Remembering a French Lady

As told to Dorothy Hunt-Ingrassia, Town of Wallkill Historian

Bertha DeLaVigne came to this area from France where she had been a dancer in the Folies Bergère [a Parisian music hall]. She arrived in the Town of Wallkill with a chauffeur, a nurse, a maid, three French limousines and a string of horses. She lived in what she described as her “chateau” on 200 acres that was formerly the Harvey Roe sawmill property on Camp Orange Road.

Mrs. DeLaVigne, as she was referred to in the City Directory, was here in 1937 and perhaps even earlier. She loved flowers and raised very beautiful ones. Her home, which had 15 or 20 rooms, was very nicely furnished. The chairs and sofas were covered with calfskin with the hair left on. When a person got up, his clothes would be covered with hair.

Bertha had black hair but wore a variety of wigs. She had a very pretty face with a small figure and of course, spoke with a French accent. She loved beaded dresses and large-brimmed hats with feathers. Whenever there would be dances at Camp Inwood’s hall, Bertha would be there in one of her beaded dresses.

In time, she lost all her money. Her help eventually left and she was alone with her many dogs and two horses that ran wild in the area. She worked in various dress and coat factories in both Middletown and Newburgh.

In the 1950s when Halper’s Exchange was located on West Main St. near Franklin Square, Bertha would go there and always gave the impression of grandeur. She would buy shoes and dresses by the dozens. Halper’s sold them then for five to twenty-five cents each. Although she would buy these and take them home, they were never worn. She was living in the past and wanted a large wardrobe.

In later years she became a recluse living in her cluttered house, the limousines rotting away. Whenever someone wanted to purchase one, she would tell them “It isn’t for sale” or a mechanic was coming tomorrow to repair it.

Bertha DeLaVigne contracted tuberculosis and one day was found frozen in her home. She was taken to Orange County Infirmary where she later died.

After her death her property was taken over by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission [for the creation of Highland Lakes State Park].