New Paltz () is an incorporated U.S.

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Ulster County Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. History ...

, New York. The population was 14,003 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Kingston. New Paltz contains a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

, also with the name

New Paltz New Paltz () is an incorporated U.S. town in Ulster County, New York. The population was 14,003 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Kingston. New Paltz contains a village, also wit ...

. The town is named for ''Palz'' (), the

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...

name of the Palatinate, called ''Pfalz'' () in standard German. Due to the presence of what is now the State University of New York at New Paltz, it has been a college town for over 150 years.

History

The town of New Paltz was founded in 1678 by French

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

by both patent from the governor and purchase from the local

Esopus tribe The Esopus tribe () was a tribe of Lenape (Delaware) Native Americans who were native to the Catskill Mountains of what is now Upstate New York. Their lands included modern-day Ulster and Sullivan counties. The Lenape originally resided in the De ...

of the

Lenape people The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

. Prior to the purchase of New Paltz during the 17th century, the Esopus tribe had been pressured off much of their land which is now present day Ulster and Sullivan counties, because of conflicts known as the

Esopus Wars The Esopus Wars were two conflicts between the Esopus tribe of Lenape Indians (Delaware) and New Netherlander colonists during the latter half of the 17th century in Ulster County, New York. The first battle was instigated by settlers; the secon ...

.The Huguenots were religious refugees from France who had immigrated via

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

in the

German Palatinate The Palatinate (german: Pfalz; Palatine German: ''Palz'') is a region of Germany. In the Middle Ages it was known as the Rhenish Palatinate (''Rheinpfalz'') and Lower Palatinate (''Unterpfalz''), which strictly speaking designated only the wes ...

, where they had settled after fleeing France during religious persecution. They settled in the area of the present-day village of New Paltz (on what is now known as

Huguenot Street Historic District Historic Huguenot Street is located in New Paltz, New York, approximately north of New York City. The seven stone houses and several accompanying structures in the 10-acre National Landmark Historic District were likely built in the early 18th c ...

) and established their own local government. The size of the town increased with annexation from surrounding regions in 1775 and 1809. In 1842, part of New Paltz was removed to form the Town of Esopus. More of New Paltz was removed in order to form the towns of Rosendale (1844), Lloyd (1845), and Gardiner (1853).

Geography

The

Wallkill River The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed Oct ...

flows northward through New Paltz on its way to join the

Rondout Creek Rondout Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Hudson River in Ulster and Sullivan counties, New York, United States. It rises on Rock ...

, which in turn feeds into the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

. A portion of the

Shawangunk Ridge The Shawangunk Ridge , also known as the Shawangunk Mountains or The Gunks, is a ridge of bedrock in Ulster County, Sullivan County and Orange County in the state of New York, extending from the northernmost point of the border with New Jerse ...

is in the town.

Transportation

New Paltz is accessible by a number of different roads. Interstate 87 (the New York State Thruway) is the main thoroughfare and passes through in the eastern part and houses Exit 18 for Route 299. State routes that traverse through are Route 32, Route 208, and Route 299. The nearest train station is about away, in

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...

. Both

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

and

Metro-North Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connectic ...

trains serve Poughkeepsie. Adirondack Trailways also provides bus transportation from New Paltz into various locations across multiple states. The western terminus of the

Hudson Valley Rail Trail The Hudson Valley Rail Trail is a paved east–west rail trail in the town of Lloyd in Ulster County, New York, stretching from the Hudson River through the hamlet of Highland. The trail was originally part of the Poughkeepsie Bridge Route, a ...

is located here. The hiking/biking path eventually crosses the Walkway Over The Hudson and becomes the Dutchess Rail Trail that ends in Hopewell Junction.

Education

New Paltz has four public schools (K-12) and is home to a college in the SUNY system: *Duzine Elementary School (K-2) *Lenape Elementary School (3-5) *New Paltz Middle School (6-8) * New Paltz High School (9-12) * State University of New York at New Paltz The town is also home to several private schools, including Mountain Laurel Waldorf School (Pre-K through Grade 8), Montessori of New Paltz (Pre-K through Grade 3), and Huguenot Street Cooperative Nursery School (Pre-K).

Government

The town is governed by a town council, composed of four at-large members and a supervisor. There is also a village of New Paltz within the town, governed by a mayor and a board of trustees.

Sister city

* Niimi, Okayama Prefecture, Japan

Notable people

Abe Attell Abraham Washington Attell (February 22, 1883 – February 7, 1970), often referred to by newspapers as "The Little Hebrew", was an American boxer who became known for his record-setting, six year consecutive reign as World Featherweight Champion ...

, boxing champion * Terry Austin, comic book artist * Benjamin F. Church, pioneer * Charles Davis, NFL player and television commentator *

Peter Dinklage Peter Hayden Dinklage (; born June 11, 1969) is an American film, television and stage actor. He received international recognition for portraying Tyrion Lannister on the HBO television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which he ...

, actor. * Lewis DuBois, military commander in the Continental Army * Louis DuBois, Huguenot colonist * Sandy Duncan, Broadway and television actor *

Ronald Enroth Ronald M. Enroth (born October 28, 1938) has been a professor of sociology at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara, California, and an Evangelicalism, evangelical Christian author of books concerning what he defines as "c ...

(born 1938), Professor of Sociology at

Westmont College Westmont College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Montecito, California. It was founded in 1937. History Ruth Kerr, owner and CEO of the Kerr Glass Manufacturing Company, established the school as the Bible Missionary Institute in ...

."Student of the Week; Ronald Enroth Plans to Become a Teacher; Like History, Writing, Traveling and Books"
''

Poughkeepsie Journal The ''Poughkeepsie Journal'' is a newspaper based in Poughkeepsie, New York, and owned by Gannett, which bought the paper in 1977. Founded in 1785 (though not a daily newspaper until 1860), the ''Journal'' is the oldest paper in New York state, a ...

'', December 2, 1955. Accessed June 26, 2022, via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

. "Set on becoming a teacher, Ronald M. Enroth, 17, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Enroth, New Paltz, has been selected by the faculty as New Paltz High School's 'Student of the Week'. Born in Weehawken, N. J., Ronald was raised in Ridgefield, N. J., and attended the Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, N. J., prior to moving to New Paltz two years ago." * Vladimir Feltsman, piano teacher * Mary Gordon, novelist * Hasbrouck family, one of the founding families of New Paltz * Jay Le Fevre, former US Congress member * Dana Lyons, musician *

Floyd Patterson Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in hi ...

, heavyweight boxing champion *

Sydney Schanberg Sydney Hillel Schanberg (January 17, 1934 July 9, 2016) was an American journalist who was best known for his coverage of the war in Cambodia. He was the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, two George Polk awards, two Overseas Press Club awards, a ...

, former journalist at the New York Times and professor at State University of New York at New Paltz *

Keith Schiller Keith Schiller (born c. 1959) is an American former law enforcement official and security consultant who served as Deputy Assistant to U.S. President Donald Trump and Director of Oval Office Operations. Prior to his appointment in the Trump adm ...

, law enforcement officer and security expert *

John Turturro John Michael Turturro (; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his contributions to the independent film movement. He has appeared in over sixty feature films and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers, ...

, Hollywood actor *

Andrew Yang Andrew Yang (born January 13, 1975) is an American businessman, attorney, lobbyist, and politician. Yang was a candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and the 2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary. He is the co-c ...

, founder of

Venture for America Venture For America (VFA) is an American nonprofit organization and fellowship headquartered in New York City. Founded by Andrew Yang in 2011, its mission is "to create economic opportunity in American cities" by training recent graduates and youn ...

and 2020 candidate for U.S. president

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2016, there were 14,108 people, 4,455 households, and 2,347 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 378.4 inhabitants per square mile (146.1/km²). There were 4,679 housing units at an average density of 138.0 per square mile (53.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 82.16% (10,541)

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 5.99% (768)

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.20% (25) Native American, 4.06 (520) Asian, 0.05% (6)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 4.93% (632) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.62% (336) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race were 8.22% (1,054) of the population. There were 4,455 households, out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.4% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.3% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.99. In the town, the population was spread out, with 16.9% under the age of 18, 31.4% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $40,542, and the median income for a family was $55,537. Males had a median income of $38,250 versus $26,629 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $18,436. About 6.8% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 8.9% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

Historic places

* Minnewaska State Park * Elting Memorial Library *

Mohonk Mountain House The Mohonk Mountain House, also known as Lake Mohonk Mountain House, is an American resort hotel located south of the Catskill Mountains on the crest of the Shawangunk Ridge. The property lies at the junction of the towns of New Paltz, Marbletow ...

References

External links

Town of New Paltz, N.Y.

Village of New Paltz, N.Y.
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Paltz (Town), New York Huguenot history in the United States Shawangunks Wallkill River French North America Palatine German settlement in New York (state) Towns in Ulster County, New York Populated places established in 1678 1678 establishments in the Province of New York Towns in the New York metropolitan area