• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

Kinderhook’s Ruth Piwonka Receives Woman of History Award

August 20, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Ruth PiwonkaHistorian and preservationist Ruth Piwonka has been named the 2020 Martha Washington Woman of History.

This award is given annually by Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site to a woman who has made a contribution to the history of the Hudson Valley through education, promotion, or preservation. The honor was inspired by Martha Washington, an outstanding woman in history who resided in the Hudson Valley with her husband, General George Washington, during the last days of the Revolutionary War.

Ruth Piwonka is the Municipal Historian for the Village and Town of Kinderhook and sits on the Village of Kinderhook Historic Preservation Commission. For over 50 years she has been an independent curator and researcher regarding Dutch heritage and material culture in the Hudson Valley.

Piwonka shares her research, scholarship and documentation through her association with the Columbia County Historical Society along with being a published author and a mentor to students, colleagues and volunteers.

Piwonka’s history of volunteering is extensive. She was the first Director of the Columbia Land Conservancy, where she fought for the preservation of agricultural land and open space in Columbia County. She is a Fellow and current Treasurer of the Jacob Leisler Institute, an Elected Fellow of the Holland Society of America and an Elected Fellow of the New York Academy of History, to name just a few of her ongoing affiliations.

Due to Covid-19, Piwonka received her award at her home in Kinderhook, NY earlier this month. She will be honored at the 2021 Women’s History Month program, The General’s Lady, which will take place at Washington’s Headquarters in March.

Washington’s Headquarters is soliciting nominations for the 2021 Martha Washington Woman of History Award.Guidelines and an application can be found online, or by calling (845) 562-1195.

Photo of Ruth Piwonka provided.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Columbia County Historical Society, Jacob Leisler Institute, Kinderhook, Public History, Washington's Headquarters

About Editorial Staff

Stories written under the Editorial Staff byline are drawn from press releases and other notices. Submit your news to New York Almanack here.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Help Us Reach Our Fundraising Goal

Subscribe to New York Almanack

Subscribe! Follow the New York Almanack each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Recent Comments

  • Amy eckman on Trump Impeachment Recalls Aaron Burr’s Treason
  • Jennifer on Humans In Zoos: A Long History of ‘Exotic’ People Exhibitions
  • Henry Nass on Trump Impeachment Recalls Aaron Burr’s Treason
  • Jim Britell on Trump Impeachment Recalls Aaron Burr’s Treason
  • Mary Anne Goley on James Hazen Hyde: A Gilded Age Scandal
  • Bob Meyer on Poetry: Little Boy Lost
  • Editorial Staff on New York’s Pirate Utopia: From Pearl Street to Execution Dock
  • Beth Law on History Mystery: What Happened To Solomon Northup?
  • J Hans on New York’s Pirate Utopia: From Pearl Street to Execution Dock
  • David Griffin on Lost British Forts of Long Island

Recent New York Books

The Long Crisis
rebuilding the republic
The 20th Century Civil Rights Movement
first principles
An American Marriage
too long ago
the long year of the revolution
Notable New Yorkers of Manhattans Upper West Side
Woman Slaveholders in Jamaica
nobody hitchhikes anymore

Secondary Sidebar

New York State Historic Markers