Bygone Hudson Valley

For a period of 10 years, beginning in 2010, the Wallkill Valley Land Trust was responsible for a series of historic houses tours focusing on the towns, villages and hamlets of southern Ulster County, N.Y. First under the direction of WVLT board member Johanna Hecht and then WVLT Board member Vals Osborne, the tours relied on in-depth research and a large team of experts in local history, architecture, transportation, and many other relevant areas, not to mention the interest and cooperation of a bevy of homeowners seeking to learning more about their own homes.

I was lucky enough to become involved during the second year of the tours, when the WVLT presented ” Mysteries of Clintondale,” and remained on the research and volunteer team for six more tours in the next eight years. The entire process was fascinating, and I was, and still am, in awe of the sheer number of dedicated volunteers it took to bring all aspects of such tours together. The work brought to light so many previously undocumented facts and stories about this area, and presented it to the general public in the form of engaging house tours, along with supplemental material that encouraged independent walking and driving tours and further exploration long after the formal scheduled events.

In 2020, after preparations for the 10th year of the program were well underway, the global pandemic shut down the concept of in-person house tours. As a result, that year’s tour evolved into a beautifully crafted film and booklet instead. Inspired by that development, Vals Osborne and her core team developed the idea of collecting all of the research, documents, pictures and stories into a book. For four years, Vals organized, edited, reworked and designed what would become the newest publication in the Hudson Valley regional history genre: Legacies on the Land: Historic Houses, Hamlets, and Landscapes of Southern Ulster County. She worked tirelessly with more than 50 contributors, and revisited 10 years worth of research to update and expand the earlier work. At 445 pages, this full-color book is a testament to the love of local history shared by Vals Osborne and countless volunteers over the past fourteen years.

For Immediate Release:

On July 5th, 2024, Historic Huguenot Street officially released Legacies on the Land: Historic Houses, Hamlets, and Landscapes of Southern Ulster County, edited by Vals Osborne, HHS Board Vice Chair.

Legacies on the Land is the history of the land, people, and architecture of one of the earliest regions to be colonized by Europeans in what is now New York State. The book follows the early settlement of southern Ulster County by the Dutch, Huguenots, Walloons, English, Palatines, and enslaved Africans on the homelands of the Munsee Lenape as settlement spread outward from New Paltz to neighboring townships.

Available for $35 In-Store and Online at the HHS Museum Shop!

Also available to purchase at other local Hudson Valley stores and through Black Dome Press (blackdomep@aol.com).

For more information, including a link to the full press release, and to purchase please visit:https://www.huguenotstreet.org/legacies-on-the-land-book?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1RULMe1xJnbnfCw8fIW31N2YTUqeGV0v5FVJUEdLb3_pydqf1RguKh45Y_aem_qzsks0yF0c-atwtJDjFp2Q