Rondout Revisited

Coming Soon - Sewing in Kingston: The Common Thread

"Sewing in Kingston: The Common Thread" is an exhibition and public program series at the Reher Center that explores how Kingstonians from many backgrounds have used sewing as a source of income, an expression of creativity, and a vehicle for cultural transmission. Join us to explore pre-industrial home sewing traditions, the height of Kingston's garment industry in the twentieth century, and contemporary boutique sewing businesses. We will amplify the voices and perspectives of individual participants in Kingston’s garment industry past and present, highlighting the role of immigrants and women and tying Kingstonians’ experiences of sewing to broader historical, cultural, and economic trajectories in Kingston and the country at large.

Voices from Behind the Machine

Do you recognize any names from this list of factory employees who worked at F. Jacobson & Sons Factory in 1918? Please be in touch!

This year, students at Kingston Catholic School, Rhinebeck High, and Ulster BOCES are working with the Reher Center to research and interpret the stories of several of the girls and women listed here. This is part of a larger effort to collect and amplify the voices of female garment workers in our city past and present. Source: The Kingston Daily Freeman, September 21, 1918.

The Reher Center for Immigrant Culture and History opened its new gallery space in 2018. Our gallery is the only space in Kingston devoted to the history of the Rondout neighborhood and the immigrant stories of the Hudson Valley, past and present.

Summer 2020 exhibits are made possible thanks to significant support from Susan and Eli Basch, the Louis Greenspan Charitable Trust, Humanities New York, and our Founders Circle.

Hours: Due to COVID, The Reher Center Gallery is Closed Until Further Notice.

Upcoming Exhibit

Coming Soon - Sewing in Kingston: The Common Thread

Voices from Behind the Machine

This exhibition is made possible thanks to significant support from the Coby Foundation and support from Humanities New York.

Core Exhibit

This three-part exhibit that was on display at the Reher Center in 2018 and 2019 documents the arc of an American river port and its diverse community over 150 years by focusing on changes to Broadway, Rondout's central commercial strip.

Curated by Geoff Miller and Susan Basch

Accompanying text by Lynn Woods

Circa 1820 describes Rondout when it was still Kingston Landing, a small community comprised of a handful of farms and stores and several docks to accommodate the river trade. Image courtesy Friends of Historic Kingston.

Circa 1914 captures Rondout in the years after the closing of the Delaware & Hudson Canal, during which time it continued to thrive as a commercial center and transportation hub. Photos courtesy Friends of Historic Kingston.

The Urban Renewal Years documents Rondout during the 1960s, when it was in serious decline and the neighborhood east of Broadway was demolished. This section of the exhibit is based around the photographs of Robert Haines and Eugene Dauner, with text by freelance journalist Lynn Woods.

Past Exhibits