Exhibitions - Past
Summer 2024 Exhibition:
MEMENTOS, MAPS and
MILESTONES
COPAKE AT 200
Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the founding of Copake in 1824 and marking the 50th birthday of the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society.
A cornucopia of Copake history, featuring a wide range of items from our collection and on loan, highlighting the large and small history of Copake’s five hamlets: Copake, Copake Falls, Copake Lake, Craryville and West Copake.
On view are a multitude of mementos from the Roe Jan Central School, Martin Scorsese’s 1967 film footage shot in Copake and ice harvesting on Copake Lake, relics of the railroads, the once famed the Bash Bish Inn, and the beloved Copake Theater. The exhibition is also be an opportunity
to enjoy some rarely seen, recently donated objects, including the bell from the Copake Falls fire truck, and an ancient indigenous artifact, unearthed in Craryville back in 1888.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the dedication of the restored and repurposed church building, from July through October 2023, the RJHS is exhibiting a selection of rarely seen objects from its museum collection. The exhibit, titled The First 40: A Celebration of Local History Preserved, will highlight how each of these objects can bridge connections between the people, technology, and traditions of rural New York's past, to our modern lives today.
See Highlights Here
Summer 2023 Exhibition:
The First 40: A Celebration of
Local History Preserved
1983 - 2023 The Roeliff Jansen Historical Society
Summer 2022 - From the Home Front to the Front Lines:
The Roeliff Jansen Historical Society Remembers World War II
An exhibition inspired by the 80th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor
The subject of the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society’s 2022 summer exhibition was WWII, as told through personal correspondence, photographs, G.I. standard issue equipment, commendations, medals, official documents, photgraphs and
mementos of family members who served.
Summer 2021 - Revived in Wood:
Greek and Gothic Churches of the Roe Jan Region
READ MORE ABOUT "REVIVED IN WOOD"
Article about RJHS in Mainstreet Magazine's October 2021 History Issue
Summer 2020 - 100 Years of Women and the Vote
In Association with the Copake Grange - (Outdoors 2020)
Pandemics Past and Present
Remembering the resiliance of the Roe Jan Region (2020 Web)
The HIdden History of the Roe Jan Region (2019 Exhibition)
VIDEO AND PDF DOCUMENTS OF TWO 2021 RJHS EVENTS
THE HEAVENLY REST CONNECTION with Jim Mackin WATCH VIDEO
VIEW OR DOWNLOAD THE PDF OF DALE PETERSON'S TALK