Little Britain is an area in the town of New Windsor,

Orange County, New York Orange County is a List of counties in New York, county located in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen (village), New York, Goshen. This count ...

, United States, south of and adjacent to

Stewart International Airport New York Stewart International Airport – colloquially known as Stewart International Airport, is a public/military airport in Orange County, New York, United States. It is in the southern Hudson Valley, west of Newburgh, south of Kingston ...

. The name spread to the surrounding region, which at that time was part of

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. The count ...

History

The area of Little Britain was part of a patent issued to Andrew Johnston on July 19, 1719 for 2,000 acres. It was first settled ''circa'' 1724 by John Humphrey, who purchased a farm lot of 250 acres. Peter Mullinder purchased a farm in 1729; the following month Robert Burnet of Scotland, by way of

Raritan, New Jersey Raritan is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,835, its highest decennial census count ever and an ...

and John Reid also bought land.

Charles Clinton Col. Charles Clinton (1690 – 19 November 1773) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician in colonial America. A colonel of the French and Indian War, he was the father of General James Clinton and George Clinton, and the grandfather of DeWit ...

was a native of County Longford, Ireland, who espoused Jacobite sympathies. Having persuaded a number of his friends and relatives to join him, he left Ireland and arrived at Little Britain in 1731. Among those who accompanied him were William Borland,William Borland, Personal Journal Alexander Denniston, Thomas Dunlap, Robert Frazer, William Hamilton, and George Lille. Clinton became a judge of the court of common pleas.Gorse, C.A., "Town of New Windsor", ''The History of Orange County'', (Russel Headley, ed.), Van Deusen and Elms, Middletown, New York, 1908
/ref> In 1770, Little Britain was designated a road district for the purpose of maintenance. Little Britain Road was one of the first roads in the town.Ruttenbur, E. M. and Clark, L.H., ''History of Orange County, New York'', Everts & Peck, Philadelphia, 1881
/ref> In 1737, there being but few children in the settlement, Little Britain had no schoolmaster, but around 1751 the Rev. John Moffat, pastor of Goodwill Church, having succeeded John McNeil, opened "Moffat's Academy", which was located in a house on a farm owned by Robert Shaw, on the road from Little Britain to Washingtonville. By 1814, the Little Britain Meetinghouse school district was established. The first post office in the town was established at Little Britain on May 29, 1824. Hamilton Morrison was postmaster. Little Britain was the birthplace of

New York Governor The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ha ...

DeWitt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and Naturalism (philosophy), naturalist. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the sixth governor of New York. ...

, his father General

James Clinton Major general (United States), Major-General James Clinton (August 9, 1736 – September 22, 1812) was a Continental Army officer and politician who fought in the American Revolutionary War. During the war he, along with John Sullivan (ge ...

and his uncle

U.S. Vice President The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. Th ...

George Clinton. Today it lends its name to

Little Britain Elementary School Washingtonville Central School District is a public school district in New York. Schools * Washingtonville High School * Washingtonville Middle School * Little Britain Elementary School * Taft Elementary School * Round Hill Elementary School H ...

, part of the Washingtonville school district. The Little Britain

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * The Grange (Toronto), Toronto, Ontario, built in 1817 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to ...

hall also still stands near the intersection of NY 207 and NY 747.

References

* http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/a/r/Thomas-Barker-TX/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0104.html * http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/a/r/Thomas-Barker-TX/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-1262.html Hamlets in Orange County, New York New Windsor, New York Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area 1724 establishments in the Province of New York {{OrangeCountyNY-geo-stub