An unopened cache of these was located in the headquarters of the Landmark Preservation Society of Southeast, the organization that had the books reprinted in 1988.  Don’t miss this rare opportunity to purchase this 25-year old book in “fresh from the printer” condition.

Currently, the only available examples on the Internet are well used copies offered through Amazon at prices from $160 to $286, and every one of these is also a reprint.

On eBay, I found a copy that is newly reprinted from an OCR (optical character recognition) scan of a hard-copy.  That one is priced at $75 and the lot bears a disclaimer: “There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.”  This book has none of those problems.  Is in “new in box” condition, still in the shrink-wrap from the publisher 25 years after it was printed.

All the corners sharp with no scuffs, stains, rubs or discoloration to the binding.  It was published without dust jacket and is presented here exactly as it came from the printer in 1986.

The book is being offered by the office of the Putnam County Historian, with all proceeds going to the Landmarks Preservation Society of Southeast and to provide additional funding for the county archives.

 “Pelletreau’s” has been the historian’s “go to” book for Putnam County, New York since its publication in 1886.  The book provides a detailed description and a history of each of the six towns that comprise Putnam: Carmel, Kent, Patterson, Southeast, Putnam Valley and Philipstown.  The author delves deeply into the local communities including the villages and hamlets like Brewster, Nelsonville, Garrison, Cold Spring, Lake Carmel, Mahopac and Lake Mahopac.  Everything is covered including the geology, geography, genealogy, agriculture and the early politics of the county.  

Chapter titles include: Early Discoveries; Adolph Philipse and his Patent; The Philipse Family; The Division of the Highland Patent; The Wappinger Indians and the Controversy with the Heirs of Adolph Philipse; Confiscation and Sale of the Shares of the Patent belonging to Susannah Robinson and Mary Philipse; The Gore; The Oblong; Settlement and Population; Roads & Ferries; Political Divisions; Establishment of Putnam County: County Institutions & County Officers; The Claim of John Jacob Astor; Putnam County During the Civil War; The Militia of Putnam County; The Bench and Bar of Putnam County; The Medical History of Putnam County; Education; Town of Carmel [3 chapters]; Town of Southeast [2 chapters]; Town of Philipstown [2 chapters]; Town of Patterson; Town of Kent; Town of Putnam Valley and a chapter on Personal Sketches.