"The Queen City": A Brief History of Poughkeepsie
4-weeks (first 4) | Registration closed 9/10/2025
This class will cover the general history of Poughkeepsie, including some of its interesting people. Lectures will include "Queen City in Flux: Three Centuries of Growth and Loss in Poughkeepsie," a timeline of the city's changing landscape; "Made in Poughkeepsie: A History of Homegrown Stuff," which looks at all of the products that were made here; "Inmates: Stories from the Poughkeepsie City Almshouse," which looks at the less fortunate of Poughkeepsie's past; and, finally, "The Lady Doctor Will See You Now: Early Female Physicians of Poughkeepsie," where we examine the women doctors of 19th and early 20th century Poughkeepsie.
Shannon Butler
Shannon Butler is the Historian for the Poughkeepsie Public Library District. She has served in this role for nearly 6 years. Previously she served as the Historian for the Town of Hyde Park and worked as a park ranger at the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site. She is the author of two books, Hyde Park in the Gilded Age and Roosevelt Homes of the Hudson Valley: Hyde Park and Beyond. She is the co-host of the podcast, All My Favorite People Are Dead and lives in the city of Poughkeepsie.