NEW PALTZ, N.Y. >> After a nearly 10-year hiatus, Old New Paltz Stone House Day returns to Historic Huguenot Street Saturday in celebration of the 340th anniversary of the settling of the town by French Huguenots.
While in years past the celebration focused strictly on the French Protestant Huguenot settlers – who settled New Paltz in 1678 after negotiating a land trade with the Esopus Munsee people in 1677 – this iteration highlights the diverse communities who called New Paltz home during the past 340 years, said Kara Gaffken, the historic site’s director of public programming.
PHOTOS: Old New Paltz Stone House Day
“This more accurately reflects the multicultural community that existed here,” Gaffken said.
“The event, in partnership with the town of New Paltz, includes tours of seven different houses owned by Historic Huguenot Street and also features a wide range of programming, including re-enactors, colonial and Civil War-era music, historic cooking demonstrations and representatives from the Stockbridge-Munsee community.
“A lot of people in New Paltz feel nostalgic,” Gaffken said, adding that people recall when they took part in colonial pageants on the historic street in years past.
“When I tell someone I work for Historic Huguenot Street, they ask ‘when is Haunted Huguenot Street?’ and ‘when is Stone House Day?'” Gaffken said.
Among the seven houses open Saturday are the 1799 LeFevre House and the Freer House, both of which have not been open to the public for many years, Gaffken said.
Also open for viewing will be the Bevier-Elting House and the Crispell Memorial French Church and Burying Ground, which are not part of this year’s regular tours, Gaffken said.
The first church in New Paltz, built in 1683, was timber framed, Gaffken said. A stone church went up in 1717.
360-degree tour: Historic Huguenot Street
Today’s reproduction church, built on a slightly different site due to an adjacent private home, was constructed in the 1970s and was based on French Protestant churches in Europe and surviving colonial-era churches in the Hudson Valley.
“There were no images of the original,” Gaffken said.
By visiting the various homes, from the recreated Esopus Munsee Wigwam to the 1950s kitchen in the Freer House, guests can get a feel for what life was like on Huguenot Street, Gaffken said.
The houses will be staffed by volunteers, who will speak as modern third-person interpreters as opposed to assuming the role of a specific person who lived in New Paltz in the past.
“Visitors feel comfortable getting answers that have modern relevancy,” Gaffken said.
Gaffken said she wanted to offer a wide range of activities because guests each have their own way of learning.
While some guests get a lot out of a guided-tour of the historic homes, others prefer a more sensory immersive experience. And that’s where re-enactors interpreting various periods come in.
Interpreting the Revolutionary War period are the patriot groups of the 1st Ulster Militia and the 5th NY Regiment. Stationed in the lawn near the DuBois Fort, which contains the historic site’s Visitors Center and gift shop, the re-enactors will demonstrate Revolutionary War camp life, including cooking, musket demonstrations and wood carving.
The New Paltz Area leaned heavily toward the patriot cause in the Revolutionary War, with hundreds of residents signing the Articles of Association in support of the rebellion against Britain, Gaffken said.
Highlighting 18th century civilian life are Erik Lichack and Eliza Vincz’s Ministers of Apollo and Early American Music and Arts.
The pair will offer two 45-minute concerts in the French Church, at noon and 2 p.m.
“Eric is a harpsichordist, while Eliza sings,” Gaffken said.
When they’re not performing, Lichack and Vincz will discuss men’s and women’s fashion, hygiene and cosmetics, and demonstrate sewing.
Guests can head to Abraham Hasbrouck House to get a feeling of what life was like for the many enslaved African individuals who lived in the Hudson Valley throughout the colonial period into the early 19th century.
They will meet culinary and living historian Lavada Nahon, who will cook over a fire while discussing the lives and cultures of enslaved Africans in the Hudson Valley in the mid 18th century.
Visitors interested in Civil War-era music can visit the 1799 LeFevre House at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to hear concerts by the Windham-based 77th NY Regimental Balladeers dressed in period clothing.
World War II reenactor Ching Wah Chin, from the U.S. Chinese Burma India Living History Association, portrays an officer from the Republic of China’s New 38th Division, which was sent to Burma to fight with Allied American and British forces against Japan.
This is a little known aspect of WWII, Gaffken said.
He’ll also look at how New Paltz reacted to the war and its effect on the community, she added.
It takes a lot of work to bring the re-enactors and living historians together, Gaffken said.
“It’s a lot of word-of mouth,” Gaffken said, adding that process starts with the groups they work with.
“They do contact other groups who don’t normally work with us and ask if they want to be part of it,” Gaffken said.
A number of crafts will also be demonstrated, including weaving on a reproduction counter-balance loom in the Bevier-Elting House; chair caning outside the Bevier-Elting House; and coopering by John Cox, owner of High Falls-based Quercus Cooperage.
“He is fantastic,” Gaffken said. “He makes barrels for a lot of local breweries and distilleries.”
Bonney-Hartley, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Stockbridge-Munsee Community in Bolwer Wisconsin, will share information about her tribe, her community and their preservation efforts in their homelands in the Hudson Valley. Justin Vergottini-Wxler of Wild Hudson Valley will lead 40-minute tours of The Nyquist Preserve, departing from the Wigwam at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
The Hurley Heritage Society will be stationed outside the Deyo House. And Hurley resident Dan Zalewski will demonstrate his collection of early 20th century gramophones and phonographs, using records with the familiar disc shape and less familiar cylinders.
The vintage recordings are a perfect fit for the home, which features interpretation set in the Gilded Age, Gaffken said.
The Heritage Society will also focus on the connections between Hurley and New Paltz.
“The Huguenot Settlers settled first in Kingston and Hurley prior to settling New Paltz,” Gaffken said.
Also on display is the original document of land swap deal from the town’s founding in 1667, Gaffken said. Last displayed in 2017, the document, written in Dutch, includes the signatures of the 12 original patentee of New Paltz and the Esopus Munsee Sachems, Gaffken said.
When guests need a break from the past, a tent will offer craft beverages, bottled water and hot pretzels from New Paltz Brewing Company. Kettleborough Cider House and Local at Heart. A food truck is also scheduled to be on hand for part of the event, she added.
Looking ahead to the future, Gaffken said unlike Hurley’s Stone House Day, which is held annually, she doesn’t plan on holding this one every year.
It’ll probably only be held every five or 10 years, she added.
Parking is available at the Ulster BOCES parking lot to the end of Broadhead Avenue, where visitors can catch a free Ulster County Area Transit shuttle bus to the event. Buses run every 30 to 35 minutes from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with a one-hour break at 1 p.m.
Parking is also available at the nearby New Paltz Community Center and Moriello Pool.
IF YOU GO:
What: Old New Paltz Stone House Day
When: Saturday 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Where: Historic Huguenot Street, 81 Huguenot Street, New Paltz.
How much: $20; $15 for seniors, students, teens 13-17, active military members and veterans; $10 for children ages 6-12; and free for children under 6. ?Contact: Visit https://www.huguenotstreet.org/ or call (845) 255-1889.
Editor’s note: This article was amended on Sept. 5 at 10:54 a.m. to correct the dates of the French Protestant Huguenots’ land trade and settling.
