Meet the Detective

Hello. I am Bonnie Wood, a native of Dutchess County, NY. I became a local history detective as a child at Trail’s End Farm, my family’s ancestral home located in the hills of Milan, NY. Surrounded by my great-grandfather Burton Coon’s desk and library near a photo of Madame Anna Bishop, I listened to Great Aunt Bessie describe ancestors and local history. With a notebook in hand, I sometimes asked her to retell a particularly meaningful story. In the kitchen, I joined Auntie and witnessed a great family cook at work and the violets on the window ledge above the sink. Family meals were the setting for fascinating “remember when” tales. I did not document these tales as thoroughly as I would today, yet these stories of family and community were the foundation for my later research. Today, the spirit and curiosity remain as I raise awareness of our local history through community fundraising, writing, and events.

Community

Books

  • Set at Trail’s End Farm in Milan, Dutchess County, NY, my book Stone By Stone: Building a Farm and a Family includes highlights of farm life and community in Shookville and Milan dating back to the mid 1850s. From the building of the family farm and the beginnings of the Shookville Church through three generations of the Coon family who made a living on the farm, a legacy in words, written and spoken, was created for family and community and is now known as the Trail’s End Collection.
  • At his Trail’s End Farm desk, Burton Coon, unofficial local historian and lifelong resident farmer, wrote newspaper articles, many in the 1920s, for The Rhinebeck Gazette and the Red Hook Journal. My book, Memories of Ol’ Red Hook From the Burton Coon Collection was first shared on June 8, 2019, on the Elmendorph Green, at History Happening, a presentation by Historic Red Hook.

Education

  • MALS Library & Information Science, PennWest University, PA, graduated 12/2025
  • MA Liberal Studies: Literature and History, Wesleyan University, CT
  • BA Intercultural Studies, Bard at Simon’s Rock, MA



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