New Paltz () is an incorporated U.S.

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Ulster County, New York. The population was 14,407 at the 2020 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 human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

, also with the name New Paltz. The town is named for ''Palz'' (), the

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

name of the Palatinate, called ''Pfalz'' () in

standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the umbrella term for the standard language, standardized varieties of the German language, which are used in formal contexts and for commun ...

. Due to the presence of what is now the State University of New York at New Paltz, it has been a

college town A college town or university town is a town or city whose character is dominated by a college or university and their associated culture, often characterised by the student population making up 20 percent of the population of the community, bu ...

for over 150 years.

History

The town of New Paltz was founded in 1678 by French

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

by both patent from the governor and purchase from the local Esopus tribe of the Lenape people. 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. As a result, the Esopus were willing to exchange the land for a hefty sum of good

The Huguenots were religious

refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

from France who had immigrated via

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

in the German Palatinate, 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) 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 flows northward through New Paltz on its way to join the Rondout Creek, which in turn feeds into the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

. A portion of the Shawangunk Ridge is in the town. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (1.25%) is water.

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. Both

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

and Metro-North 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 Lloyd, New York, town of Lloyd in Ulster County, New York, Ulster County, New York (state), New York, stretching from the Hudson River through the Highland, Ulster County, New ...

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.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,003. The racial makeup of the town was 84.72%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 5.35% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 4.36% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.46% from other races, and 2.76% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 8.81% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,407. The racial makeup of the town was 74.01% White, 5.72% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 5.46% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 5.11% from other races, and 8.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.74% of the population.

Historic places

* Minnewaska State Park * Elting Memorial Library * Huguenot Street Historic District * Mohonk Mountain House

Notable people

* Abe Attell, boxing champion * Terry Austin, comic book artist * Benjamin F. Church, pioneer * Charles Davis, NFL player and television commentator * Peter Dinklage, actor. * Lewis DuBois, military commander in the Continental Army * Louis DuBois, Huguenot colonist * Sandy Duncan, Broadway and television actor * Ronald Enroth (born 1938), Professor of Sociology at Westmont College."Student of the Week; Ronald Enroth Plans to Become a Teacher; Like History, Writing, Traveling and Books"
'' Poughkeepsie Journal'', December 2, 1955. Accessed June 26, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "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 * Owen King, author * Jay Le Fevre, former US Congress member * Dana Lyons, musician * Floyd Patterson, heavyweight boxing champion * Sydney Schanberg, former journalist at the New York Times and professor at State University of New York at New Paltz * Keith Schiller, law enforcement officer and security expert * John Turturro, Hollywood actor * Andrew Yang, founder of Venture for America and 2020 candidate for U.S. president * Shawn Levy, Film Director.

Sister city

* Niimi,

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,826,059 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefecture ...

, Japan

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 Towns in New York (state) Populated places established in 1678 1678 establishments in the Province of New York Towns in the New York metropolitan area