Archive of material concerning the lease for the originally proposed Woodstock site in Wallkill, New York, from the collection of Howard Mills, Jr., the owner of the property. The collection is highlighted by two original copies of the lease agreement between Mills Heights, Inc. and Woodstock Ventures, each signed by Mills, “Howard D. Mills, Jr.,” and by Woodstock financier John P. Roberts, “John Roberts,” ten pages, May 23, 1969. The lease describes “200 acres of vacant land in the Town of Wallkill…to be used and occupied only for a music festival, art show and associated functions and concessions in connection therewith, such festival to be opened for public admission for a period of not more than one week, but with an option to hold a second festival.” Also includes a document from the day before, May 22, 1969, signed by Woodstock Ventures partner Joel Rosenman and Howard Mills, Jr., confirming that Woodstock Ventures would exercise a previously agreed upon option to lease the property.
Additional items include a few other original letters and carbon copies of legal correspondence, mimeographed copies of lawsuit filings and court documents, and various relevant newspaper clippings, plus a binder full of similar ephemera. One such item is a carbon copy of a letter to Rosenman from Mills’s attorney Herbert J. Fabricant, dated July 14, 1969, expressing concern over their insurance policy: “I would like confirmation of the nature of the coverage since a comprehensive general liability policy usually excepts civil disorder and riots,—and it is this risk which especially concerns me.” Other correspondence concerns Mills’s attempts to recover damages after the festival was relocated. In overall very good to fine condition.
Conceived by budding entrepreneurs John Roberts and Joel Rosenman, the Woodstock Festival—billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music"—was originally scheduled to take place in Wallkill, NY, on Mills's property. Although Wallkill officials were assured that no more than 50,000 people would attend, town residents immediately and vocally opposed the festival. On July 15th, the Wallkill zoning board officially banned the concert from taking place on the basis that the planned portable toilets would not meet town code. With less than 30 days to go before the festival's start date, Roberts and Rosenman were left without a venue. They scrambled to search for a new location, and quickly found Max Yasgur's farm in the adjacent county. They paid Yasgur $75,000 to rent his land—far more than the $10,000 agreed upon with Mills—and announced the new venue in an advertisement published in the New York Times on July 25, 1969, headed: "To Insure Three Days of Peace & Music We've Left Wallkill And Are Now At White Lake, N.Y." An original copy of this New York Times ad is included in the archive. With a mere three weeks to go before the festival's opening, new posters and advertisements had to be created to reflect the change. Despite some hiccups—there wasn't time to finish construction of the fences and ticket booths, effectively making admission free—Woodstock went on to become the most famous rock concert of the 20th century, while Wallkill firmly resides in the territory of 'what could have been.' These lease documents represent the foundations of the legendary festival, as well as the trials and tribulations that came with it. A truly unique and culturally significant archive.
