The Images Photographs in this online exhibit come from the collection of photographs and post cards maintained by the Historical Society of Middletown and the Wallkill Precinct, who granted Middletown Thrall Library permission to digitize these rare images and make them accessible on the Internet and within the library on computer. These images highlight various aspects of Middletown's rich past and other key areas in and around the City of Middletown. This digital exhibit contains a number of photographs of schools, buildings, businesses, places of worship, streets, trains, train stations, celebrations, portraits, class pictures, and modes of transportation. Images accessible via the Internet were compressed to occupy less file space and minimize download time. Consequently, these online images are not as detailed as the original images available on computer in the library and the CD-ROM Middletown Thrall Library created for the Historical Society. Due to the condition of most images in this collection, images were scanned at very high resolutions and many were carefully enhanced to compensate for loss of brightness, contrast, and clarity naturally occuring as photographs age. Some images suffering from damage due to old tape marks, pin holes, fading, pen and pencil notes, tearing and cracking required additional digital restoration. Images in this exhibit are presented larger than the physical photographs and often reveal details not visible in the original photographs. There are approximately 250 images digitized for this electronic exhibit. The Digitization Project Middletown Thrall Library began this project as part of its Digital History Initiative (http://www.thrall.org/dhi). The project planning team included librarians Linda Aumick, Mary Flannery Climes and Gail Myker. Research concerning image annotations and historical references was conducted by local history librarian Gail Myker. Digitization, Internet exhibit and CD-ROM were conducted by computer specialist and webmaster Robert Tiess. Annotations Print sources used to confirm or provide additional information for each image include the following works, which are available in the Local History Room: Middletown: A Photographic History by Peter A. Laskaris Middletown: A Biography by Franklin B. Williams. For additional information on Middletown's history, you may contact the Local History department at Middletown Thrall Library (845) 341-5454, ext. 5479 (e-mail: midhistory@rcls.org). Copyright Statement Images in this exhibit are provided for educational purposes only and may not be reproduced in any other way without permission from the Historical Society of Middletown and the Wallkill Precinct, Inc.

[ RETURN TO THE EXHIBIT ]