Enslavement and racism defined important aspects of Isabella, “Bell’s,” childhood and young womanhood in Ulster County. In the face of these powerful forces, Black assertiveness shaped her identity, sense of self, and sense of community. Isabella observed, participated in, and took advantage of socio-economic change in Ulster County. She made the most of change and opportunities to pursue personal growth, family formation, religion, self-emancipation, and abolition. The Black family, Black culture, and Black resistance shaped the early life of the woman who became Sojourner Truth.

Margaret Washington is the Marie Underhill Noll Professor of American History, Emerita, at Cornell University. She joined the Cornell history department in 1988 as associate professor specializing in African American history and culture; African American women; and Southern history. 

Dr. Washington authored the prize-winning definitive biography Sojourner Truth’s America, published in 2009 by University of Illinois Press. Washington presents Sojourner’s life within the broader panorama of American history, slavery, antislavery, women’s rights, and other reforms in the turbulent age of Abraham Lincoln. Sojourner Truth’s America notably provides a unique lens into the unlikely ascendancy of an unschooled formerly enslaved New Yorker who became an activist preacher, political orator, and suffragist.

Registration is FREE, but space is limited. Please let us know you’re coming in advance!

If you are interested in purchasing Dr. Margaret Washington’s book, Sojourner Truth’s America you may do so on HHS’s online Museum Shop by clicking here.

This is a community partnership program between the Dr. Margaret Wade-Lewis Center, the Elting Memorial Library, Historic Huguenot Street, and the New Paltz Historical Society.

Trick-or-Treat on Huguenot Street

The beloved community tradition of Trick-or-Treat on Huguenot Street returns to New Paltz, Thursday, October 31st from 3:30 – 5:30 PM. Children and families are welcome to gather on Huguenot Street and seek goodies from the residents of the historic homes, both past and present.

This event is free and open to the public.

Let us know you’re coming! Please RSVP so that we don’t run out of treats!

A portion of Huguenot Street will be closed to vehicular traffic during this event, from the 1799 LeFevre House (54 Huguenot Street) up to Mulberry Street. Broadhead Avenue will be closed from the Huguenot Street intersection, to the gravel parking lot. Please note that addresses located beyond the 10-acre National Historic Landmark District are private residences that may or may not be participating in the event. Please be respectful and considerate of our neighbors and their properties. Thank you.

New Paltz Halloween Parade After Party

For the third year, the New Paltz Halloween Parade will conclude on the grounds of Historic Huguenot Street. This beloved community tradition, which begins at the New Paltz Middle School Parking Lot (196 Main Street) at 6 PM on Halloween night, will make its way down Main Street, veering right onto North Front Street at The Elting Memorial Library. The jubilant jaunt will cross Route 32 with the support of the New Paltz Police Department and continue past the iconic Jean Hasbrouck House. Participants will be invited to collect water bottles and apples from the New Paltz Rotary Club. From 6:30 - 7:30 PM, folks may enjoy a live band, photo opportunities with a real hearse, and more. Activities will conclude immediately at 7:30 PM.

Post-parade activities are hosted in partnership with Historic Huguenot Street, the New Paltz Rotary Club, the New Paltz Police Department, and the Village of New Paltz.

Thank you to Minard's Family Farm

Thank you to Shoprite of New Paltz

Thank you to Hannaford of Highland

Thank you to Binnewater Ice Co.

Thank you to Wallkill View Farms

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

At 4:00 P.M. on Sunday, October 13, 2024, in the French Church at Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, the chamber ensemble "Hudson Valley Baroque" will present a concert entitled “Music of France.” The program will feature music from the artistic flowering in France in the kings’ royal courts and elsewhere during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The program will include music by François Couperin (1668 – 1733), Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1689 – 1755), Jacques-Martin Hotteterre (1674 – 1763), and Philibert Delavigne (c.1700 – 1750). The performers will be Joel Evans (oboe), Gregory Bynum (recorder), Christiana Fortune Reader (violin/viola), Susan Seligman (cello), and Ruthanne Schempf (keyboard).

$12 General Admission

$8 Discounted Admission for HHS members, seniors, students, active military personnel and their families, veterans, and children under 13

Free for children under 6

Musician Bios:

Christiana Fortune-Reader, violist, teaches violin and viola in the Music Department at SUNY New Paltz as Assistant Professor of Music, and conducts the College Youth Symphony. Prior to this appointment, she taught at Illinois State University, where she also served as the Assistant Principal Viola of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra.  She performs regularly with the Minnesota and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras and the Innigkeit Quartet, and has held positions with the Rochester Philharmonic and the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with the contemporary music ensemble, “American Wild,” a septet dedicated to commissioning new works by American composers inspired by the outdoors and National Parks sites around the United States. She earned a doctoral degree in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, studying with Carol Rodland, and is completing a doctorate in music education (ABD). She graduated from the University of Southern California (BM) and the Cleveland Institute of Music (MM), studying with Jeffrey Irvine, Lynne Ramsey, Donald McInnes, and Karen Ritscher.

Gregory Bynum, recorder player, has studied with Marion Verbruggen, Han Tol, and Mattias Weilenman. He has performed with members of the Mannes School of Music and SUNY New Paltz music faculties, and with Yale music faculty including Jaap Schroeder.  Mr. Bynum has taught at the Bloomingdale House of Music in Manhattan and has performed at many venues including the Morris-Jumel Mansion, the Middletown Thrall Library, and the Old Stone House in Brooklyn.  As a guest performer with Brooklyn Baroque, he can be heard on the ensemble’s recordings Northern Lights, The Pleasures of the French, and a recording of Beth Anderson’s music entitled The Praying Mantis and the Bluebird (MSR Classics).  He has appeared on WKCR and appears on the Quill Classics YouTube channel with Ensemble Luini.  Mr. Bynum is Associate Professor in the School of Education at SUNY New Paltz, and the founder of the Music at Morris-Jumel chamber music series.

Joël Evans, oboist and solo English hornist with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, has been a familiar musical voice in the valley for many years.  He is oboist with the Poné Ensemble and plays baroque and classical oboes with Hudson Valley Baroque, the resident historic ensemble at SUNY New Paltz where he also serves as Emeritus Professor of music.

Dr. Evans has performed with the American Symphony Orchestra, the Atlantic Chamber Orchestra, and was principal oboist of the Albany Symphony from 1982 to 1985.  He leads a busy teaching schedule and has played numerous TV and radio advertisements.  Joël has recorded for Philo, Rounder, Koch International, CRI, New World, and his playing has been heard all over the US, Canada, Europe, Russia and the Far East.  He has appeared as a featured soloist at Lincoln Center, Tanglewood, Saratoga, the Charles Ives Center, and Carnegie Hall.  Joël retired as principal oboist of the West Point Band after nearly thirty years of service. Dr. Evans holds degrees from the University of Maine, Columbia University and the City University of New York.

Susan Seligman has been principal cellist with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic since 1984.  She is a member of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Quartet, the piano trio Innisfree, the Poné Ensemble featuring new and American chamber music, Hudson Valley Baroque, and the Hudson Consort.  In 1999, Ms. Seligman was favorably reviewed in the New York Times for her performance in works of Robert Starer.  In the summer, Ms. Seligman is on the faculty of the Chamber Music Institute at Ithaca College.  During the academic year, she is on the faculty of SUNY New Paltz and has a busy private cello studio as well.  Her discography includes CDs on the Albany, Soundspells, and Parnassus Records labels.  A recent recording with Innisfree of the music of Henry Martin includes Sonata No. 1 for Solo Cello, written for her by the composer.

Ruthanne Schempf, harpsichordist, is an active chamber and solo musician in the Hudson Valley. She is on the faculties of SUNY-New Paltz and Interlochen Arts Camp, and is a member of the Poné Ensemble for New Music.  She is also a co-founder of the non-profit Hudson Valley Society for Music which produces Potluck Concerts and an annual Hudson Valley BachFest.  Dr. Schempf maintains a busy piano teaching studio and is the organist and choir director at the Cornwall Presbyterian Church. She earned undergraduate and master’s degrees from Michigan State University and a D.M.A. from the Manhattan School of Music.  Her solo piano recording, An American Mirage: Exotic Piano Images, was released in March of 2009 on the MSR Classics label.  In her spare time, she likes to ski, garden, and dabble in various domestic activities.  She is married to oboist, Joël Evans.

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT WILL NOW BE ONE DAY ONLY! SUNDAY OCTOBER 13th HAS BEEN CANCELLED!

Get ready for some festive fall fun on Huguenot Street! This year, Historic Huguenot Street’s popular “Halloween Craft Workshop” has transformed into the “Harvest Craft Workshop.” Celebrate the bounty of the season with a fun-filled day of crafts, tasty treats, and more!

Each kid will get to make three seasonal crafts, earn prizes in a nature scavenger hunt, and enjoy free popcorn and apple cider. There will be also be face painting and even more fun surprises, dependent on weather conditions. 

PLUS, the Elting Memorial Library will be hosting an autumn story time tent! On Saturday, the 12th, at 1 pm, local children’s author Julie DeLeo will be reading her book: “Halloween Magic!! A Little Pumpkin's Adventure."

Julie DeLeo taught elementary school for over thirty years in Hyde Park. She resides in the beautiful Hudson Valley with her husband John. Her favorite Halloween memories are of watching her two children dressed up in the New Paltz Halloween Parade!

Admission is $10 for all children and adult guardians are free of charge.

Pre-registration is required for this event. Register for a time slot at 10AM, 11AM, 12PM, 1PM, 2PM, or 3PM.

All ticket sales are final and non-refundable!

Sponsored by Adobe and America’s Best Value Inn

Thank you to Wallkill View Farm Market for their generous donations

Thank you to Bjorn Qorn for their generous popcorn donations

Thank you to Hurd's Family Farm for their generous apple cider donations

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

In honor and recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, HHS is pleased to host this virtual presentation, “Natural Medicines,” with Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians’ herbalist, Misty Cook. In this program, Misty will be talking about her family history, as well as the gathering, drying, preservation, and uses of the medicinal plants used by the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans Tribe, both past and present.

This program will be presented entirely online via a link received after registration.

Misty Cook, M.S., studied medicines in-depth for over seven years in preparation for the completion of her book, “Medicine Generations.” This included identifying, gathering, drying, preserving for use throughout the year, preparing, and making them available to those in need. She is a cultural consultant with a Masters in Management, providing diversity trainings on many topics, including Native American students in education, Native American history, Native American games, and of course, medicines.

$8 General Access

$5 Discounted Access (For HHS members, seniors, students, active military personnel and their families, and veterans)

To purchase Misty’s book Medicine Generations in advance of the program, you may do so via our online Museum Shop below.

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Kick off the school year with HHS! On September 16th, homeschool families are invited to enjoy a day full of learning and fun at our 10-acre National Historic Landmark District. Come take a tour of an 18th century stone house, visit the replica Esopus wigwam, search around for scavenger hunt clues, and make your own crafts to take home. 

Homeschool Open House Day will take place from 10AM – 2PM on Monday, September 16th. Free house tours for event registrants will be offered at 10:30AM, 11:30AM, and 1:00PM. 

Children's tickets are $20 each, adults' tickets are $5, children under 5 years will be admitted for free.

This is not a drop-off program; all children must be accompanied by their adult(s) at all times. 

For more information, email the School Programs Manager at education@huguenotstreet.org 

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Enslavement and racism defined important aspects of Isabella, “Bell’s,” childhood and young womanhood in Ulster County. In the face of these powerful forces, Black assertiveness shaped her identity, sense of self, and sense of community. Isabella observed, participated in, and took advantage of socio-economic change in Ulster County. She made the most of change and opportunities to pursue personal growth, family formation, religion, self-emancipation, and abolition. The Black family, Black culture, and Black resistance shaped the early life of the woman who became Sojourner Truth.

Margaret Washington is the Marie Underhill Noll Professor of American History, Emerita, at Cornell University. She joined the Cornell history department in 1988 as associate professor specializing in African American history and culture; African American women; and Southern history. 

Dr. Washington authored the prize-winning definitive biography Sojourner Truth’s America, published in 2009 by University of Illinois Press. Washington presents Sojourner’s life within the broader panorama of American history, slavery, antislavery, women’s rights, and other reforms in the turbulent age of Abraham Lincoln. Sojourner Truth’s America notably provides a unique lens into the unlikely ascendancy of an unschooled formerly enslaved New Yorker who became an activist preacher, political orator, and suffragist.

Registration is FREE, but space is limited. Please let us know you’re coming in advance!

If you are interested in purchasing Dr. Margaret Washington’s book, Sojourner Truth’s America you may do so on HHS’s online Museum Shop by clicking here.

This is a community partnership program between the Dr. Margaret Wade-Lewis Center, the Elting Memorial Library, Historic Huguenot Street, and the New Paltz Historical Society.

At 4:00 P.M. on Sunday, September 8, 2024 in the French Church at Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, the chamber ensemble "Hudson Valley Baroque" will present a concert entitled “Baroque Sonatas.” The performers will be Joel Evans (oboe), Gregory Bynum (recorder), Christiana Fortune Reader (violin/viola), Susan Seligman (cello), and Ruthanne Schempf (keyboard).  Solo instrumental sonatas will be featured in this program, highlighting diverse approaches to the composition of sonatas by Baroque composers. The program will include music by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750), Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714 – 1788), George Frederic Handel (1685 - 1759), and Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767). 

$12 General Admission

$8 Discounted Admission for HHS members, seniors, students, active military personnel and their families, veterans, and children under 13

Free for children under 6

Musician Bios:

Christiana Fortune-Reader, violist, teaches violin and viola in the Music Department at SUNY New Paltz as Assistant Professor of Music, and conducts the College Youth Symphony. Prior to this appointment, she taught at Illinois State University, where she also served as the Assistant Principal Viola of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra.  She performs regularly with the Minnesota and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras and the Innigkeit Quartet, and has held positions with the Rochester Philharmonic and the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with the contemporary music ensemble, “American Wild,” a septet dedicated to commissioning new works by American composers inspired by the outdoors and National Parks sites around the United States. She earned a doctoral degree in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, studying with Carol Rodland, and is completing a doctorate in music education (ABD). She graduated from the University of Southern California (BM) and the Cleveland Institute of Music (MM), studying with Jeffrey Irvine, Lynne Ramsey, Donald McInnes, and Karen Ritscher.

Gregory Bynum, recorder player, has studied with Marion Verbruggen, Han Tol, and Mattias Weilenman. He has performed with members of the Mannes School of Music and SUNY New Paltz music faculties, and with Yale music faculty including Jaap Schroeder.  Mr. Bynum has taught at the Bloomingdale House of Music in Manhattan and has performed at many venues including the Morris-Jumel Mansion, the Middletown Thrall Library, and the Old Stone House in Brooklyn.  As a guest performer with Brooklyn Baroque, he can be heard on the ensemble’s recordings Northern Lights, The Pleasures of the French, and a recording of Beth Anderson’s music entitled The Praying Mantis and the Bluebird (MSR Classics).  He has appeared on WKCR and appears on the Quill Classics YouTube channel with Ensemble Luini.  Mr. Bynum is Associate Professor in the School of Education at SUNY New Paltz, and the founder of the Music at Morris-Jumel chamber music series.

Joël Evans, oboist and solo English hornist with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, has been a familiar musical voice in the valley for many years.  He is oboist with the Poné Ensemble and plays baroque and classical oboes with Hudson Valley Baroque, the resident historic ensemble at SUNY New Paltz where he also serves as Emeritus Professor of music.

Dr. Evans has performed with the American Symphony Orchestra, the Atlantic Chamber Orchestra, and was principal oboist of the Albany Symphony from 1982 to 1985.  He leads a busy teaching schedule and has played numerous TV and radio advertisements.  Joël has recorded for Philo, Rounder, Koch International, CRI, New World, and his playing has been heard all over the US, Canada, Europe, Russia and the Far East.  He has appeared as a featured soloist at Lincoln Center, Tanglewood, Saratoga, the Charles Ives Center, and Carnegie Hall.  Joël retired as principal oboist of the West Point Band after nearly thirty years of service. Dr. Evans holds degrees from the University of Maine, Columbia University and the City University of New York.

Susan Seligman has been principal cellist with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic since 1984.  She is a member of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Quartet, the piano trio Innisfree, the Poné Ensemble featuring new and American chamber music, Hudson Valley Baroque, and the Hudson Consort.  In 1999, Ms. Seligman was favorably reviewed in the New York Times for her performance in works of Robert Starer.  In the summer, Ms. Seligman is on the faculty of the Chamber Music Institute at Ithaca College.  During the academic year, she is on the faculty of SUNY New Paltz and has a busy private cello studio as well.  Her discography includes CDs on the Albany, Soundspells, and Parnassus Records labels.  A recent recording with Innisfree of the music of Henry Martin includes Sonata No. 1 for Solo Cello, written for her by the composer.

Ruthanne Schempf, harpsichordist, is an active chamber and solo musician in the Hudson Valley. She is on the faculties of SUNY-New Paltz and Interlochen Arts Camp, and is a member of the Poné Ensemble for New Music.  She is also a co-founder of the non-profit Hudson Valley Society for Music which produces Potluck Concerts and an annual Hudson Valley BachFest.  Dr. Schempf maintains a busy piano teaching studio and is the organist and choir director at the Cornwall Presbyterian Church. She earned undergraduate and master’s degrees from Michigan State University and a D.M.A. from the Manhattan School of Music.  Her solo piano recording, An American Mirage: Exotic Piano Images, was released in March of 2009 on the MSR Classics label.  In her spare time, she likes to ski, garden, and dabble in various domestic activities.  She is married to oboist, Joël Evans.

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

The Office for Community Wellness (OCW) for the Town of New Paltz, in partnership with Historic Huguenot Street, The Margaret Wade Lewis Center, Elting Memorial Library, and the Ulster Prevention Council, is happy to announce the next in its series of FREE outdoor movies will be Disney Pixar’s Luca, showing on Saturday, August 3, 2024.

In addition to the movie, the “Town of New Paltz’s 4th Annual Community BBQ” will take place at the same time. The BBQ will include hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers and more! There will also be outdoor games, a bouncy house, and face painting!

The BBQ and outdoor games will start at 6:00pm, free popcorn begins at 7:45pm, and the evening’s featured presentation starts at sundown.

Our FREE summer movie series is an opportunity for the New Paltz community to come together, meet each other, and engage in a family-oriented, fun-filled event. 

This year’s series is designed to bring together community members interested in exploring and engaging in topics concerning diversity, race, and inclusion. For those wanting to take a deeper dive into these themes, “Continue the Conversation” cards will be provided for individuals to reflect upon, answer, and participate in a larger discussion either at home or in their community.

What to bring: Lawn chairs, blankets, a water bottle, snacks, and bug spray (a limited supply will be available for those who forget). Water, snacks, and bug spray are also available for purchase at the DuBois Fort Visitor Center Museum Shop, which will be open until 9:00pm.

We are excited to have the opportunity to design a program series that not only brings community together, but also gives individuals a chance to dive deeper into important topics of concern. 

We invite you to join the fun and be part of the change, as we co-create a happy, healthy, vibrant New Paltz where we can thrive together. 

This year marks the 400th anniversary of Walloons settling in the New Netherland colony. A few decades later the Walloon and Huguenot families who would become known as the founders of New Paltz, would voyage to the colony and, eventually, establish a village on the banks of the Wallkill River.

Who were the Walloons and the Huguenots?  What is the difference?  What were their Protestant beliefs?  Why and how were they persecuted?  

Join HHS and Sandra Robinson for an illustrated talk set in the 16th century Low Countries (today's Netherlands and Belgium) and 16th-17th century France, complete with heroes, villains, and the invention of the word 'refugee'.

Sandra Robinson is a UK-based genealogist who specializes in Huguenot ancestry. She speaks French, Dutch/Flemish, and German, having lived in The Netherlands and Belgium, including working in these languages. Sandra is on the Council of the Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and is consultant genealogist to the Huguenot Museum in Rochester, UK. She was the Huguenot ancestry expert for the BBC's "Who Do You Think You Are?" TV episode with Joe Sugg, broadcast in November 2021. Sandra works for private clients and also regularly publishes articles on Huguenots, often co-authored with art historians or other subject specialists.  

This program will be presented entirely online via a link provided after registration.

This program will be recorded, and access to the recording will be provided to registrants the following day.

$8 General Admission

$5 Discounted admission for HHS members, seniors, students, active military personnel and their families, and veterans

Sponsored by Marshall & Sterling.

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

On Juneteenth, Historic Huguenot Street will be offering two special opportunities to take a walking tour of the Broadhead-Church-Mulberry Street neighborhood where Black carpenter and Civil War veteran, Jacob Wynkoop, constructed a number of homes for the free Black community of New Paltz in the 19th-century. In addition to telling the story of Jacob and his family, the tour will reveal stories of other African-American families who made the neighborhood their home in the late 19th and first decades of the 20th century, including Margaret Hasbrouck Clow, daughter of John Hasbrouck, one of the first African Americans eligible to vote in New Paltz. The tour also introduces members of the Oliver, Freer, Rose, Banks, and LeFevre families, as well as former slave Judy Jackson.

Tours will begin at the DuBois Fort Visitor Center at 1:00 PM and 2:30 PM. Tours last approximately one hour and span a distance of approximately one mile. Please note that this tour will require participants to be on their feet for the entirety of the program. This program is not recommended for individuals with mobility restrictions.

$8 General Admission

$5 Discounted Admission for HHS members, seniors, students, active-duty military personnel and their families, veterans, and children under 18

Free for children under 13

This Program is Sponsored by RentHop

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

A celebration of triumph and history and learning about Juneteenth with the New Paltz community. This all-day extravaganza will include story-telling, musical performances, a commemoration ceremony, tours, and a parade to help honor and remember the formerly enslaved Africans that are integral to the Village of New Paltz’s history. Juneteenth events will start at 10:00 am and end at 4 pm with walkable locations in New Paltz. 

Schedule of Events

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM:

Commemoration Ceremony at the New Paltz Rural Cemetery

12:00 PM – 12:15 PM:

Community Drum Procession from the Ann Oliver House to Historic Huguenot Street

12:15 PM – 4:00 PM:

Lunch, Performances, Tours, & Kids’ Crafts

1:00 PM and 2:30 PM:

Historic Huguenot Street will be offering two special opportunities to take a walking tour of the Broadhead-Church-Mulberry Street neighborhood where Black carpenter and Civil War veteran, Jacob Wynkoop, constructed a number of homes for the free Black community of New Paltz in the 19th-century. In addition to telling the story of Jacob and his family, the tour will reveal stories of other African-American families who made the neighborhood their home in the late 19th and first decades of the 20th century, including Margaret Hasbrouck Clow, daughter of John Hasbrouck, one of the first African Americans eligible to vote in New Paltz. The tour also introduces members of the Oliver, Freer, Rose, Banks, and LeFevre families, as well as former slave Judy Jackson.

Tours will begin at the DuBois Fort Visitor Center. They will last approximately one hour and span a distance of approximately one mile. Please note that this tour will require participants to be on their feet for the entirety of the program. This program is not recommended for individuals with mobility restrictions.

$8 General Admission

$5 Discounted Admission for HHS members, seniors, students, active-duty military personnel and their families, veterans, and children under 18

Free for children under 13

 1:30 PM:

Don’t miss Historic Huguenot Street take the stage with students from the Center for Creative Education (Kingston) to honor and commemorate Susanna and Anthony, the first two individuals on record to have been enslaved by a New Paltz Patentee, Louis DuBois.

The Jubilee is free and open to the public. Please let us know you’re attending by registering in advance.

Jacob Wynkoop Neighborhood Walking Tour are sponsored by RentHop.

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

This project has been developed in partnership with the Witness Stones Project, Inc. The production of the memorial markers has been funded by Andreas du Bois, a direct descendant of Louis du Bois' brother.

This event is made possible in part through support from the County of Ulster’s Ulster County Cultural Services & Promotion Fund administrated by Arts Mid-Hudson. For more information on programs, services, grants, and opportunities, or to sign up for their eNewsletter, visit: www.artsmidhudson.org

Local Partners: 

Arts Mid-Hudson; Ulster BOCES Center of Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) at Port Ewen; Elting Memorial Library; Historic Huguenot Street; Master’s Touch Ministries; New Paltz Rural Cemetery; New Paltz United Methodist Church; SSIP; SUNY New Paltz Black Studies Department; Unison Arts Center; Village of New Paltz.

HHS is excited to offer free tours on June 16, 2024. During a tour of Historic Huguenot Street, visitors will explore the multicultural history of a unique American settlement, known today as New Paltz, New York. While touring three of the street’s historic structures, visitors will consider how individuals of each cultural group were affected by their physical environment and social status.

• The replica wigwam represents the strength and sacrifices of this region’s Indigenous peoples, the Esopus Munsee, from pre-colonial America to the present day.

• The reconstructed 1717 French Church teaches the Hudson Valley’s multicultural beginnings, including the history of Huguenot persecution in France leading to their immigration to North America.

• The early 18th-century Jean Hasbrouck House shares colonial life for both the free and enslaved members of the community, as well as the critical historical events that shaped the nation.

Tours will be offered 10:30 am, 11:30 am, 12 pm, 2:30 pm and 3:00 pm. Each experience lasts approximately one hour.

Space is limited. Pre-registration is highly encouraged!

Tours will begin at the DuBois Fort Visitor Center, promptly at the specified tour time. If you are not present at the start of the tour, your spot may be given to another visitor.

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

On June 6, 2024 from 7 pm to 8 pm, HHS will present a virtual program by author, historian, and journalist Russell Shorto as he discusses the complexity of our region in the mid-1600s. 

The Dutch established their colony of New Netherland in a geography that was already long settled by a variety of Native peoples. Shorto will talk about the Haudenosaunee (or Iroquois) and their constituent nations, as well as the Lenape Delaware Munsee people. He will elaborate the relations between the Indigenous peoples and talk about how each collaborated or came into conflict with the Dutch. His presentation will explore how “Dutch” is a bit of a misnomer in this case, since New Netherland was itself comprised of a mix of nationalities. Finally, he will talk about the African presence in the colony: what slavery was and was not in New Netherland, who some of the enslaved were, how they obtained freedom, and what it meant. 

This program will be presented entirely online via a link provided after registration.

Russell Shorto is the author, most recently, of Smalltime: A Story of My Family and the Mob, and of six earlier books, including Amsterdam: A History of the World’s Most Liberal City and the national bestseller The Island at the Center of the World. He is the Director of the New Amsterdam Project at the New-York Historical Society and Senior Scholar at the New Netherland Institute in Albany, New York. From 2007 to 2013 he was Director of the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam. In 2009, he was awarded a knighthood from the Dutch government for his work in increasing historical understanding between the Netherlands and the United States. In 2018, he was inducted into the New York State Writers Hall of Fame.

$10 General Admission

$7 Discounted Admission for HHS members, seniors, students, active-duty military personnel and their families, and veterans

This program will be recorded. Access to which will be made available to all registrants the following day.

Support for this program was generously provided by HHS Board Chair Mary Etta Schneider.

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Join Historic Huguenot Street and Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians’ author, consultant, and medicine practitioner, Misty Cook, on an evening walk exploring diverse native plants and their traditional medicinal uses. This in-person program will guide visitors from the DuBois Fort Visitor Center through the Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary, where Misty will share her community’s knowledge and understanding of the indigenous plant life that still thrives in our region.

Misty Cook, M.S., studied medicines in-depth for over seven years in preparation for the completion of her book, “Medicine Generations.” This included identifying, gathering, drying, preserving for use throughout the year, preparing, and making them available to those in need. She is a cultural consultant with a Masters in Management, providing diversity trainings on many topics, including Native American students in education, Native American history, Native American games, and of course, medicines.

Misty's book, “Medicine Generations,” is available for purchase both in-store and on our online Museum Shop. You may pre-order and pick-up when you arrive for the program, by buying online and selecting "pick up" at checkout. 

$20 General Admission
$17 Discounted Admission for HHS members, seniors, students, active-duty military personnel and their families, and veterans
FREE for children under 13.

Space is limited. Pre-registration is highly encouraged. All ticket sales are final and non-refundable.

The rain date for this program is Wednesday, June 5th, 7:00-8:30 PM (eastern daylight time).

The Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary is owned by the Wallkill Valley Land Trust and is forever protected by a conservation easement.

This program is sponsored by Devine Insurance and made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

The Office for Community Wellness (OCW) for the Town of New Paltz, in partnership with Historic Huguenot Street, The Margaret Wade Lewis Center, Elting Memorial Library, and the Ulster Prevention Council, is happy to announce its FREE Outdoor Summer Movie Series, starting off with Disney Pixar’s Elemental, on Saturday, June 1st (rain date June 2nd). 

Our FREE summer movie series is an opportunity for the New Paltz community to come together, meet each other, and engage in a family-oriented, fun-filled event. 

This year’s series is designed to bring together community members interested in exploring and engaging in topics concerning diversity, race, and inclusion. For those wanting to take a deeper dive into these themes, “Continue the Conversation” cards will be provided for individuals to reflect upon, answer, and participate in a larger discussion either at home or in their community.

Outdoor games will be offered on the grounds of Historic Huguenot Street starting at 7:00pm. Free popcorn begins at 8:00pm. The evening’s featured presentation starts at 8:45pm.

Set in Element City, where Fire-, Water-, Earth- and Air-residents live together, Elemental introduces Ember, a tough, quick-witted, and fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade challenges her beliefs about the world they live in. 

Directed by Peter Sohn, and written by Sohn, John Hoberg, Kat Likkel, and Brenda Hsueh, the film draws inspiration from Sohn's youth, growing up as the son of immigrants in New York City during the 1970s. The film highlights the city's distinct cultural and ethnic diversity, and asks the viewer to explore whether or not diverse elements can thrive together. 

What to bring: Lawn chairs, blankets, a water bottle, snacks, and bug spray (a limited supply will be available for those who forget). Water, snacks, and bug spray are also available for purchase at the DuBois Fort Visitor Center Museum Shop, which will be open until 9:00pm.

We are excited to have the opportunity to design a program series that not only brings community together, but also gives individuals a chance to dive deeper into important topics of concern. 

We invite you to join the fun and be part of the change, as we co-create a happy, healthy, vibrant New Paltz where we can thrive together. 

Image Credit:
Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios

In late 1673, Louis Dubois purchased two enslaved Africans named Anthony and Susanna from the Dutch sheriff in what is now Kingston, NY. This is the earliest recorded purchase of enslaved Africans by a European founder of the community we now call New Paltz. However, Anthony and Susanna fled from Dubois in early 1674, crossing the Hudson River and returning to the plantation of their former enslaver, Col. Lewis Morris, in what is now the Bronx. Over the following 6 years, Dubois and Morris engaged in a drawn out and bitter legal dispute over ownership of Anthony and Susanna. In this presentation, Historic Huguenot Street’s Tour & Interpretation Manager, Eddie Moran, will guide attendees through an array of 17th century documents to reveal Anthony and Susanna’s powerful story of agency and resistance. 

This program will be presented entirely online via a link provided after registration.

Eddie Moran currently serves as the Tour & Interpretation Manager at Historic Huguenot Street, and as a historical researcher for the Dr Margaret Wade Lewis Center, in New Paltz. He graduated with a B.A. in History from SUNY New Paltz in the Spring of 2020. Eddie began work as a tour guide at Historic Huguenot Street in 2017 and has overseen guided tours and interpretation full-time at HHS since January of 2022. He is a lifelong resident of the New Paltz area, and a descendant of New Paltz’s Huguenot and Dutch colonizers.

$8 General Admission

$5 Discounted Admission for seniors, students, active-duty military personnel and their families, and veterans

FREE for HHS members

This program is sponsored by Jim DeMaio, State Farm Insurance Agent and is, additionally, made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Please join us for a discussion of Historic Huguenot Street’s (HHS) three-year NEH-funded project to preserve and digitize significant historical documents from its own archival collections and those of project partners the Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection at Elting Memorial Library, the Reformed Church of New Paltz, and the Town of New Paltz. These include legal, financial, and religious records, as well as a wealth of personal letters, which together provide detailed insight into the lives of New Paltz residents and how their communities overlapped and evolved.

Curatorial staff Josephine Bloodgood, Director of Curatorial and Preservation Affairs, Donna Dixon, Digital Librarian and Project Manager, and Beth Patkus, Archivist and Librarian, will give an overview of HHS and the NEH project and its significance in local, state, and national history, discuss the grant process, and demonstrate how to navigate and search the New Paltz Historic Documents online collection, including documents that have been recently translated. 

This presentation will be presented entirely online via a link provided after registration.

The New Paltz Historic Documents Project encompasses documents ranging from the mid-1600s to about 1830. With the help of professional conservators and digital imaging technicians, the project partners have conserved, digitized, and made available online at NYHeritage.org more than 24,000 pages of documents. To complement the project, HHS also commissioned translations of Dutch documents (most of which had not been previously translated) by Dr. Jaap Jacobs and Julie van den Hout, supported as part of the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York.  

$8 General Admission

$5 Discounted admission for seniors, students, active military personnel and their families, and veterans

FREE for HHS members

The preservation and digitization of these documents has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this project do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The translation of Dutch language documents is supported as part of the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York.

 Sponsored by HKM Employment Attorneys

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Ready, set, BLOOM! Historic Huguenot Street is hosting an afternoon full of flowers and fun on Saturday, April 27th. Kids can learn all about Dutch tulip-mania, make floral crafts, and learn how they can help local pollinators. There will be snacks, face-painting, and even more fun surprises, so come get your Spring on!

$10 admission for all children

Adult guardians are free of charge

This is not a drop-off event; parents must stay with their children. Rain date is Sunday, April 28th.

Pre-registration is required for this event. Register for a time slot at 1PM, 2PM, or 3PM.

Registrants may check in at the DuBois Fort Visitor Center, located at 81 Huguenot Street, New Paltz, NY.

Walk-ins may be accommodated if any spots are still available. Open spots will be determined on a case-by-case basis on the day of the program.

 All ticket sales are final and non-refundable!

Cookies will be generously provided for the event by The Bakery

Floral Decorations will be generously provided for the event by Wallkill View Farm Market

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

The three decades between 1755 and 1785 were a time of major upheaval for the native peoples of the Hudson Valley, culminating in a war that forced them out of their ancestral homeland. This presentation tells the dramatic story of the Esopus Indians and their neighbors during this turbulent period by weaving together an array of archival sources and little-known oral history.

This lecture is presented by Justin Wexler, an ethnoecologist who has spent over twenty years reconstructing the lifeways of Hudson Valley native peoples and connecting with their descendants in Ontario, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. He can be found teaching all over the region through his organization, Wild Hudson Valley, which strives to reconnect people with the earth by opening up our eyes to historic land stewardship practices.

This presentation will be presented entirely online via a link provided after registration.

$8 General Admission

$5 Discounted Admission for HHS members, seniors, students, active military members and their families, and veterans

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Founded in the late 17th century, the Old Huguenot Burying Ground located within Historic Huguenot Street's National Historic Landmark District is the earliest known site of burials for New Paltz's European residents. The burying ground remained in use by the community until the mid-19th century, and provides a direct and physical connection to those who called the street home in centuries past. Yet, despite a rich legacy of historical research and education in New Paltz, the Old Huguenot Burying Ground is and has been dedicated a fraction of the attention in programming and research that the stone houses on our site have traditionally received.

In this presentation, HHS Tour and Interpretation Manager Eddie Moran will share findings from research undertaken in the last two years on the Old Huguenot Burying Ground and the evolution of how we have engaged with it as historians, as a community, and as an organization. It is a story of history lost due to degradation, and the subsequent evolution of efforts to preserve what remains for the future.

Eddie Moran currently serves as the Tour and Interpretation Manager at Historic Huguenot Street, and as a historical researcher for the Dr Margaret Wade Lewis Center, in New Paltz. He graduated with a B.A. in history from SUNY New Paltz in the Spring of 2020. Eddie began work as a tour guide at Historic Huguenot Street in 2017 and has overseen guided tours and interpretation full-time at HHS since January of 2022. He is a lifelong resident of the New Paltz area, and a descendant of New Paltz’s Huguenot and Dutch colonizers.

This program will be presented entirely online via a link provided after registration.

This program will be recorded, and access to the recording will be provided to registrants the following day.

$8 General Registration

$5 Discounted registration for seniors, students, active military members and their families, and veterans

FREE for HHS Members

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Historic Huguenot Street would like to invite you to the final program of the 2023 season.  To honor the season, a program of lively, festive, cheery music will be presented on Saturday, December 16, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. at the French Church by Hudson Valley Baroque (Joël Evans, oboe; Gregory Bynum, recorder; Christiana Fortune-Reader, viola; Susan Seligman, cello; Ruthanne Schempf, harpsichord).  Drawing from the dazzling chamber music repertoire of the Baroque, Hudson Valley Baroque provides old-style chamber entertainment combined with thought-provoking history education.

Space is limited. Pre-registration is highly encouraged!

$10 General Admission

$7 Discounted Admission for seniors, students, active military members and their families, veterans, and children under 13

Free Admission for HHS members and children under 6

About the musicians

Christiana Fortune-Reader, violist, teaches violin and viola in the Music Department at SUNY New Paltz as Assistant Professor of Music, and conducts the College Youth Symphony. Prior to this appointment, she taught at Illinois State University, where she also served as the Assistant Principal Viola of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. She performs regularly with the Minnesota and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras and the Innigkeit Quartet, and has held positions with the Rochester Philharmonic and the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with the contemporary music ensemble, “American Wild,” a septet dedicated to commissioning new works by American composers inspired by the outdoors and National Parks sites around the United States. She earned a doctoral degree in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, studying with Carol Rodland, and is completing a doctorate in music education (ABD). She graduated from the University of Southern California (BM) and the Cleveland Institute of Music (MM), studying with Jeffrey Irvine, Lynne Ramsey, Donald McInnes, and Karen Ritscher.

Gregory Bynum, recorder player, has studied with Marion Verbruggen, Han Tol, and Mattias Weilenman. He has performed with members of the Mannes School of Music and SUNY New Paltz music faculties, and with Yale music faculty including Jaap Schroeder. Mr. Bynum has taught at the Bloomingdale House of Music in Manhattan and has performed at many venues including the Morris-Jumel Mansion, the Middletown Thrall Library, and the Old Stone House in Brooklyn.  As a guest performer with Brooklyn Baroque, he can be heard on the ensemble’s recordings Northern Lights, The Pleasures of the French, and a recording of Beth Anderson’s music entitled The Praying Mantis and the Bluebird (MSR Classics).  He has appeared on WKCR and appears on the Quill Classics YouTube channel with Ensemble Luini. Mr. Bynum is Associate Professor in the School of Education at SUNY New Paltz, and the founder of the Music at Morris-Jumel chamber music series.

Joël Evans, oboist and solo English hornist with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, has been a familiar musical voice in the valley for many years. He is oboist with the Poné Ensemble and plays baroque and classical oboes with Hudson Valley Baroque, the resident historic ensemble at SUNY New Paltz where he also serves as Emeritus Professor of music.

Dr. Evans has performed with the American Symphony Orchestra, the Atlantic Chamber Orchestra, and was principal oboist of the Albany Symphony from 1982 to 1985. He leads a busy teaching schedule and has played numerous TV and radio advertisements. Joël has recorded for Philo, Rounder, Koch International, CRI, New World, and his playing has been heard all over the US, Canada, Europe, Russia, and the Far East. He has appeared as a featured soloist at Lincoln Center, Tanglewood, Saratoga, the Charles Ives Center, and Carnegie Hall. Joël retired as principal oboist of the West Point Band after nearly thirty years of service. Dr. Evans holds degrees from the University of Maine, Columbia University, and the City University of New York.

Susan Seligman has been principal cellist with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic since 1984. She is a member of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Quartet, the piano trio Innisfree, the Poné Ensemble featuring new and American chamber music, Hudson Valley Baroque, and the Hudson Consort. In 1999, Ms. Seligman was favorably reviewed in the New York Times for her performance in works of Robert Starer. In the summer, Ms. Seligman is on the faculty of the Chamber Music Institute at Ithaca College. During the academic year, she is on the faculty of SUNY New Paltz and has a busy private cello studio as well. Her discography includes CDs on the Albany, Soundspells, and Parnassus Records labels. A recent recording with Innisfree of the music of Henry Martin includes Sonata No. 1 for Solo Cello, written for her by the composer.

Ruthanne Schempf, harpsichordist, is an active chamber and solo musician in the Hudson Valley. She is on the faculties of SUNY New Paltz and Interlochen Arts Camp, and is a member of the Poné Ensemble for New Music. She is also a co-founder of the non-profit Hudson Valley Society for Music, which produces Potluck Concerts and an annual Hudson Valley BachFest. Dr. Schempf maintains a busy piano teaching studio and is the organist and choir director at the Cornwall Presbyterian Church. She earned undergraduate and master’s degrees from Michigan State University and a D.M.A. from the Manhattan School of Music. Her solo piano recording, An American Mirage: Exotic Piano Images, was released in March of 2009 on the MSR Classics label. In her spare time, she likes to ski, garden, and dabble in various domestic activities. She is married to oboist, Joël Evans.

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Holiday Hoopla is a celebration designed to bring the community together and spread good cheer. All activities are free of charge and everyone is welcome!

This year’s 4th Annual Holiday Hoopla Parade steps off at noon from the New Paltz Middle School with floats, live music, the Candy Cane Crew, jugglers, and other surprises! The parade will make its way down to Historic Huguenot Street, where all will have the opportunity to enjoy various activities and entertainment at the Winter Carnival.

The Winter Carnival will open at 1 PM and will conclude at 4:30 PM with the lighting of the New Paltz Community Tree, located on the south side of the historic Deyo House on Huguenot Street (74 Huguenot Street).

Some activities will require tickets to be purchased in advance. A link to this pre-registration will be available soon through the New Paltz Office for Community Wellness website.

​

We will be adding information, including the complete event schedule, as we get closer to the BIG DAY!

This event is hosted in partnership with Town of New Paltz Office for Community Wellness, New Paltz Police Department, New Paltz Youth Program, Thriving Together Town of New Paltz, and SUNY New Paltz Union Programming Council.

A recently uncovered 1738 American Indian Deed by Historic Huguenot Street for the land and creek called Packanasinck provides ethnohistorical material for a discussion of the Native participants mentioned. Twelve of the Natives listed, comprising several families, are known individuals with documented histories in colonial Ulster County. The evidence presented suggests Packanasinck was the location of a Native community, one of a few Esopus communities that persisted in the heart of the Ulster County settlements into the eighteenth century. 

J. Michael Smith is a native of Beacon in Dutchess County, New York, and a retired media specialist with Vermont PBS. As an independent ethnohistorian he has documented the cultural histories of Munsee peoples and relevant individuals in the mid-Hudson River Valley. He is a contributing author to the New York State Museum bulletins of the Native American Institute Seminar Papers and has published various articles in the Hudson River Valley Review. He is co-editor with Kees-Jan Waterman of Munsee Indian Trade in Ulster County, New York, 1712-1732 (Syracuse University Press, 2013).

This program will be presented entirely online via a link provided after registration.

This program will be recorded, and access to the recording will be provided to registrants the following day.

$8 General Admission

$5 Discounted Admission (For HHS members, seniors, students, active military personnel, and veterans)

The preservation and digitization of these documents has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this project do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The translation of Dutch language documents is supported as part of the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York.

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Julie van den Hout and Jaap Jacobs, who translated part of the manuscript collection of HHS, will focus on how the translated documents shed light on economic and religious aspects of daily life in New Paltz in the 1700s. 

Jaap Jacobs (PhD Leiden, 1999) is affiliated with the University of St Andrews. He has specialized in early American history, specifically the Dutch in the Americas in the early modern period. He has taught at universities in the Netherlands, the United States, and the United Kingdom. His publications on Dutch New York include “The Colony of New Netherland: A Dutch Settlement in Seventeenth-Century America” (Cornell University Press, 2009) and “The First Arrival of Enslaved Africans in New Amsterdam,” New York History, forthcoming August 2023. He is currently working on a biography of Petrus Stuyvesant.

Julie van den Hout is a historian focused on seventeenth-century Dutch New York and the maritime Dutch Atlantic. She is the author of Adriaen van der Donck, a Dutch Rebel in Seventeenth-Century America, and is currently working on an article about the roles of Dutch skippers in New Netherland endeavors.

This program will be presented entirely online via a link provided after registration.

This program will be recorded, and access to the recording will be provided to registrants the following day.

$8 General Admission

$5 Discounted Admission for HHS members, seniors, students, active military personnel, and veterans.

Image Credit: Invoice and demand for payment, Simon DuBois of New Paltz, by Johannes Mauritius Goetschius, ca. 1770. HHS Archives, Daniel and Simon DuBois Family Papers.

The preservation and digitization of these documents has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this project do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The translation of Dutch language documents is supported as part of the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York.

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.