A brief history of the Copake General Store
General Store at Church and Main
In June 1834, a Methodist church was built on the eastern corner of a land donated by Elisha Wilcox. Soon after, the church building was moved to the corner of present day Main and Church Streets. There, it was converted into a store which became the Copake General Store.
(Adapted from the writings of Capt. Franklin Ellis* in 1878. *Ellis was a member of the New York National Guard – and author of a history of Columbia County.)
1921 – temporary railway to allow construction
Circa 1927 – General Store on right (note bell tower)
In March 1889, at 6am, disaster struck. Under Grant Langdon’s ownership, the store had a barbershop upstairs. A strong east wind somehow caused the stove in the shop to overheat and spark a fire, which eventually destroyed the building. Mr. Langdon rebuilt the store without the bell tower and later sold it to F. Wilkinson who reportedly had the post office in the store.
October 29, 1944 – dedication of the clock tower
In 1944, the now iconic memorial clock was erected in the square next the store. The clock reminds us of the sacrifices made by local residents during wartimes. The clock remains a key point of reference for residents and tourists alike.
Circa 1950
Subsequent owners of the store included Arthur Long, Al and Gurli Kristensen, and Sudhir Sood.
Arthur Long in front of the store
More recently, Ruth and Chris Thomas rented and operated the store. When they gave it up, a group of local residents took it over, transforming it into the Copake Front Porch Market. The Front Porch truly was a community effort with people from Copake, Ancram, Hillsdale and other nearby towns pitching in money and resources to keep the business running.
In December 2017, the current owner, Seung Suh, re-established the Copake General Store.
If you want to learn more about Copake General Store’s history and the rich history of Copake and its surrounding areas, check out Copake History on Facebook.
