The staff at Historic Huguenot Street have a vision for bringing the landmark back to life
Huguenot Street used to be the “Main Street” of New Paltz for centuries, and in that spirit, the staff at Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) is working on several projects to bring the oldest incorporated street in America back alive. HHS executive director Tracy McNally and board president Mary Etta Schneider gave a presentation to this...
Refurbished Hasbrouck House unveiled
It was a gala affair this past Saturday evening on Huguenot Street in New Paltz, where friends, neighbors and ancestors came together for the celebratory reopening of the circa-1721 Abraham Hasbrouck House. The preservation/restoration project of the “Abe House” was a massive undertaking based on the findings of ten years of intensive research conducted by...
Archaeology Field School investigates New York’s past on Huguenot Street
For the next three weeks, Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) will be the site of an archaeological investigation as a field site for the Department of Anthropology at SUNY New Paltz, which sponsors the Archaeological Field School each year during the summer. Dr. Joseph Diamond, assistant professor of anthropology at SUNY New Paltz, directs the Archaeological...
Talk at Historic Huguenot Street recounts painful trends in women’s undergarment
Women have been mutilating their bodies through fashion in a myriad of ways throughout history, and no less so than with the corset: a figure-tightening straitjacket of sorts that can be dated back to 2,000 BCE. With more than 2,000 items of clothing in Historic Huguenot Street (HHS)’s collection, HHS educational director Susan Stessin-Cohn decided...
Reformed Church of New Paltz gears up for tenth annual Earth Day Fair
Environmentalists, farmers and performers are all gearing up for the tenth anniversary of the Earth Day Fair at the Reformed Church of New Paltz on Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) this Sunday, April 22. This is an annual community-wide gathering and celebration of Earth-wise practices and lifestyles that runs from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., rain...
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...
Haunted Huguenot Street
History is filled with lessons and stories for all ages. Tales of bravery and tragedy, triumph and despair. Sprinkled amid truth and legend are those lesser known, uninvited cousins of history, the slippery things that cannot be explained: the macabre, the paranormal, the stories that are shushed in polite company. For three nights Haunted Huguenot...