Eleanor Roosevelt at Ichabod Crane

Eleanor Roosevelt at Ichabod Crane. . , From the early 1950s through the mid 1960s, the defunct Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse was revived as an ad hoc community meeting hall. On October 10, 1952, former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited the schoolhouse to officially dedicate the Ichabod Crane Community Center on a national radio broadcast.,

"I'd like to dedicate this building, which has been rescued from decay by the work of women, to the furtherance of community understanding and community growth." - Eleanor Roosevelt

, Saving the Schoolhouse , After the closure of the Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse in 1944, the building sat vacant for several years In the early 1950s, a group of local women organized an effort to adapt the school into a community center. They raised funds for the necessary cleaning, painting and repair, doing much of the work themselves and with the help of fellow community members. Local civic groups such as the Boots and Saddles 4H Club went on to hold small meetings and gatherings here., The Work of Women , Recognizing the women's efforts and the cultural significance of the building, Eleanor Roosevelt and radio host Mary Margaret McBride chose the Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse for the location of a national broadcast celebrating the work of women. Noting the very cozy, happy feeling" inside, Roosevelt discussed the legacy of Washington Irving, reflected on her work as a United Nations delegate. and reminisced about her time in the White House., Columbia County Ties , Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1902) was descended from two prominent Hudson Valley families with Dutch heritage: the Roosevelts and the Livingstons. Orphaned at a young age, Roosevelt joined the household of her maternal grandmother, Mary Livingston Ludlow Hall, spending most summers of her youth at Hall's Clermont estate. FDR Presidential Library and Museum, "The First Lady of Radio" , Mary Margaret McBride was a frequent collaborator of Eleanor Roosevelt and a popular radio personality who reached millions of listeners each week. In her later years, McBride hosted a radio show titled Your Hudson Valley Neighbor, broadcast from her Ulster County home. FDR President Library and Museum, A New Chapter , By 1964, the Ichabod Crane Community Center had closed. A decision was made to give the building to the Columbia County Historical Society, ensuring its long-term preservation. CCHS took ownership in 1974 and the school was moved approximately 600 feet from its original location at NY-9H and Fischer Road to the present site, where it reopened to the community as a museum. Archival photograph, [Captions:] , Eleanor Roosevelt (center) leaving the Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse after her radio broadcastin 1952. Archival photograph., Present for the broadcast were Julia Fisher (far right) and Marian Peduzzi (second from right), local women who led the schoolhouse revitalization. Archival photograph