TURNING 200
Wilton bicentennial includes look back at fascinating history
WILTON, N.Y. » Area residents stepped back in time Saturday as Wilton’s official Bicentennial Weekend continued with a Historic Sites Tour of old buildings, cemeteries and prominent landmarks.
The 200th birthday celebration kicked off Friday with a re-enactment of the first town meeting, and premier screening of a Wilton documentary. The Historic Sites Tour continues from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, and at noon a representative from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office is expected to help dedicate a new Bicentennial Trail at Camp Saratoga on Scout Road.
Three area men, clad in woodsmen’s outfits, hosted an impressive display of antique tools, implements and weapons from the 19th and early 20th centuries at Camp Saratoga on Saturday.
“We’re forging a future from the past,” said Dwight McGee III.
Their collection includes a large old bellows, the kind Union Army cavalry-
men used during the Civil War to keep horses shod. There’s also a 1910 Schaller blacksmith’s forge the U.S. Army used a century ago in World War I.
McGee’s father, Dwight Jr., showed how to use a saw set tool, used for sharpening large hand saws.
“Most people don’t even know what some of these things are,” he said. “It’s an art that’s being lost and it shouldn’t be.”
The men’s philosophy is simple: time marches on, but it’s okay to bring some of the past with you.
On Dimmick Road, home owners Brian and Katie Coons welcomed guests to see the beautiful 1840-era barn they restored as an event space for family gatherings. Katie grew up there and the property has been in her family since 1925. She and Brian took it over in 1991 and began pouring blood, sweat and tears into the barn restoration 10 years ago.
“It’s a work in progress,” Brian said.
Katie hopes to start a small business, called the Old Barn at Snook Kill, using the cozy rustic setting for special occasions such as weddings and anniversary celebrations.
A quarter-mile away, the Historic Sites Tour includes the Dimmick Road Cemetery near the corner of Wilton-Gansevoort Road. The largest headstone marks the final resting place of Revolutionary War veteran Benjamin Dimmick, who received a commission as an ensign in the 2nd Connecticut Regiment on Aug. 1, 1779 and a lieutenant’s commission in the 3rd Connecticut Regiment on May 4, 1781.
He died, at 93, on Aug. 2, 1850.
The tour starts at the Wilton Heritage Museum, 5 Parkhurst Rd. near the base of Mount McGregor Road, where visitors may obtain a booklet containing a map and description of each tour site. The museum itself has many old fascinating artifacts that shed insight into Wilton’s past.
Will Peterson of Key Largo, Fla., who is visiting friends in the area, said he’s impressed by how much local history has been preserved.
“I wasn’t aware how much history is here,” he said. “There’s a lot of good people working hard at it.”