NEWS RELEASE: Historic Huguenot Street To Offer Free Admission To Celebrate Path Through History Weekend

NEW PALTZ, NY (June 10, 2016) – Historic Huguenot Street will offer free admission, including all historic house tours and exhibits, on Father’s Day, June 19, for New York State’s Path Through History Weekend. The public is encouraged to bring blankets and lunch and enjoy a picnic on the historic grounds. Guests will enjoy a day with the family as they learn about the families that founded New Paltz.

Historic Huguenot Street recently updated its tours with the guidance of interpretive specialist Bill Weldon, former artistic director for “Revolutionary City,” Colonial Williamsburg’s interactive outdoor drama. The new tours incorporate engaging stories from the National Historic Landmark District’s history, with a renewed emphasis on featuring under-represented groups, including Native Americans and enslaved Africans. The selection of collections pieces displayed has been updated, showcasing pieces that have not been exhibited publicly in years. Visitors will also discover through interpretive illustrations what the New Paltz area looked like prior to the Huguenot refugees’ arrival.

“As a National Historic Landmark District founded in 1677, Huguenot Street is a perfect example of our state’s rich history and cultural significance,” said Josephine Bloodgood, Interim Executive Director. Hundreds of events are planned at historic and cultural destinations through the state as part of Path Through History Weekend, designed to make it easy to experience New York State’s rich heritage and diverse attractions. Historic Huguenot Street was one of the first 200 sites selected for inclusion in the program at its launch.

Tours depart from the DuBois Fort hourly, beginning at 10 am, with the last tour leaving at 4 pm. Tickets can be purchased in the Visitor Center and Museum Shop at 81 Huguenot Street. Tours are filled on a first-come, first-served basis and are expected to fill quickly.

A National Historic Landmark District, Historic Huguenot Street is a 501(c)3 non-profit that encompasses 30 buildings across 10 acres that was the heart of the original 1678 New Paltz settlement, including seven stone houses that date to the early eighteenth century.  It was founded in 1894 as the Huguenot Patriotic, Historical, and Monumental Society to preserve the nationally acclaimed collection of stone houses. Since then, Historic Huguenot Street has grown into an innovative museum, chartered as an educational corporation by the University of the State of New York, that is dedicated to protecting our historic buildings, conserving an important collection of artifacts and manuscripts, and promoting the stories of the Huguenot Street families, from the sixteenth century to today. 

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Contact
Kaitlin Gallucci
Communications & Marketing Manager
(845) 255-1660
media@huguenotstreet.org