Discover local history and Hudson Valley heritage throughout Ulster County during a week-long series of events from October 21-30.
The National Register of Historic Places has listed over 160 sites in the county (established in 1683), making the list of possibilities nearly exhaustive. Kingston, the original capital of New York State, is home to many districts that reflect a storied past—the Revolutionary era Stockade District, the mid 19th-Century maritime Rondout-West Strand Historic District, prosperous domestic Chestnut Street Historic District, and the architecturally rich Fair Street Historic District.
This heritage week will showcase the places, spaces, artifacts, and people that have shaped Ulster County’s past and present. Experience history from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, agricultural and industrial transformations, and, of course, politics.
One area that will be especially prevalent is the Rondout district. Take a walking tour of the Rondout district, and learn how immigration to the area affected trade and commerce in a once-blossoming maritime village at the Rondout National Historic District Walking Tour. Saturday October 29, at 1pm starting at the Heritage Area Visitors Center.
“Rondout Revisited,” at the historic Reher Bakery, supported by the Reher Center for Immigrant Culture and History, will offer an interactive exhibit exploring three distinct stages in Kingston’s past, from 1820 to through the urban renewal years. Reher Bakery buildings will be open for tours Sunday October 23 and Sunday October 30, 10am-2pm at 101 Broadway, Kingston.
