“Around the Bookstores Tour” Oblong Books Rhinebeck
Come meet Gina and Bree when they drop by to sign stock
From 1:45 PM until 2:10 PM
At Oblong Bookshop
6422 Montgomery St., Rhineback, NY 12572
Susanna Hermans / (845) 876-0500
Oblong takes its name from a historic district created when the colonies of New York and Connecticut each conducted surveys to establish a border 20 miles from the Hudson River. The surveys, done in the late 1600s, differed by nearly two miles. Both states laid claim to this strip of land, extending through Dutchess County south to Westchester County. Because of its long, narrow shape this territory was called "The Oblong." For decades "The Oblong" was an outlaw territory where neither colony had reliable legal jurisdiction.
In 1731 a treaty was signed giving "The Oblong" to New York with Connecticut gaining an equal amount of land from New York in its southwestern corner. It wasn't until 1857, however, that both states finally ratified the border agreement.