About the Zadock Pratt Museum

The Zadock Pratt Museum (Prattsville, NY) is located in the western Catskills mountaintop region—an area with a storied history of emerging times and ideas including the birthplace of color photography and the site of the world’s oldest fossils. With the life and legacy of Zadock Pratt at its core, the museum is dedicated to excavating local history, community, and culture through special and permanent exhibits, conservation, education, archives, and public programming.

Vision & Mission

Through our service, space, and programming, we create equitable futures where every being can thrive. We are building a transformative educational, historic, and cultural hub in the spirit of Zadock Pratt—a shining star on the mountaintop that champions land, people, communities, and ideas. Our mission is to excavate, elevate, and share the rich histories and cultures of Prattsville and the greater tri-county Catskills region. With the life and legacy of Zadock Pratt at our core, we aim to:

  • Be a critical beacon of local research and education

  • Serve and preserve through community-minded programming, events, and encounters that tell expansive stories

  • Contextualize and cultivate ideas that matter 

Our History

Built in 1828 and redesigned in the 1850’s, the building is the 19th century Greek Revival home of visionary Congressman, banker, soldier, industrial revolution innovator, and town founder Zadock Pratt. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1986. The Pratt Homestead, now the Zadock Pratt Museum was built in 1828 and restored as a museum in 1976.

The Museum has been in existence as a museum since 1959, functioning in a variety of settings until the Zadock Pratt Homestead located on Main Street, Prattsville, was acquired in 1962 by a group of dedicated local residents. Operated by local volunteers, including the then Prattsville Chamber of Commerce, this group re-organized in 1974 to restore the Pratt homestead.

With support from the town of Prattsville and the O’Connor Foundation, the building was restored, collections moved, and the museum opened on July 4, 1976. The Museum’s first full-time professional director was hired shortly after the restoration.

It was restored to its approximate 1856 appearance. The Museum contains approximately 5,000 sq. ft. dedicated to period room settings, exhibit areas, a research room and a caretaker’s apartment. A modern replica of Pratt’s carriage house was built to house meeting, store and office facilities. It is also used by other community groups for meeting purposes.

Board of Directors

Stephen H. Birnbaum, President 

Stephen Birnbaum was elected to role of President in early 2025. After growing up in Prattsville in the mid 1970’s and retiring from an almost 40 year Commercial Banking in 2022 as an Executive Vice President, he and his wife, Lisa, returned to Prattsville. Education included an AOS degree from SUNY Cobleskill, a BS from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA and finishing up at the University of New Orleans with an MBA in 1985. Volunteer Board roles included Lighthouse for the Blind in New Orleans, Big Brothers and Big Sisters in New Orleans and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in Houston TX. He is a second generation Board Member and Volunteer as his mother (Grace Birnbaum) served the Museum up to her passing in 2002.

Carole Cangelosi, Treasurer

Carole Cangolisi moved to Prattsville in 1985 with her husband Frank. Later they adopted their son Matt and became a family.  She joined the Prattsville rescue squad in 1986 and was a member for over 20 years and has also been very dedicated to the Prattsville Hose Company for the past 36 years. She has served as the Prattsville tax collector since 2010.

Cangelosi joined the ZPM museum board in 2023 and has enjoyed every minute of it.

Charlotte Hallberg, Secretary

Charlotte Hallberg is an artist, educator, and mother who has lived in Prattsville with her small family since 2019. She holds an MFA from Yale University and a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. With additional experience in museum education and arts programming, she is excited to continue the tradition of sharing town history with lifelong residents and newcomers alike while creatively exploring connections between the past and the present.

Carolyn Bennett

Carolyn Bennett has served as Prattsville Town Historian since 2005. She was Director of the Zadock Pratt Museum from 1995-2000 and 2011-2022. A former editor of Catskill Tri County Historical Views and Catskill Mountain Region Guide, and the area newspapers, the Windham Journal (1982-1990) and the Mountain Eagle (1990-1995), she is the author of numerous published articles about Zadock Pratt, Prattsville, and the art and history of the Northern Catskills. She has taught Literature and Creative Writing at Columbia-Greene Community College and served as Marketing Director for the Catskill Mountain Foundation. She fell in love with the book industry at an early age, studying book design and letterpress printing at the Center for Book Arts in NYC, working as Book Production Supervisor for Macmillan Book Clubs, establishing her own small press (Gull Books (1970-1980), and later owning and operating an independent bookstore, Terra Books, in Lexington NY.

Tony Bluestone

Tony Bluestone (b. Englewood, New Jersey) was raised amongst activists in which he learned life is at its best when we show up for each other. Tony loves his friends and community, and his work is interested in how we can create and form space for different types of lived existence. He believes these communally shared realities are what allow him to exist as a gender fluid trans masculine person. Trans is both a verb and a noun in his life, and his work seeks to transcend accepted reality, which includes but is not limited to gender, living/dying, communication, and travel. Bluestone received an MFA from Hunter College and has been a resident at The Shandanken Project in Shandanken, NY; The Basil Alakazi Residency in Detroit, MI; DNA Residency in Provincetown, MA; and The Prattsville Art Center in Prattsville, NY. He has had solo shows at Freight & Volume Gallery in NYC; the Elaine L Jacob Gallery at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI; and Larrie Gallery, NYC; as well as a two-person show at La Mama Gallery, NYC. He has an upcoming solo show at Azulejo Gallery in Seoul, Korea. He has had work in group shows at Rachel Uffner, The Academy of Arts and Letters, the New School, Platform Project Space, White Columns, and has work in an upcoming show at Night Gallery. He has also performed written works at Storm King Art Center. In 2017, he was awarded the John Koch Award by the Academy of Arts and Letters. Bluestone currently teaches painting at Cooper Union and Hunter College.

Anne Donovan

Anne Donovan, and her husband and pal Bobby Donovan, have lived in Huntersfield/Prattsville since January 2008.  Anne received the New York State Senate Commendation Award for her rescue and clean up efforts at the Zadock Pratt Museum after 2011 Hurricane Irene.  Anne thanks the wonderful people with whom she worked at that time.  Anne conceptualized and led the hard-working team responsible for Women’s Expo 2017,2018 and 2019 at St. Theresa’s Windham. The Greene County Legislature granted its Commendation in Honor of the Women’s Expo, Windham, NY - 2017.  Anne has taught donation-based yoga classes in Windham, Lexington and on Zoom starting in July 2013 and always reminds her fab students “It’s your yoga!”.  Anne is a new member of the Zadock Pratt Museum Board of Directors and hopes that she will be fully authorized to begin the Stewardship of Community Archives project during 2025.

Karen Johnson

Karen Duane Johnson moved to Prattsville full-time in 2020 after spending nearly a decade skiing with her family at Hunter and Windham mountains. As a former owner of a marketing and public relations company on Long Island, serving national and international clients, she now enjoys her work as a health coach. In her spare time she can be found renovating an 1850s farmhouse and running two Airbnbs or in their Airstream traveling the U.S. with her husband Doug.

Carol Stevens

Carol Stevens is a retired attorney and judge. As a 35 year resident of Windham, she has served as county attorney for Greene County, CEO of Bataviakill Watershed district, and chairman of the Association of County Attorneys of New York State. One of her hobbies and passions is the art of quilting, she enjoys sharing this art form with others. She has traveled around the country honing her skills. Her quilts are extraordinary!

Adonis Watkins

Adonis Watkins has been a resident of Prattsville since 2021. Initially purchasing a home as an investment property, he decided to make a permanent move from NYC after experiencing all that Prattsville and the Catskills had to offer. Adonis is an enterprise software sales professional with over 15 years of experience working with Fortune 500 companies in the financial services and technology sectors. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University, where he majored in Economics and Political Science