In February 2022, the New York State Archives announced that archivists had uncovered court records detailing the 1828 legal battle by Sojourner Truth to secure her enslaved son Peter’s freedom. According to archivist Jim Folts, this case was the first time in United States history that a Black woman successfully sued a White man for a family member’s freedom.
After passage of the New York State Gradual Emancipation Act in 1799, some slaveholders illegally sold enslaved Africans to Southern planters for the expanding cotton industry. When Sojourner Truth, then known as Isabella Van Wagenen, escaped from enslavement in 1826, her former “owner,” John J. Dumont of New Paltz, Ulster County, NY, sold her five-year old son Peter to Eleazer Gedney who planned to take the boy with him to England.
When this plan fell through, Eleazer Gedney sold Peter to his brother, Solomon Gedney, who resold Peter to their sister’s husband, a man named Fowler, who was a wealthy Alabama planter. [Read more…] about Documents Reveal Sojourner Truth’s Battle to Free Her Son from Slavery
Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) has been awarded a $500,000 Save America’s Treasures (SAT) grant support much-needed major repairs and restoration work at the Bevier-Elting House (ca. 1700, 1735, and 1760) in New Paltz.
New York State Parks is partnering with the Open Space Institute and the Town and Village of 
Johannes LeFevre was born in New Paltz on May 26, 1837, to Josiah P. LeFevre and his wife, Elizabeth. Around New Paltz, his family was known as the Bontecoe LeFevres because of their large farm, just outside town.
Historic Huguenot Street is presenting a new online exhibit, Jane Deyo Wynkoop. Wynkoop is believed to be the first African American — man or woman — to buy land in the Village of 
A direct descendant of French Huguenots who settled New Paltz in 1678, Kenneth E. Hasbrouck Sr. had an important influence on Ulster County local history. He served as County Historian, Town of Gardiner Historian and was a founder and president of the Huguenot Historical Society (HHS). 
Historic Huguenot Street has commissioned fine artist Len Tantillo to create a series of three paintings, looking at Huguenot Street during different times in history. The paintings will become part of the permanent collection at Historic Huguenot Street, enhancing the museum’s interpretations and aiding visitors in understanding what the street has looked like in the past. 
Ulster County Transportation Council (UCTC), in partnership with the Village of New Paltz, Wallkill Valley Land Trust, and Historic Huguenot Street, has announced the beginning of a planning and community engagement process addressing the future use and design of the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail in the Village of New Paltz.