A Brief
History of the Comeau
While Native Americans once traversed
trails along the Sawkill Creek that borders the property, much of the current
76 acres that constitutes the Comeau Property once served as farm land during
Woodstock's early years. Following a visit by Kate and Edgar Eames to Woodstock
in 1909 at the invitation of the artist Margaret Goddard, the Eames purchased
this property and began construction of their home and outbuildings under the
direction of noted architect Frank Wallis. Incorporating styles derived from
the Arts and Crafts movement as well as early Hudson Valley Dutch, the original
Eames home now houses a number of Woodstock's town offices
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| Edgar Eames |
With the deaths of Edgar (1917) and Kate (1929) their daughter,
Marion, assumed ownership of the property. Marion, who became well-know about
town as an excellent vocalist and musical accompanist was also a member of the
Woodstock Club which played an integral role in the founding of the Woodstock
Library and other town-related entities. In 1931 Marion would marry local
attorney Martin Comeau. During World War II, Comeau would serve as the chairman
of the Woodstock Defense Committee, overseeing air raid drills, scrap metal
drives and emergency services. It was also during World War II that the Comeau
property, as it was known following the couple's marriage, became a scene of
great activity as victory gardens were planted on a variety of plots around the
property.
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| Marion and Kate Eames |
Marion Eames would pass away in 1971, leaving a bereaved Martin
behind. Unbeknownst to most Woodstockers, title to the property, following
Marion's death, passed to the Christian Science Mother Church in Boston. Though
he continued living in the home, Martin Comeau began a slow retreat from the
world, eventually closing the drapes and shuttering the home's living room,
never to enter the space he and Marion had so enjoyed again.
 |
| Martin Comeau |
With Martin Comeau's death in 1979, Woodstock Supervisor, Val
Cadden and the Woodstock Town Board had the foresight to pursue purchasing the
property from the Christian Scientist Church. So it was, also in 1979, that
Woodstock voters approved a resolution to purchase the property for use by town
government and the citizens of Woodstock. Despite controversies over the years
as to the direction and use of the property, the future protection of the
Comeau was assured in 2009 following a town-wide referendum placing the
property under
a conservation easement
overseen by the Woodstock Land Conservancy. In 2011, as required by the
easement, the Comeau Stewardship Advisory Committee was formed by the Woodstock
Town Board to monitor the care and maintenance of the property.
Today, as it embodies both the ghosts of the past and the spirit
of the future, the Comeau property represents the collective commitment of our
community toward the preservation of the land upon which Woodstock's unique
story continues to unfold.
