Woodstock Draws a Huge Crowd to a Dairy Farm

In January 1969, entrepreneurs John P. Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Michael Lang, and Artie Kornfeld formed Woodstock Ventures in New York. The partnership initially explored building a recording studio, but Roberts and Rosenman proposed an outdoor concert instead. The enterprise was conceived as a commercial venture, with tickets priced at eighteen dollars in advance and twenty-four dollars at the gate. The organizers initially expected around 50,000 attendees, selling approximately 186,000 advance tickets. After residents in Woodstock and Wallkill blocked proposals to host the event, the promoters leased land in Bethel, New York, on a dairy farm owned by Max Yasgur, just weeks before the concert was scheduled to begin.

The late relocation caused critical logistical setbacks. Three days before opening, construction foremen informed the promoters that they could finish either the perimeter fencing and ticket booths or the performance stage. The organizers chose the stage, and when roughly 50,000 people arrived early on Wednesday and gathered on the hillside, Woodstock effectively became an open gathering. By the time the festival began on August 15, an influx of people overwhelmed rural Sullivan County, producing extensive traffic delays on surrounding roads. Personnel from nearby Stewart Air Force Base assisted by airlifting performers to and from the site, while Sullivan County declared a local state of emergency.