Since the mid-19th century, the Sampson Opera House has been one
of the Rondout area's most prominent commercial buildings. As
the trade routes established by the Delaware and Hudson Canal
increased the flow of goods and materials through the Hudson
River Valley from 1828 on, service and commercial buildings
began to emerge in the Rondout area to support the growing
population. In 1851, a German-born Jewish businessman, Israel
Sampson arrived in Rondout and built the Sampson Opera House.
Originally a four-story Italianate commercial building, the top
floor was constructed with wood and housed an Opera House.
Sampson ran a very successful clothing business out of the first
floor, and his sons later expanded the business, turning the
store into a chain, and opening shops in nearby towns. By 1874,
the ground floor had been subdivided into 5 shops, and another
Jewish clothier, Morris Solomon, had a business in the Sampson
building when a fire struck the building. Seeking to take
advantage of the chaos, a mob gath