SUMMER IS HERE!!!

Be sure to send us your news (events, books, films, site news, etc.)

so that we can advertise them - free of charge -

throughout the Hudson Valley.

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Event Calendar!!

“The Old Village” ca. 1830 on View at

Historic Huguenot Street

NEW PALTZ, NY (July 17, 2023) – Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) presents the exhibition The Old Village, currently on view through August 31, 2023 at the DuBois Fort Visitor Center. The exhibition focuses on the changing neighborhood of Huguenot Street as major developments in the New Paltz community were taking place in the years surrounding 1830.

By the 1830s, the original patentee families had expanded, most descendants moving outside the early settlement, throughout the town of New Paltz, and beyond. New families of European descent began to arrive and establish themselves and their families in the community. New York’s legal, yet gradual, abolition of slavery, by this time, meant that some people of African descent could establish their own households nearby (albeit on the outskirts), while many continued to labor as servants, sometimes indentured, in the households and on the farms of their enslavers. At this time, the center of local commerce was shifting from the “old village”—as Ralph LeFevre had called it—to the “Road to Plattekill” and to the new Turnpike, finished in the 1830s, that linked the community to the Hudson River and the larger region. Not surprisingly, New Paltz’s growing population demanded new and bigger churches and schools and a range of businesses. This exhibition explores the stories of the evolving neighborhood that formed around the original old village, its people, where they lived and worked, and their interactions.

This multi-cultural story is revealed through census records and original documents from the Historic Huguenot Street Archives, as well as documents from the Town of New Paltz and Reformed Church of New Paltz Records and Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection, Elting Memorial Library.

The exhibition is free and open to the public. The DuBois Fort Visitor Center is located at 81 Huguenot Street in New Paltz. Hours are Wednesdays through Sundays: 10 am-4 pm, with a break from 1 pm-2 pm to allow for the staff to take lunch (Closed Mondays and Tuesdays).

Image Detail: Jean Hasbrouck House, late 1800s. Drawing by Alfred Hasbrouck. HHS Archives.

About Historic Huguenot Street

A National Historic Landmark District, Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to preserving a pre-Revolutionary Hudson Valley settlement and engaging diverse audiences in the exploration of America's multicultural past, in order to understand the historical forces that have shaped America. As an educational institution founded by the town’s French-speaking Protestant descendants and chartered by the University of the State of New York Department of Education, HHS explores the lives of the early European colonists, honors the region’s Indigenous people, and acknowledges the enslaved and disenfranchised peoples who built this place. Today, HHS is recognized as an innovative museum and community gathering place, providing visitors with an inclusive presentation of our shared past. For more information visit www.huguenotstreet.org.

For More Information

Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence (Albany)

9 Black Bicyclists

Follow Harriet Tubman’s Trail to Albany

Arriving in Albany July 27th

Having left Cambridge, Maryland on July 23^rd, nine African American bicyclists will arrive in Albany at the Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence on July 27^th at about 1pm. They are following the trail of the Underground Railroad and will stop at the Stephen and Harriet Myers Historic Site as part of their journey. They expect to finish their route at Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, known to be one of the farthest points of settlement for freedom seeking passengers on the Underground Railroad.

"Our hearts brim with excitement, adoration, and are completely thrilled as we retrace the awe-inspiring footsteps of Harriet Tubman, immersing ourselves in her extraordinary journey towards freedom," expressed Alex Williams, one of the nine cyclists. "Through our own pilgrimage, we aim to inspire and raise awareness of Harriet Tubman's profound enduring legacy and emphasize the timeless significant quest of freedom for all humankind."

Along the fabled UGRR, the nine cyclists have meticulously planned visits to important historical sites and landmarks of profound significance in the lives of freedom seekers and activists with special focus on the life and legacy of Harriet Tubman. With such focus, the cyclists will travel through Denton (MD), Dover, Middletown, and Newark (DE), Kenneth Square, Philadelphia, and Camden (PA), Trenton, Princeton, and Newark (NJ), New York City (including Harlem), Poughkeepsie, Albany, Schenectady, Auburn, Seneca Falls, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, and Niagara Falls (NY).

The Cycling group has dubbed themselves the UGRR Nine. The group is composed of Bobby Dean, Edward Dunn, AJ Haney, John Johnson, Jerry MaCauley, Augusto Macedo, Howard Tyndle, Ray Wall, and Alex Williams. All are experienced cyclists united in their reverence for Harriet Tubman and the fight for freedom worldwide.

The Stephen and Harriet Myers residence Historic Site was a key stop on the Underground Railroad. Stephen and Harriet Myers are documented as assisting hundreds of freedom seekers as part of their Underground Railroad activism. The Myers Residence, is operated by Underground Railroad Education Center, researches and preserves the local and national history of the Underground Railroad movement, its international connections, and its legacy to today's social justice issues, empowering people of all ages to be agents of change toward an equitable and just society, offering tours of the site.

For More Information

Loyalist or Patriot?

Saturday, July 29, 2023

Showings at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM | In-Person at PMH

We are now just two days away from this unique talk show performance! Our host Benjamin Thayer will ask the hard questions of seven real historical people from the American Revolution: Mary Philipse Morris, Black Corn, Major John André, Captain Gershom Mott, Lucy Flucker Knox, Liss, and David Williams. Learn how and why they decided to stay loyal to the British Crown, or revolt as Patriots and how they feel about the other side. Will they answer honestly? Will they argue with each other? Join us to find out!

Learn more about each historical character here.

Time for audience Q&A will follow each performance. Performances held in-person at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm. Tickets are $16/person, $10 for Friends of Philipse Manor Hall members. Tickets at the link below.

Purchase tickets here!!

African Spirit

3rd Annual Frederick Douglass Day Experiences 2023

Saturday July 29th, 2023

from 12pm - 4pm at College Hill Park

(149 N Clinton St, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601)

We will be commemorating the historic event that took place on August 2nd, 1858 when Frederick Douglass, the celebrated and self-emancipated abolitionist, delivered a much-anticipated speech emphasizing the significance of abolition in the United States to a crowd of over 4,000 at the Collegiate School, at what is now College Hill Park in Poughkeepsie, NY. This event marked a crucial moment in history and played a pivotal role in advocating for equality and justice.

Under the Creative Direction of Talent Davis, we invite you to participate in paying tribute to Frederick Douglass and the lasting impact of his words. Together, let us remember and reflect upon this historic occasion while fostering a continued commitment to the values of freedom and equality that Douglass championed.

Join us as we honor Douglass with music, performances, interactive movement and drumming, dance, BIPOC vendors and FREE food! The experience is FREE and open to the public so please share with your networks!

Don't forget to bring a chair, a friend, and to check for updates regarding inclement weather on the CAS website

Visit the CAS Website

Day Trippin' in the Hudson Valley

The Mills Mansion

at the Staatsburgh State Historic Site

(78 miles / 1hour 23 minutes from White Plains)

Thinking about a day trip up the Hudson? If so, I can highly recommend a visit to the stately Mills Mansion (in Staatsburgh), followed by lunch in the charming, nearby town of Rhinebeck. The mansion “is an elegant example of the beautiful homes built by America’s financial and industrial leaders during the Gilded Age.”

Built in 1832 in the Greek revival style, in 1896 the 25-room country house was expanded in the Beaux Arts style to 65 rooms, 14 bathrooms and 23 fireplaces by the legendary architectural firm of McKim, Meand, and White (Stanford White, that is!!) “Its exterior was embellished with balustrades, pilasters, floral swags, and a massive portico. The rooms were furnished with elaborately carved and gilded furniture, fine oriental rugs, silk fabrics, and a collection of art objects from Europe, ancient Greece, and the Far East…. The property originally included gardens and greenhouses, a dairy farm complex, and assorted outbuildings, presiding majestically over the banks of the Hudson River.”

Only in residence from autumn to Christmas, the Mills family, like most of the European enamored denizens of the Gilded Age, attended by a staff of around 24 domestic servants, consisting of a French Chef, English butler and footman, a Irish housekeeper and a variety of Irish maids, a night watchman, a “useful man,” laundresses, coachmen, and chauffeurs.

But that was not always the case. Historic Site Assistant – Zachary Veith research has shown that prior to the house being expanded, it was staffed by Black servants. (11, if I remember correctly). As their employment opportunities diminished during the Euro-centric Gilded Age, Black domestic servants plied their trades in the town for the upwardly mobile merchants and professional classes.

Source: Wikipedia and Staatsburgh Historic Site

Mills Mansion virtual tour

Rhinebeck, NY

In the News!!!

Dutchess County Historical Society

Moves to Rhinebeck

Read the Daily Catch article here

Help Wanted!!

Underground Railroad History Center (Albany)

Researcher Wanted

12+ wks. $20 hr. 20 hrs wk

We're looking for potential candidates for our 12 plus week exploration of links between several sites in Maryland and our region. We're looking for a good researcher and it would be good if that person had some background in or exposure to Underground Railroad or antebellum and black history.

Interested people should email us at urhpcr@localnet.com and include a resume that illustrates their appropriate background and references. A writing sample would be nice too.

Coming Soon!!!

Don't miss these new publications!!

Awaiting the publication of your latest work? Let us know.

Susan Stessin-Cohn - Historian, town of New Paltz - follows up her seminal work on runaway slaves (In Defiance: Runaways From Slavery in New York's Hudson River Valley 1735 - 1831) with an new book which provides more evidence and insight into the topics.

Dr. Myra Armstead - Professor of Historical Studies, Bard College - prolific researcher and writer on the social and economic evolution of African Americans through the post-slavery period, in historically wealthy resort areas. Her work includes: Lord, Please Don't Take me in August - African Americans in Newport and Saratoga Springs; Mighty Change, Tall Within: Black Identity in the Hudson Valley: Freedom's Gardner: James F. Brown, Horticulture, and the Hudson Valley in Antebellum America. Her new work continues her research in the Hudson Valley, especially in Saratoga Springs.

Joseph McGill Jr - In this enlightening personal account, one man tells the story of his groundbreaking project to sleep overnight in former slave dwellings that still stand across the country—revealing the fascinating history behind these sites and shedding light on larger issues of race in America. Sleeping with the Ancestors by Joseph McGill | Hachette Book Group