thumb|Yasgur's farm at 27 Yasgur Rd in [[Cochecton, New York, in 1999]]

Max Bernard Yasgur (December 15, 1919 – February 9, 1973) was an American farmer. He was the owner of the dairy farm in Bethel, New York, where the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was held on August 15–18, 1969. He sold his farm in 1971 and retired to Florida, where he died in 1973.

Personal life and dairy farming

Yasgur was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Jewish immigrants Samuel and Bella (née Feder) Yasgur. Sam had been born in Minsk, now in Belarus, and Bella had been born in Poland. Max was raised with his brother Isidore (1926–2010) on the family's farm (where his parents also ran a small hotel) and attended New York University, studying real estate law.

By the late 1960s, he was the largest milk producer in Sullivan County, New York. His farm had 650 cows, mostly Guernseys.

At the time of the festival in 1969, Yasgur was married to Miriam (Mimi) Gertrude Miller Yasgur and had a son, Sam (1942–2016) and daughter, Lois (1944–1977). His son was an assistant district attorney in New York City at the time. Nevertheless, he felt that the Woodstock festival could help business at his farm and also tame the generation gap. Despite claims that he showed disapproval towards the treatment of the counterculture movement, Yasgur's early death prevented him from answering questions about why he agreed to allow the festival to take place at his farm.

Yasgur was 49 at the time of the festival and had a heart condition. He said at the time that he never expected the festival to be so large, but that "if the generation gap is to be closed, we older people have to do more than we have done."

At the time of the concert, friends described Yasgur as an individualist who was motivated as much by his principles as by the money.

His speech was met with a massive cheer from the audience.

After Woodstock

Several of the performers at the festival had arranged to send thank-you gifts, flowers, and letters to Yasgur for allowing use of the farm.

Many of Yasgur's neighbors turned against him after the festival, and he no longer felt welcome at the town's general store, but he never regretted his decision to allow the concert on his farm. On January 7, 1970, he was sued by his neighbors for property damage caused by the concert attendees. However, the damage to his own property was far more extensive and, over a year later, he received a $50,000 settlement to pay for the near-destruction of his dairy farm. He refused to rent out his farm for a 1970 revival of the festival, saying, "As far as I know, I'm going back to running a dairy farm".

In 1997, the site of the concert and surrounding it was purchased by Alan Gerry for the purpose of creating the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. In August 2007, the parcel that contains Yasgur's former homestead, about from the festival site, was placed on the market for $8 million by its owner, Roy Howard.

In June 2024, during a record heatwave, a fire totally destroyed an iconic barn on the grounds. A total of 21 fire companies responded. At the time of Yasgur's death in 1973, his net worth was estimated to be around $5 million, mostly from the sale of his farm for $1,000 per acre.

  • Joni Mitchell's song "Woodstock", made famous by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (also covered by Matthews Southern Comfort, Richie Havens, James Taylor, Eva Cassidy, Chelsea Wolfe, and Brooke Fraser), has a line about "going down to Yasgur's Farm".
  • Mountain (who were also at the concert) recorded a song shortly after the event entitled "For Yasgur's Farm".
  • The Beastie Boys 1989 album Paul's Boutique samples Yasgur's Woodstock speech on the track "Car Thief".
  • The progressive rock band Moon Safari has a song titled "Yasgur's Farm" on their album Blomljud.
  • Yasgur is portrayed by Eugene Levy in Ang Lee's film Taking Woodstock.
  • Yasgur's son Sam wrote a book about him called Max B. Yasgur: The Woodstock Festival's Famous Farmer, in August 2009.

See also

  • Michael Eavis, British farmer who has hosted the Glastonbury Festival since 1970

References

  • Sullivan County Democrat: Those Who Shaped History
  • "The Woodstock Story: Max Yasgur"