Between the years 1828 and 1976, the Ulster County Fairgrounds was the site of the Ulster County Poorhouse. A poorhouse was a tax-supported residential institution to which people were required to go if they could not support themselves without community assistance. Thousands of individuals, including the indigent, the destitute, the insane, the intemperate, transient farm workers, freed slaves, unemployed canal and aqueduct builders, "debauched" women, unwed mothers, the friendless, the elderly, the disabled and the sick, called this site their home.

Susan Stessin-Cohn former professor of social studies education at SUNY New Paltz is currently the Historian for the Town of New Paltz, New York. She is a recipient of the Bruce Dearstyne Award for excellence in the educational use of local government records; the New York State Archives Award for the best use of primary local documents in a curriculum in NYS; and the Pride of Ulster County Award for research on the Ulster County Poorhouse. Susan began her research on the Ulster County Poorhouse in 2000. She has created four teaching packets for the NYS Archives and the Ulster County Clerk's Office. Her most recent publication, "In Defiance, Runaways from Slavery in New York's Hudson River Valley, 1735-1831 is coauthored by Ashley Hurlburt Biagini. Susan has appeared on C-Span as well as WYNT channel 13.

Admissions: Free.

Accessibility: The library is handicap accessible, featureing a wheelchair-accessible entrance and parking.

Parking: The library parking lot is located on the corner of North Front Street and Church Street. Library visitors are welcome to park for free in our lot for as long as they are at the library.

Join us in the Steinberg Room on Thursday, June 18th as Thomas S. Wermuth joins us for a discussion about the newly released book (May 15), Fire and Freedom. Showcasing New York's central role in the revolution, Fire and Freedom highlights the stories of people and events previously hidden from popular view, unveiling a new vision of this famous narrative. Register to get an email reminder the day before the program. Registration is optional.

More than two hundred and fifty years after the revolution began, Fire and Freedom invites readers to rediscover America's journey to independence. Showcasing New York's central role in the revolution, Fire and Freedom highlights the stories of people and events previously hidden from popular view, unveiling a new vision of this famous narrative.

Many of the revolution's key moments can be traced to New York: city crowds rioted against colonial taxation and George Washington spent one-third of the war in and around the soon-to-be "Empire State." Beyond these well-known players and moments, however, lies a trove of new information on New York's hidden revolutionary stories.

With a foreword by acclaimed historian Russell Shorto and seven fascinating chapters on a range of subjects, we see that events off the battlefield—a strategic retreat, a destructive fire, and displays of independence—were just as meaningful as the fighting itself. State power and politics redefined conceptions of loyalty and allegiance. The resistance and agency of Indigenous and enslaved populations shaped New York's postwar era.

These diverse stories are tied together by the defining war, but they stretch far beyond its confines and even further beyond our common understandings. By providing a more comprehensive look into New York's influence on the era, the contributors to this book expand and evolve the meaning and significance of the revolution. Exciting and insightful, Fire and Freedom is a must-read addition to the great revolutionary saga.

Thomas S. Wermuth is Dr. Frank T. Bumpus Chair in Hudson River Valley History at Marist University.

Admissions: Free.

Accessibility: The library is handicap accessible, featureing a wheelchair-accessible entrance and parking.

Parking: The library parking lot is located on the corner of North Front Street and Church Street. Library visitors are welcome to park for free in our lot for as long as they are at the library.

Take a walk back in time to the Van Leuven Cabin and learn what life was like during the 19th century in the Trapps Mountain Hamlet, once home to around sixty families. Hike leader and interpretive guide Richard Feuer will share the history of the land during this two-hour hike. The hike is sure to be entertaining for everyone who loves the Shawangunk Ridge and is curious about the history of settlement in this challenging environment. The program will include Split Rock and the Shongum Path leading back to West Trapps, which involves a moderately strenuous climb uphill. Space is limited and registration is required for this free program.

Admission: Free. Please show your ticket to the trailhead ranger to receive free admission during this program.

Capacity: Limited to 20 participants.

Accessibility: Due to the terrain of the trail (a steep grade, raised roots), this program is not accessible for wheelchairs. ASL interpretation can be provided if given at least 10 business days advance notice. Please contact pkrakower@mohonkpreserve.org or call (845) 255-0919 ext.1238.

Website: www.mohonkpreserve.org

Instagram: @mohonkpreserve

The New Paltz Historical Society welcomes Ron Knapp with his talk “Spanning the Wallkill: The First Covered Bridges in New Paltz in the 1820’s and Now.” This talk will present new information concerning three covered timber bridges erected along the Wallkill River in the 1820s, including the New Paltz Bridge, that once stood at the foot of Main Street, Perrine's Bridge, still standing on Route 213 in Rifton, and Phillies Bridge that crossed the Wallkill in Gardiner.  The presentation will feature historical and recent information about these bridges over time, down to the present.

Ronald G. Knapp was an historical-cultural geographer at State University of New York at New Paltz, where he taught from 1968 to 2001, retiring with the rank of SUNY distinguished professor emeritus. For the past forty-five years his research has focused on China's frontier history and Chinese vernacular architecture, including two books on Chinese bridges, including covered bridges in China. While attending a conference on covered bridges in China in 2005, he met an American covered-bridge enthusiast, Terry Miller, which led to their decision to write a book on American covered bridges. 

Ron, and co-author Terry Miller, along with photographer A. Chester Ong, published "America's Covered Bridges: Practical Crossings, Nostalgic Icons" in 2014.  David W. Wright, President, National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges said "America's Covered Bridges" is a book every covered bridge enthusiast will want to own. Amongst numerous other virtues, the book is profusely illustrated with both historic and contemporary photographs."

Admission: Free, registration is preferred and guarantees your spot at this program.

Accessibility: The library is handicap accessible, featureing a wheelchair-accessible entrance and parking.

Parking: The library parking lot is located on the corner of North Front Street and Church Street. Library visitors are welcome to park for free in our lot for as long as they are at the library.