Library Event and Postmark to Celebrate Post Office Mural on Constitution Day

The Down-Rent War by Mary Earley, (1940), Delhi, NY Post Office

BOVINA—On Wednesday, September 17th—Constitution Day—local historian Ray LaFever presents “By the People: Rediscovering a Delaware County Masterpiece,” a free Bovina Library talk exploring the history behind the celebrated 1940 Delhi Post Office Mural,The Down-Rent War.

At the 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. presentation, attendees will hear about the history behind the mural’s creation and its subject - the Anti-Rent War. During this uprising in Upstate New York from 1839 to 1845, tenant farmers in Delaware County organized powerful resistance to the oppressive rent system of wealthy landowners. The program concludes with a reception and original commemorative t-shirt giveaways. 

The project is made possible with funds from the Delaware County Arts Grants, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered in Delaware County by the Roxbury Arts Group. 

To commemorate the September 17th presentation about the mural, a USPS pictorial postmark was designed by local artist Scott Hill. Post Office patrons can ask for this postmark at the Delhi Post Office from September 17th - October 17th, 2025.

USPS Postmark Available September 17 – October 17