About

About Battenkill Books

A part of the community for 25 years (under a few different names), Battenkill Books is a local, independent bookstore selling general interest, new books in the Battenkill Valley. The store offers a broad range of books from current bestsellers to the classics, and from history and romance to gardening and cooking, and more. We have a large selection of books on local history and the surrounding area. Battenkill Books also carries maps, gifts, cards, and an eclectic selection of magazines.

About Our Building: 13/15 East Main Street

Photo of the building as the Cambridge Garage. A Ford Model T collector who is a friend of the owners has dated the Model T in the window to about 1916-1917. Also note the brands listed on the sign (Ford, Fordson, Lincoln). There is also a sign for Firestone tires and gasoline was priced at $0.25 per gallon. Although we no longer have a porch on the front of the building, some of the cornice details have been reproduced on the porch which was added to the rear of the building during 2009 renovations.

Known to some as the Spelber building, the building dates back to at least 1886, when it appears on a map in the Cambridge Village offices.

 

Photo of the building with unknown date. Note the tree lined main street with hitching posts and the dress of the people in the photo. Also, the porch was a single story at the time of this photo.

We’ve constructed a rough timeline of the property, as follows:

1866: Deed transfers property from Martin Hubbard to Edward Cramer

c.1916-1917: Ford dealership and garage
(based on input from a friendly Ford Model T collector)

Unknown date: John D. Ryan Funeral and Furniture

1960’s: McInterney Furniture Store

Early 1970’s: Joseph Canzeri (antiques)

1974: Charlotte Spelber

1976: Cambridge Auto Parts

1980’s: L&P Discount Center

Unknown date: P & P Antiques

1995 – 1999: Lowe’s Loft (antiques)

1999 – 2007: Hubbard Hall (storage)

2007 – 2009: Patrick Harrington, LLC (renovations)

2009: Battenkill Books

Work on the building in 2009 turned up interesting artifacts including leaf springs, glass pharmaceutical bottles, glass whiskey & beer bottles, gears, film strip, signs from its time as an auto parts store, and other assorted glass objects.

If you can help us fill in the gaps in our building’s history, or have a story about the building, please give us a call, drop us a line, or stop by the store.