The Red Hook Society for the Apprehension and Detention of Horse Thieves is the oldest

horse thief Horse theft is the crime of stealing horses. A person engaged in stealing horses is known as a horse thief. Historically, punishments were often severe for horse theft, with several cultures pronouncing the sentence of death upon actual or presu ...

apprehension society in the United States. The society was formed at the Upper Red Hook Inn of Stephen Holmes on October 10, 1796. On October 28, 1796, the first notices were posted in the area of

Red Hook, New York Red Hook is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 9,953 at the time of the 2020 census, down from 11,319 in 2010. The name is supposedly derived from the red foliage on trees on a small strip of land on the Hu ...

, warning would-be horse thieves that the society had been formed to stop them. Members are known as "riders" and must pay a $5 annual membership fee. Prior to 1956, only men were allowed as members. The annual meeting of the society takes place on the first Tuesday in October. Each year it features a horse-related speaker and offers a $500 scholarship to a student who wishes to study "an equine field." As of 2021, the organization had 106 members. In 2003, it had a membership of 63 and the president, Woody Klose, had served for 21 years. There is no record of the society ever actually catching a horse thief. By 1990, the organization had decided that catching and arresting horse thieves was an activity best left to professionals. In early days, however, the further a rider rode in search of a missing horse, the more he was paid. They were also paid a bonus if they left the county. When they discovered that the Society in Dedham for Apprehending Horse Thieves was claiming to be the oldest such society in the nation, they sent a letter demanding the Massachusetts group cease and desist making such a claim. A member from the Society in Dedham then attended the Red Hook Society's 225th annual meeting to concede the point.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite web , url = https://nyheritage.org/collections/horse-thieves-collection , title = Horse Thieves Collection , access-date = February 16, 2022 , publisher = New York Heritage {{cite news , url = https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2021/10/11/red-hook-posse-celebrates-225-years-many-without-horse-theft/5995326001/ , title = Red Hook posse has been on guard against horse thieves for 225 years, and counting , first = Peter D. , last = Kramer , date = October 11, 2021 , newspaper = Poughkeepsie Journal , access-date = February 16, 2022 {{cite news , url = https://www.dailyfreeman.com/2003/10/08/society-marks-horsejacking-free-year/ , title = Society marks horsejacking-free year , first = Patricia , last = Doxsey , date = October 8, 2003 , newspaper = The Daily Freeman , access-date = February 16, 2022 {{cite news , url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-05-me-256-story.html , title = Horse Thief Societies Spur On Tradition , first = David , last = Germain , date = August 5, 1990 , newspaper = Los Angeles Times , access-date = February 16, 2022 Organizations established in 1796 Red Hook, New York Anti-horse theft societies

See also

References