The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

The History Of Berlin’s Dutch Church Will Be Presented At The Stephentown Historical Society Meeting

By

The Stephentown Historical Society will hold its holiday potluck dinner on Monday, December 3, at 6:30 pm at the Stephentown Heritage Center, Garfield Road (County Route 26) in Stephentown. Officers and Board Members will be elected at the brief business meeting. Sharon Klein will give an illustrated talk on the history of Berlin’s Dutch Church after the dinner. All meetings are free and open to the public. The building is handicapped-accessible. For information, phone 518-733-0010.
[private]For the dinner, bring a dish large enough to share – a main course, salad or dessert. Beverages and table service are provided. Instead of a gift exchange, a monetary collection will be taken to support the Stephentown Food Pantry.
Sharon Klein is Berlin Town Historian and the Past President and Secretary of the Taconic Valley Historical Society. Retired from teaching at Berlin Central Middle/Senior High School, she once taught a local history class that produced an informative walking tour guide on the architecture of Main Street in Berlin.
Many may wonder what exactly was “Dutch” about the Berlin Dutch Settlement Church on the mountain west of town. Like the Pennsylvania Dutch, these were German (Deutsch) people, hard working families from Bavaria who sought freedom from hardship and countless wars and conscription. The first families set sail in 1834 and were brought to this area by earlier immigrants who met them in New York City. They settled on the high plateau between Berlin and Sand Lake, making charcoal as their primary business and eventually were joined by other families from Bavaria. They were able to build a church in 1862, which stood until it was destroyed by arson in 1968. The reconstructed church was burned again in 1982. The church is remembered by a memorial stone and the Dutch Church Road name. Sharon will tell about the church, its Dutch Picnic and the families who created this community on the mountain.[/private]