View as Webpage

October 2025

All-digital Hurley Heritage Society Prologue

President's Message

Greetings from Main Street

The leaves are beginning to turn and that means our 2025 Museum season is nearing its final weeks. I’m sad to see it end as we have had so many interesting visitors from around the world this summer. We love hearing your stories about your ties to Hurley! 

Our newest exhibit, The Wynkoop House, Inspiring the Arts Across the Centuries, was well attended. Last month we partnered with the Hurley Library for a showing of the movie Tootsie. I’m sure many of you remember when Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Lange came to Hurley to film movie segments at the Wynkoop House. Cindy Gill Lapp was on hand to share her experiences at the filming. 

Our very popular exhibit, Post Offices of Hurley 1837 to the Present, has reached the end of its 3-year run. The exhibit guides the visitor through the seven iterations of the hamlet of Hurley post offices, and through the upheaval caused by reservoir construction of the Ashton, West Hurley, Glenford, and Spillway post offices. It features a reconstruction of a post office made from actual pieces that were in the Main Steet Post Office, and an original sorting station on loan from Katie Greaves and Alex Perfect, which is still labelled with the names of the Hurley residents at the time it was used. Children will be able to open a vintage mailbox for a gift.  If you have not had the opportunity to see it, there is still time! Please visit the museum in October.  

Thank you to everyone who supported our Fall Mum sale. This has always been one of our most popular fund raisers. As always, the colorful blooms from Boices were spectacular. 

Our museum season may be over, but we are not quite done. Our on-line auction returns in October; see the article later in this Prologue and visit our website for details. Spoiler …. Through the generous donation of the Rifenberg family, we have a full set of the Wendy Bowen porcelain Hurley houses.

There is still an opportunity to take a a guided walking tour of Main Street before we close for the season. These are held on the fourth Sunday of each month, May through October, at 2:00 p.m. Our last tour of 2025 will be held on October 26th. Due to popular demand, we have an additional tour scheduled for Saturday, October 11th. Visit our website to register. 

On October 30th, we will present our final ZOOM lecture of the year, details are included in this newsletter. 

The final event of the year will be our annual Holiday Boutique, Thanksgiving weekend, November 29-30. Please visit us for some refreshments, and you will be sure to find some fun treasures to add to your holiday décor. It’s a great way to kick off your holiday season.  

Lastly, be sure to visit our website, www.hurleyheritagesociety.org, for event announcements, information on our museum exhibits, Hurley history, online versions of our ZOOM lectures and an archive of our Prologue newsletters. 

My sincere thanks to our members, volunteers and the community for your continued support of our mission. We are successful because of YOU! 

Diane Blakely

President

Hurley Heritage Society

dianemblakely@gmail.com

The Wynkoop World
Wealth and Commerce in Old New York

by Erin von Holdt-Gilbert 

Next time you drive west across the Hurley bridge on Wynkoop Road to where it meets Hurley Mountain Road, look to the left, and you will see the venerable Wynkoop homestead. The house was first built around 1725 by Dirck Wynkoop and for nearly 250 years was inhabited by the same family. The Hurley Heritage Society’s new exhibit features this prominent Hurley family by revealing the Wynkoop’s many connections to the 19th-century New York City art world. The family’s accumulated wealth over generations had allowed them to become patrons of the arts, and they hosted noted artists at their rural retreat. Recently, the Society acquired through a generous donation, a large and important trove of documents dating back to the 1700s. These documents provide a fresh insight into the Wynkoop’s early business activities. Like most of the oldest and most prominent families of New York, the Wynkoop's prosperity was intertwined with enslavement. In the interests of providing a more complete story, the Society recognizes the contributions of enslaved people in our Town's past, and herein respectfully provides a record of their existence as found in the Wynkoop archive. - Hurley Heritage Society

The Wynkoop Homestead c. 1890

The bucolic Wynkoop House was built circa 1725 by Dirck Wynkoop (1698-1779) for his bride Gertrude Kool, the daughter of the wealthiest man in Hurley – Cornelius “King Cole” Kool and

Jannetje Brink.¹ The original stone home was expanded and renovated by succeeding generations as the family’s fortunes grew. Dirck’s grandfather Cornelius (c. 1627-1676) received the land in 1663, just before the Second Esopus War. Seven generations later, James Davis Wynkoop (1843-1904) was the last descendant to own the home, which he used as a summer residence. James lived in New York City, a prosperous grain merchant and leading member of the Produce Exchange, his wealth established by a long line of Wynkoop merchants and traders. James inherited the old homestead when his father George Wynkoop passed away in 1881. In 1888 he married Elizabeth Appleton-Warren, the widowed wife of his business partner. Her father William Appleton was an exceptionally wealthy produce merchant in Albany and raised his daughter in an opulent mansion on Washington Ave. near the NY State Capitol building. George, James, and Elizabeth were great patrons of the arts, as you may see in our current exhibition The Wynkoop House: Inspiring the Arts Across the Centuries. (Refer to our April prologue for an article on the exhibit) 

The Wynkoop’s 300-year-old mercantile success provided generations with the leisure and funds to indulge in artistic pursuits. By the time Elizabeth’s heirs hold an estate auction in 1969, the house is chock-full of fine objects and over 250 paintings and prints.² This accumulated beauty and the Wynkoop's business acumen have often been covered in the historical record. Like most of the oldest and most prominent families of New York, the Wynkoop's prosperity was intertwined with enslavement. In the interests of providing a more complete story, the Hurley Heritage Society recognizes the contributions of enslaved human beings in our Town's past, and herein respectfully provides a record of their existence as found in the Wynkoop archive.

Dutch-born Cornelius Wynkoop first appears in Albany records in 1655. This surname means Winjkooper, or wine purveyor, suggesting he may have already been involved in trade. He died young, in 1676 at Kingston, having already established a mill and brick manufacture. His widow, Marytje Langedyke-Wynkoop died in 1679 and left “the silver piece from the fleet of Peter Heyn” to their son Johannes, who also inherited the Hurley farmlands.³ Piet Hein was the vice-admiral of the West India Company’s naval fleet and in 1628 captured a Spanish treasure fleet so large it disrupted the silver market worldwide. Beginning in 1627 the Dutch began enslaving men crewing captured Spanish ships. Many of these men were sent to Caribbean sugar plantations, and a fair number were sent to New Amsterdam. We do not yet know the connection between Hein and the Wynkoops, but it is an interesting clue. The 1673 Kingston Court records include transcripts of Cornelius suing Claus Tysen over the fitness of an unnamed slave he had purchased from him.⁴ 

After the deaths of Cornelius and Marytje, their children were left in the care of Wessel TenBroeck and William De Meyer. The TenBroecks were one of the wealthiest and oldest mercantile families in New Netherland, and the De Meyers were wealthy merchants in New Amsterdam and Curacao. A 2024 research trip by a cousin also turned up Kools all over the 17^th century Caribbean trade records. The Kools began doing business in New Amsterdam about 1632. The Wynkoop children and later generations married into the TenBroeck and De Meyers families repeatedly and their combined trade network encompassed locations from Albany to the Caribbean. Wynkoop family papers now at Syracuse University include an account written by their grandson Cornelius (1688– c. 1747), the brother of our Dirck, about his capture by French privateers on his way to Curacao in 1708. His son Cornelius continued the West Indies trade and reportedly owned three ships including the Mary&Anne and the Friendship.⁵ In 1741, “London, a Spanish Indian” enslaved by Marytje and Cornelius’ youngest son Benjamin Wynkoop, was implicated and arrested in the plot to burn New York City.⁶

By 1755, when a census of slaves over 14 years old was taken in New York, Dirck and Gertrude Wynkoop are the largest enslavers in Hurley, holding seven human beings in bondage.⁷ Their names are Sam (Samuel), Tam (Thomas), Herrie (Henry), Abram (Abraham), Maan, Sare (Sarah), and Luse (Lucy). It is possible some of these folks built the original stone house 30 years prior. At Kingston, High Sheriff Johannes Wynkoop, another brother of Dirck, enslaved five and their cousin Evert enslaved six.⁸ In 1772, for the sum of 5 shillings, Dirck Wynkoop grants a 7-year-old enslaved girl named Nan to his daughter Catharina (who later married Matthew Persen of Kingston).⁹ In 1776, Dirck and Gertrude’s son Revolutionary War Colonel Cornelius Wynkoop makes his will, giving his enslaved wench Susan and her child to his daughter Leah (later the wife of Abraham TenEyck DeWitt).¹⁰ In April of 1802 Leah Wynkoop-DeWitt filed a manumission petition for a 23-year-old woman named Bet (Elizabeth) and her 3^1/2 -year-old daughter Floar (Flora). During this pre-Revolutionary period Jacobus Wynkoop, grandson of Benjamin of NYC above, was running goods between New York and the Caribbean, likely as Captain of the ship Esopus, owned by his cousin Judge Dirck Wynkoop of Kingston.¹¹ He married Alida Coens Myers at Curacao in 1750. The family fled from British forces in Manhattan for Kingston, and later Albany, in 1776.¹² Underground Railroad conductor Stephen Myers was descended from persons enslaved by Jacobus and Alida. The Stephen and Harriet Myers home in Albany is now a museum and education center. (https://undergroundrailroadhistory.org/)

On the first census of the United States, in 1790, Cornelius reports fifteen persons held in bondage at the Hurley homestead. At the time, nearly one in three Hurley residents were enslaved.¹³ Cornelius is the largest single enslaver in Hurley. His brother Dirck is the largest enslaver in New Paltz with fourteen. In 1792, the Colonel was murdered by a man he enslaved named Charles. In his c. 1743 portrait as a wealthy young master, Cornelius is pointing at a Black man with a horse in the fields below. 

Cornelius Wynkoop by Pieter VanDerLyn 1743 (with detail enlargement)

Last summer, HHS received a generous donation of papers found at the house from a descendant of Elizabeth Appleton-Warren-Wynkoop. These documents include several receipts for the sale of human beings. After the Colonel’s death, his son Dirck auctioned off a portion of his father’s possessions in 1794 to settle an estate debt of 1,023L [pounds] and 7P [pence]. The inventory was long ago filed with the County, but the auction results were not available until now. Amounts are listed in pounds (L), shillings (S) and pence (P).^{14, 15}

A Wench Sare (Sarah) to Joshua DuBois for 40L (valued at 35L)

A Wench Bet (Elizabeth) to Wilhelmus Rowe for 27L 5S (valued as Young Bet at 35L)

Negro Bram (Abraham) to Benjamin I Hasbrouck 10L 10S (valued at 30L)

Negro Jack (Jacob) to Adriaan Wynkoop 55L (valued at 60L)

Dirck himself:                                                                        

Negro Robbin 55L (valued at 55L)

Negro Tom (Thomas) 6P (valued at 6P)

Wench Bet (Elizabeth) 6P (valued as Old Bet at 6P)

Wench Deyaen (Diane) 31L 10S (valued as 40L)

Jack is manumitted in the 1796 will of Adriaan’s widow Catharine Lowe – Wynkoop.^{16, 17} In 1805 Dirck C. buys another “negro man named Robbin” from Jonathan Hasbrouck for 250 pounds.¹⁸ George Wynkoop (1814-1904), patron of Winslow Homer, P.P. Ryder, William Snyder, and J.M. Falconer, was born into this landscape. While slavery in New York ended on July 4^th, 1827, children born before that date were legally indentured to the families who had enslaved their mothers for years to come. When George’s father Dirck Wynkoop died in 1838, the family housekeeper was 18-year-old Susan Maria DuBois-Beckwith. Her probate testimony reports she had replaced her unnamed mother when she passed two years before. Susan, having been born about 1820, would have been bound to the Wynkoops until 1841 unless they released her. By 1855 Susan was replaced by Jane “Jenny” Freer. We believe Jenny is likely the woman pictured in the Falconer painting.¹⁹

The Wynkoop House by J.M. Falconer c. 1850s 

George and his siblings sold numerous small farms to Black and immigrant families, beginning in the 1840s. This was unusual and progressive at the time. As the country headed toward the Civil War, abolitionist literature and national coverage of firsthand accounts of those formerly enslaved demanded Americans reckon with the reality of slavery. Census records reflect a shift in the staff of prominent families, including the Wynkoops, away from Black folks and in favor of immigrant farm laborers and domestics. But the Wynkoop family housekeepers remained Black women for decades to come – Jane “Jenny” Freer’s presence in the J.M. Falconer painting attests to this. We are grateful to have these newly available images and documents, which help us tell a more complete story of all those who contributed to the daily life and economic prosperity of Hurley. 

This is a drive link to the illustrated source file:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gL93-7p6FlUE--cQWYStJbSwgA8QVmW6/view?usp=sharing

A note from the author: I am a descendent of many Dutch, English and French Ulster County enslavers, including the Kool/Cool/Cole family in this article. I am a blood relative of the Hurley Wynkoops by the marriage of Dirck Wynkoop and Gertrude Kool. I share DNA with both Black and white Kool & Wynkoop descendants. Rather than focus on my ancestors’ actions, I chose to shine a light on the individuals they enslaved and to name and trace these human beings wherever possible. We cannot change the past. We can contribute to a future wherein the descendants of those our ancestors enslaved may find their own ancestors and histories as readily as we find ours. I am deeply grateful and proud of the Hurley Heritage Society’s sincere commitment to telling these truths. 

After a one-year hiatus as we celebrated our 50^th Anniversary, our Autumn Auction returns by popular demand! This year’s online auction will take place from Friday, October 17^th, through Sunday, October 26^th.  As always, we will feature a wonderful array of high-quality merchandise, including a great selection of gift baskets, furniture,  a beautiful grandfather clock, a cabin rental on William's Lake, and local artwork by Cindy Gill Lapp, Charles Peer, and Judy Howard. Thanks to a generous donation by the family of Ron and Shirley Rifenberg, we  even have a full set of ceramic Wendy Bowen Hurley Stone Houses!

Watch our Website at www.hurleyheritagesociety.org for item descriptions and instructions on registering to bid.

The bricks on our beautiful walkway on the front lawn of the museum serve as a lasting tribute to our loved ones.

After a brief pause, we are excited to announce that we are once again offering the opportunity to purchase a commemorative brick.

Show your support of the HHS Museum by purchasing a brick in your family’s name or to honor someone close to you. For a $125 donation your brick will be added to the walk.

The inscription may be composed with as many as four lines of eighteen characters. If interested, please contact Maureen Bowers at (845) 331-3665 (home), (914) 466-0710 (mobile)  or send an email to mobowers@aol.com.

Final 2025 Walking Tour on October 26th

Cap 2 Cap 5K Run/Walk October 19

The Rotary Club of Kingston, NY is sponsoring its Fourth Capital to Capital 5K Run/Walk this fall to raise money for the Ulster County SPCA. The Cap 2 Cap is a hybrid 5K which allows participants to join either virtually or in person.

In-Person participants will run or walk along the new segment of the O&W Rail Trail, beginning on Washington Avenue to School House Lane in Hurley, ending at the Museum.

The Rotary Capital to Capital 5K commemorates the Burning of Kingston, when, in October 1777, over 2,000 Kingston refugees fled to the Town of Hurley as British soldiers burned their city to the ground.

Join us on the back lawn of the Museum on October 19^th.  The Hurley Heritage Society will provide refreshments at the awards ceremony upon the conclusion of the race, approximately 11AM.

Professor Joseph Diamond to
Preview and Discuss His New Book

On October 30^th, 7pm, via Zoom, Dr Joseph E. Diamond will present a comprehensive analysis of eighty-eight archaeological sites in and around the City of Kingston, New York. His new book - The Archaeology of Kingston, New York covers Kingston (and New York State and the Hudson Valley to a lesser extent) from Paleo-Indian times, circa twelve thousand years ago, through twelve thousand years of Native American occupations. The book covers the archaeology of the Dutch colonial period and the British colonial period, as well as a number of sites around the city beginning in the nineteenth century. The book brings together new information on eighty-two archaeological sites, and six related sites, slightly outside of the corporate boundary of the city of Kingston. These include precontact and Native American sites, such as Sailor’s Cove and Cantine’s Island; the founding of Wiltwyck in the early colonial period; key sites in the Stockade District; the Matthew Persen House; maritime archaeological sites; key cemeteries; and noteworthy sites related to African Americans in the region. Along with the archaeological discussion, the book includes information about local lithic geology, glacial geology, and flora and fauna which were important dietary components of precontact Native Americans. The Archaeology of Kingston, New York, offers a complete introduction to the region for anyone interested in New York history and its study and recovery.



To register for online presentation visit:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/jERDv4xQTG-ovry6g0GQtA#/registration

About Dr. Joseph E. Diamond

Joseph E. Diamond is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at SUNY New Paltz. He holds an MA from New York University, and a Ph.D. from SUNY Albany. Prof. Diamond’s area of focus includes historic and prehistoric archaeology, prehistoric ceramic analysis, historic glass and ceramic analysis. Peer-reviewed articles have appeared in the New York State Archaeological Association Bulletin, The North American Archaeologist, Archaeology of Eastern North America, Northeast Anthropology, Journal of Middle Atlantic Archaeology, Current Research in the Pleistocene, Northeast Historical Archaeology and a recent piece on the Late Prehistoric Period in New York State by the New York State Museum. At SUNY New Paltz he teaches Principles of Archaeology, New York State Archaeology, Historical Archaeology, North American Archaeology, Exploring the Unknown, Cannibalism: Archaeology and Ethnography, Battlefield Archaeology, the SUNY New Paltz Archaeological Field School, the Anthropology of Today's World, Material Culture:The Study of Stuff, the Capstone Seminar, and The Archaeology of Death.



When visiting the museum, stop into the Museum Gift Shop . We’ve continued to add new merchandise including Yankee candles, body lotions from Sweet Sprig, Harney Teas, Woodstock chimes, and books. You’ll also find your old favorites — Hurley t-shirts, hats, mugs, shopping bags, and Delft items, featuring Holland’s iconic symbols –-- tulips, wooden shoes and windmills.  Our newest additions are canvas bags featuring the colorful roosters painted by local artists for our rooster art auction. We’ve added a new selection of colorful Ladies V-neck t-shirts featuring the Hurley Rooster. We also carry some of Wendy Bowen’s porcelain houses from around the country, as well as a limited number of Hurley stone houses. 

We look forward to seeing you on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 PM through the end of October. We will also be open on November 29^th and 30^th for our annual holiday boutique. Please consider donating your gently used holiday items and decorations, new gifts and toys, and vintage items for the sale. These can be left on the back porch of the museum. 

A big thank you to the many dedicated volunteers who staffed the shop this season. Volunteers are still needed to work at the shop from May through October. It’s a fun way to spend an afternoon. If you’re interested in helping out, please call or email Kathy McMahon (kmcmahon287@gmail.com, 845-340-0051, home or 845-399-0317, cell) or go to the volunteer link on the HHS website: Hurley Heritage Society | Hurley Heritage Museum | Hurley NY.

Our museum season is nearly over; but volunteers are busy preparing for our annual Holiday Boutique on Saturday, November 29th 10AM to 3PM and Sunday, November 30th 11AM to 3PM. Join us for this fun way to kick off your holiday season by adding a few treasures to your own collection! You’ll find a great selection of holiday decorations, collectibles, jewelry and more, donated by our generous community.

In addition, our gift shop stocks a great selection of Hurley memorabilia. You’ll find a wonderful selection of Delft ware, Hurley t-shirts, ball caps, books, and rooster mugs. This year we have added beautiful canvas bags printed with the pictures of some of the roosters, painted by local artists for our rooster art auction. Don’t miss this opportunity to get the perfect gift for friends and family!

We are still collecting your gently used holiday treasures. Donations can be left on the back porch of the museum.

Join us for some refreshments and fun at the Museum, 52 Main Street, Hurley, on November 29th and 30th!

The Hurley Heritage Society’s annual membership meeting will be held Tuesday,  December 2^nd ,  2025 at 6:00 PM at The Hurley Heritage Museum, 52 Main Street, Hurley, NY.    We invite HHS members in good standing to attend. We will be voting on the slate of trustees for 2026. There will also be a report on the board approved changes to the By-Laws, if any. 

To view the current roster of Officers and Trustees for the 2025 year,  please refer to our website www.hurleyheritagesociety.org/about-us.

The slate of trustees up for election will be posted on the website prior to the meeting; an e-mail will be sent when it becomes available

If you have a passion for Hurley and local history and are looking for a way to become more involved in the community, the Hurley Heritage Society offers many opportunities! Founded 50 years ago, our mission is to protect and preserve materials, documents and artifacts pertaining to the Hurley area, and raise awareness and educate the public of the town’s special heritage through events, lectures, programs, tours and community initiatives. 

We are an all-volunteer organization, and sponsor a variety of activities including walking tours of historic Main Street, our popular ZOOM and in-person lectures on local culture and history, children’s activities and informative demonstrations. We also operate the Museum which remains free and open to the public, and houses the Dutch room, Gift shop and 2 exhibits. 

Volunteers are always needed to greet visitors, volunteer in our gift shop, assist with events, and maintain our collections, the museum, and grounds. If you are interested, please go to the volunteer link on the HHS website: Hurley Heritage Society | Hurley Heritage Museum | Hurley NY

We are accepting membership donations for the upcoming 2026 season. If you would like to renew your membership, or become a new member, please use the form below, or join through our website at https://www.hurleyheritagesociety.org/join/ 

The Hurley Heritage Society maintains and operates the Hurley Museum, which is free and open to the public May through October. We strive to collect and preserve materials, documents and artifacts pertaining to the Hurley area, including Old Hurley, West Hurley and Glenford. Our mission is to raise awareness and educate the public of the town’s unique heritage through events, lectures, programs, tours and community initiatives.

Your membership dues enable us to maintain our museum building, and to continue to provide activities for the community and visitors, to our beautiful historic Hurley. You will also receive our periodic newsletters with advance notice of planned activities, our quarterly Prologue, discounts in the museum shop, and discounts to HHS sponsored events. 

Thanks to the generous donations of our members, this year we were able to improve the safety of the back entrance to the museum with a beautiful new bluestone sidewalk. 

Please help by sending your tax-deductible donation to :

Hurley Heritage Society

C/O Barbara Zell
237 Thomas St.

Hurley, NY 12443

Dues and donations can also be made through our website using PayPal 

https://www.hurleyheritagesociety.org/join/

Membership levels are as follows:  

(  )     Single                    $30

(  )     Family                    $40                        

(  )     Patron                    $175

(  )     Lifetime Supporter  $300

(  )     Donation                  ____