Film on Anti Rent War Explores History’s Impact on the Present

ANDES — In the lush woods of the Catskills, a mythical memory lives on, of a time when men — armed with rifles and pitchforks, disguised in eerie masks and gowns — descended from bucolic hills to stage the Anti-Rent War, called by some the “Second American Revolution.”

“Calico Rebellion,” a film exploring this often-overlooked period in our history, will be screened at the Middletown History Center Sunday, Aug. 30 at 2 p.m. It is directed by Victoria Kupchinetski, a native of Russia, whose background gives her a unique perspective on this story of land, belonging and revolt.

“I immediately felt a strong connection to the story, as my own ancestors had been deprived of their land in the Soviet Union in the 1920s,” explains Kupchinetski who has lived in the US for 36 years.

The farmers’ uprising of the 1840s changed the course of American history and ended a feudal system of land ownership by wealthy patent holders who rented parcels to settlers bound by onerous long-term leases. The system was ended by State legislation but not before several violent episodes occurred, including the killing of Delaware County Undersheriff Osman Steele in Andes.

Today, although largely forgotten outside the immediate area, the historic uprising lives on through direct descendants of those rebellious farmers, and through their stories, songs, and surviving costumes preserved since the 1840s. Some of those descendants will discuss the stories of their ancestors following the screening.

Visit calicorebellion.com for more information and to view a trailer of the film.