The Douglas Farm on Osgood Road in Stephentown was settled 250 years ago by William Douglas. Isabel Krebs, present-day owner and a descendant of William Douglas, will give an illustrated talk about the farm and the history of the Douglas family on Monday, June 1, 7:30 pm at the Stephentown Historical Society’s Heritage Center on Garfield Road (County Route 26) in Stephentown, New York. The program is free and the building is handicapped accessible. For directions, telephone (518) 733-0010.
William Douglas and his family arrived from Canaan, Connecticut, in 1765 and built a log cabin in what was then Jericho, Massachusetts. He and his father Asa, a slightly later settler, fought at the Battle of Bennington and other actions during the American Revolution. In 1787 boundary disputes between Massachusetts and New York were settled in a way that placed the cabin and about one-third of the Douglas land in New York State. The log cabin was replaced by a colonial style house in 1824. After it was destroyed by fire in 1967, a ranch house was built on the site to which a second storey was later added. The present barn dates to 1824.
The talk will tell how this land stayed in the same family for 250 years and highlight some of the distinguished military contributions of the family, including the Civil War service of Captain (later Brigadier General) Henry B. Osgood.
Some sixty descendants of William Douglas will gather from all over the United States on June 19 to celebrate the Douglas Farm’s 250 years. An unveiling ceremony for an historical marker for the farm will be on June 20. The marker is funded by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, which has funded over 240 historic markers in New York State since 2006.