Where would you go for some sugar, tea, or oatmeal? Drake & Reed's store on the corner of Point Street and River Street.
Longtime New Hamburg resident Theresa Croke remembers that the shopkeeper, who wore a long white apron and snazzy cufflinks, used to have a shelf of candies in apothocary jars behind the counter. She recalls that he could be a bit grumpy and if the kids were bothering him, he used to say to them, "I'll give you a piece of candy if you get out of here!"
Now residential, things were once hopping down on Point Street. New Hamburg developed into a bustling river port in the mid 1800s because of its location along the Hudson and its fine wharf facilities, a landing for both ferries and sloops. Standing between the docks and railroad, the store was once in the center of the hamlet's commercial activities.
