregory was exhibited at the American Museum of Folk Art in New York City. Not much was known about the artist at the time. A small, cracked leather daybook in handwriting that belies the writer’s artistic flourish can be found in the Zadock Pratt Museum’s collection in Prattsville, NY, and indirectly tells the story of a self-taught artist, journalist, and - of all things - druggist.
James B. Gregory (1818-1901) was born in England’s London suburbs on Dec. 4, 1818 to the Rev. Thomas B. Gregory and Sarah Bowden Gregory. James accompanied his parents to America, where they settled in Canasota, NY and where Rev. Thomas Gregory became pastor of a church before moving to Prattsville, NY where he became Pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church of Prattsville (1836-1841).
At age 15, James B. Gregory started in business as a drugstore clerk in London. Upon arriving in Prattsville, at age 18, he opened a drugstore that also served as a general store, art supply store, and gallery. There, he offered sugar, eggs and wine for sale while offering to clean, frame, cut glass for or exhibit paintings as well.
On July 19, 1840, at age 21, James Bowden Gregory married Cynthia Eliza Myers of Prattsville at the Reformed Dutch Church of which his father, Thomas, was pastor. Together, they had three children, Jacob M. (1842), Sarah E. (1843), and Emily C. (1850).
A pair of portraits of children in the Myer family, Theodoric and Henrietta Josepha, stands as testament to Gregory’s artist nature and offers us a glimpse of a self-taught artist of the mid-19th century.
In addition to his roles as village druggist, Gregory was deeply involved in the life of his new American home, where during his lifetime he held office as Prattsville Town Clerk (1852-53), Postmaster, Master of Oasis Lodge No. 119, F. & A.M. of Greene County, Sons of Temperance and Good Templars. In church work, he was an Elder in the Reformed Dutch Church for many years where he was a Sunday school worker and superintendent of the church’s school. In 1858, Gregory started The Prattsville News and ran it for two years until selling it to E.P. More in 1860.
In 1868, after 28 active years in the Town of Prattsville, James Gregory and Cynthia Myer-Gregory gathered up their children and their belongings and moved to Peeksill, NY, where J.B. Gregory joined with Dr. E.D. Fuller to run a drug store on Main Street for many years. Known for his “considerable artistic ability,” it is believed that he produced many drawings, book illustrations and oil paintings during his lifetime. Yet, the only evidence of his art that has thus far remain are the nine drawings in this exhibit and two oil paintings of the children, Theodoric and Henrietta Josepha Meyers, who we believe to be family members of the artist’s wife, Cynthia Meyers-Gregory.
Join us on May 27 at 1 pm for an opening reception that will in addition feature a lecture by Edward Renehan, “Jay Gould, Zadock Pratt, and That Annoying Thing When a Ruined Partner Commits Suicide,” exploring the tangled and calamitous tale of Gould’s first large business venture of the 1850s, a venture transacted in league with Prattsville’s founder, the inimitable Zadock Pratt.
James B. Gregory’s exhibition is curated by Carolyn Bennett and made possible through the support of Bank of Greene County, Greene County Legislature, and the Town of Prattsville. Special thanks to Joseph Imhauser, Kris Seto, and Marci Le Brun.
The mission of the Zadock Pratt Museum is to educate the public about of the local, state, and national significance of 19th century Catskill Mountains Congressman, banker, soldier, and tannery owner Zadock Pratt, his family, and the greater Schohariekill-Prattsville area from pre-Revolution to the 21st century. The museum is located in Pratt’s 19th century Greek Revival home, built in 1828 and re-designed in 1856. Since 1986 the edifice has been on the National Register of Historic Places. Zadock Pratt Museum opened to the public in 1959. Learn more at zadockprattmuseum.org.


Prattsville Military Tribute Banners
Military Banner Program
These beautiful 18" X 36" patriotic banners, honoring our veterans & active-duty service members will be proudly displayed on the main streets of Prattsville. Banners are hung from Memorial Day to Veterans Day.
For more information or to sponsor you banner visits:
https://militarytributebanners.org/new-york/prattsville-ny.html
Greene County Trailer Replacement Program
Catskill Mountain Housing has received a grant from the New York State Housing Trust Fund to make grants available in Greene County to people who own a trailer or mobile home that serves as their primary residence. Applicants must be income eligible and own the land on which the home sits.
Conine Ballfield
If you are a business that is looking to promote your company, we are currently working on getting new banners at the ball field. Please call the Town Hall at 518-299-3125 if you are interested.
Summer Swim Camp
Its that time a year again for Minekill to start again. Swim camp starts on Monday July 3rd through Monday July 31st. Applications can be picked up at the Town Hall.