New Paltz Fire Department marks 150 years of fighting fires
I can think of no more stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man than a fire engine. – Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. There are things that rest deep in a community’s collective consciousness — none more so than fire. While fire has the power to destroy, it also has the power to transform. As New...
One Hundred Years Ago
The ‘‘Our town’’ column is compiled each month for the New Paltz Times by Carol Johnson, coordinator of the Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection. The entries have been copied from the April 1912 issues of the Kingston Freeman. If you would like to get a closer look at these newspapers of the past, visit Carol Johnson and...
Life along the railroads described at history program in Highland
Taking their audience back to an era when trains helped shape the Ulster County towns they served, local authors Stephen Ladin and Glendon Moffett spoke to an audience of about 120 history and train buffs at a recent program of the Town of Lloyd Historical Preservation Society (TOLHPS) in Highland. Presenting a slideshow of photos...
Susan Stessin-Cohn to share personal stories of local African American families
While the history of the Dutch and French settlers in the area has been well-documented and preserved both in archives and in structures, researchers are only beginning to uncover the history and lives of African American slaves and indentured servants in the Hudson Valley, who not only contributed to the construction of many of the...
Making bricks, making history at Historic Huguenot Street
In Historic Huguenot Street (HHS)’s ongoing efforts to restore the circa-1721 Abraham Hasbrouck House, the organization invited staff members and local leaders to get their feet dirty and stomp the locally drenched clay to create bricks that will ultimately become part of one of three hearths in the newly restored house. This past Thursday, HHS...
What the newspapers said 100 years ago today
The ‘‘Our town’’ column is compiled each month for the New Paltz Times by Carol Johnson, coordinator of the Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection. The entries have been copied from the January 1912 issues of the Kingston Freeman. If you would like to get a closer look at these newspapers of the past, visit Carol Johnson and...
Civil War days, September 1861
One-hundred-and-fifty years ago, the American Civil War began. On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter, a United States military installation located in the harbor of Charleston, SC. During the next four years, more than 620,000 soldiers died and it remains the deadliest war in American history. Many of our readers do not...
Duzine descendant to head Huguenot Street
Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz will enter into the fall with a new set of leaders, including a new executive director with connections to the Deyo and DuBois families. After months of searching for the right person to replace Eric Roth, an eleventh generation Huguenot descendant, Tracy Doolittle McNally, will replace interim leader Mary...