Roger Hannigan Gilson is reporting in the Register-Star the East Gate tollhouse in Hillsdale has been purchased by the non-profit organization, Friends of East Gate. The acquisition now paves the way for the structure to be preserved. The tollhouse was built near the old Massachusetts-New York border and marked the eastern entrance to the Columbia Turnpike. The turnpike was built to draw commerce to Hudson and ship goods such as cattle, crops and iron to New York City. The historic building sits just feet from County Route 23. The tollhouse was purchased by the Friends of East Gate from Victoria Jenssen for $15,000, with a donation received from Copake Falls resident Edgar Masters. Initial plans for the tollhouse were to simply purchase it, then to get community input to figure out a plan for the structure. Asked about plans for the building, Friends of East Gate member Jamie Johnson said, "It’s not really up to me, it’s up to the community. I’m just the one who’s helping out with the administrative grunt work … we would like this to be a community asset." Hillsdale Town Supervisor and Friends of East Gate member Peter Cipkowski said the group wants to secure the structure from the elements, then go to the community to get input about further plans. "At a minimum, we can save this as a piece of sculpture," he said. Read the full story in the Register-Star.