The soft cost estimate to make repairs to Sands Ring Homestead is $450,000 and includes repairs to the roof, interior walls, windows, and floors. The Town of Cornwall Board, as well as the Friends of Sands Ring are doing all they can to raise money to make the repairs.
To date, the town has received $4,000 in grants from the county and the Friends have $12,000 set aside to repair the roof.
Colleen Zlock, interim president of the Friends of Sands Ring, said the group is meeting with the Town Board the beginning of August to discuss two fund raising events in the fall – a tour of Sands Cemetery and a Fall Day at the homestead, complete with activities for children. A couple of other fund raisers are in the works, she said, but they haven’t been approved by the board.
In the meantime, the Friends are selling blankets and cookbooks to help raise money for the repairs.
About 20 blankets were ordered during the Fourth of July festivities. For a $50 donation, one can obtain a blanket depicting prominent and historical locations in either the Town of Cornwall or Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson. Zlock said orders will soon be taken through sandsring.org and over the phone.
Supporters can purchase, through the web site, a cookbook featuring about 25 to 30 local and colonial recipes. The cookbook, also being sold at Jones Farm and Candles, Creative Gifts, and More, was put together for the homestead’s 250th anniversary three years ago. The cook book includes a dough recipe that anyone who went through the fourth grade education workshop would have learned — Sands Ring spring soup with dumplings, drop cookies, and a recipe for corn cake baked on an open hearth.