Mason's Marketplace preserves a history that began with a stagecoach stop

By Geri Corey
GOSHEN — It was a different time back in the 1950s and '60s, when the Mason siblings were growing up in New Hampton.
It was a quieter time. The pace was a little slower, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a lot happening.
The Masons, whose parents owned and operated the once bustling Mason’s General Store on County Rd. 50 in New Hampton, returned in November to the home of their youth to celebrate the building’s 150th anniversary.
Maureen (Mason) McCormack, Tom Mason, and Peggy (Mason) Farwell, joined by Tom’s wife, Pam, talked about past days — the time when they were growing up with the country store so much a part of their lives. Oldest sister, Mary Ann (Mason) Winograd was unable to attend, and a younger brother, Michael Mason, has died.
“This was a busy store,” said Tom. “This was before the age of supermarkets, so we were a full market that carried everything from groceries to paper towels and so much more.”
Tom recalls he and his sisters stocking shelves — with his dad putting the prices on — and during holiday time, even selling Christmas trees, costing between three and five dollars each.
“Life for us revolved around the store,” Tom said. “We never closed, not even on holidays. We were here to help people when they needed it.”
"People called at anytime to get what they needed, like kerosene for their homes or trailers,” said Peg.
Tom said eight times around with a crank equaled one gallon of kerosene.
“People would even call in an order that our father put together, and then the caller would stop by later to pick it up,” Maureen recalls.
Inventory as playtimeFor these children growing up helping their parents run the store, their New Year’s Eve “party” was doing inventory.
Said Tom, “This was our playtime. We should all be math geniuses, because we tried to do the math in our heads. It was tradition: Everyone was counting inventory on New Year’s Eve.”
An orchard their grandfather planted produced enough apples so all the children pitched in to help pick — this was before “pick your own” was the rage! They also had a press to make cider, and grape vines, too, for making grape juice, jam and wine.
“The wine tasted a little like sherry,” said Tom.
“We had the apple crates out front and only covered them at night, and they were still there in the morning," Tom said. "It was a different time then."
The store served neighbors, the farming community, factory workers in Middletown and passers-by.
“After coming from the creamery in Slate Hill, farmers would stop by for tobacco, cigarettes, buy the newspaper and shoot the breeze,” Tom recalls.
A train station across the street added more activity for the children, who were known to clean out whatever was useful, like potatoes that remained in a disconnected car or retrieve a newspaper bundle up the tracks, if the conductor failed to throw it out at the station. The train stopped running about 1983.
A stagecoach stopThe Mason story goes back to 1917, when the sibling’s grandparents, Margaret and John Mason, purchased the building, which at that time was operating as the Wawayanda Inn. Before the Inn, it was known as the Talmadge House. In 1866, Nathaniel Talmadge built it as a stagecoach stop that included rooms to let, taproom, meeting room, and a ballroom with plenty of space to host local get-togethers.
Coming from Ireland to America, the Masons first settled in New York City. But when John, a carpenter, worked on the psych center, he found he liked this area in Orange County so much that he bought the inn, brought his family to New Hampton, and opened the country store.
In 1941, their son Maurice, known as Mike, took over running the store with his wife Ernestine, who continued to operate the store until 2004, after Mike’s death in 1993.
With a three-story house, Mike and Ernestine easily accommodated their parents, their growing family, and Mike’s sister, Geraldine, and her husband, Ekland, all under one roof. The country store, along with their residence living room, dining room and kitchen, occupied the first floor.
While the Mason children were growing up, the store was famous for its big selection of penny candy. “We have fond memories of Mom patiently helping children pick out their favorite treats,” said Peg, adding, “We had red-hot dollars, Mary Janes, liberty strips — candy dots on paper, and spearmint leaves, just to name a few. Mom gave each child a paper bag and spent time with him until he was satisfied he had made the best choices. Everyone went home happy.”
Both parents helped the community whenever they could, the siblings recall. When the store was out-of-stock on an item that someone needed, Ernestine gave the shopper what she needed from her own kitchen. Mike always made up a box of food for the firemen whenever they were fighting a fire, and the couple donated a windmill to the New Hampton Fire Department for mounting their siren. But most importantly, Mike always advanced food to fathers to feed their kids, but he was firm on not advancing for beer.
The restorationThe Mason family closed the store in October 2004, after Ernestine died, and sold the building to the Turi-Wright family in 2013. Julie Wright of Goshen took the lead in restoration efforts.
“Our main goal was to restore the landmark Mason’s store to how it was originally, make it as authentic as possible,” said Julie.
They exposed the brick walls inside, as well as the original floors, walls and ceilings, wherever possible. They kept the original light fixtures, although both the fixtures and the building had to be rewired.
Outside they cleaned up the property and installed a new driveway and parking lot. When they removed stucco from the front of the building, the Wrights were happy to find attractive stone underneath.
New plumbing, electric, heating and air conditioning completed the renovations in time for the grand opening of Mason’s Marketplace and Taproom on June 6, 2015.
“Julie and her family did an excellent job restoring the building,” Peg said.
Mason’s now has a full menu, with dining space, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. In addition, there’s ample space, including the porch, on the second floor for events.
An onsite "Beer Cave" offers a variety of beers from popular and local breweries. Wine is also available.
Reminiscent of its past, the Marketplace carries groceries, cold cuts, drinks and fresh-made sandwiches to go, hand crafted items, donuts, brownies, along with the famous “penny candy.”
Said Julie: “We offer as many locally grown and produced items as we can, like pies from Scotty’s Kitchen, cider from Soons Orchard, homemade ice cream from Trailside Treats Creamery in Goshen, and fresh eggs from Flocking Good farm in Warwick.
“It was important to us to restore a sense of community that the country store once offered the area. We have patrons coming for a bite to eat and unexpectedly meeting up with old friends. They sit and chat, catch up on news. It happens all the time."
Celebrating its 150th anniversary, the stagecoach stop has a new life through Mason’s Marketplace and Taproom, bringing its historic past into the 21st century.