New Paltz (village), New York
New Paltz is a
village in
Ulster County in the
U.S. state of
New York. It is about 90 miles north of
New York City. The population was 6,034 at the 2000 census.
The Village of New Paltz is located within the
Town of New Paltz. New Paltz is also home to the
State University of New York New Paltz, founded in
1828.
Early development
The
village of New Paltz was established in
1678. This happened indirectly as a result of the
Esopus Wars. Dutch prisoners taken captive by natives in the Second Esopus War were transported through regions no Europeans had yet seen. Upon their release, they described the land to the Dutch authorities, who set out to survey it. Some of this land was later sold to
Huguenots, where they established the village of New Paltz.
The Huguenot refugees were from
France. These refugees first fled to the
Palatinate in
Germany before emigrating to the New World and settling in
New Netherland. The Palatinate is called the
Pfalz in the
German language, and
Palz (pronounced "pahltz") in the Palatine dialect. This is the origin of the name New Paltz.
The refugees were led by
Louis Dubois, who along with his son and 10 other leading Huguenots, formed a self-governing council called the
duzine, one of the earliest representative forms of colonial government in the Americas.
Huguenot Street, a National Historic District, has stone houses built by these
refugees. This street is known as the oldest main street in America with its original houses in their original location.
Under nominal Dutch rule, the refugees had purchased from the local tribe a several-thousand acre tract of land from the Hudson River to the mountains, and later had their grant confirmed by the English.
New Paltz was incorporated as a village in
1887.
The
Mohonk Mountain House, a distinguished resort hotel that is now a
National Historic Landmark, was built in
1869 and has had new wings added in subsequent years.
Modern New Paltz
The mayor is
Jason West, elected on the
Green Party ticket along with deputy mayor and fellow Green Party member
Rebecca Rotzler as well as Julia Walsh. The three became the only Green Party majority in power at that point in the country. On
February 26,
2004, West announced that the village would start performing
same-sex civil weddings. See
Same-sex marriage in the United States. On
June 8 2004, a New York judge ruled that West lacked the authority to perform any further marriages.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 4.6
km² (1.8
mi²). 4.5 km² (1.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (1.70%) is water.
The
Wallkill River runs north through New Paltz and flows into the
Hudson River. The portion of the
Shawangunk Ridge which includes the
Mohonk Preserve and
Minnewaska State Park, is just outside of New Paltz. This mountain is considered to be one of the best rock
climbing sites in America.
The
Shawangunk Ridge Coalition is an environmental protection
interest group. The
Phillies Bridge Farm Project provides local, environmentally friendly
agriculture practices and
education programs.
As of the
census2 of 2000, there were 6,034 people, 1,898 households, and 586 families residing in the village. The
population density was 1,346.7/km² (3,482.5/mi²). There were 1,957 housing units at an average density of 436.8/km² (1,129.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 73.42%
White, 7.79%
Black or
African American, 0.27%
Native American, 7.01%
Asian, 0.10%
Pacific Islander, 8.35% from
other races, and 3.07% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 11.93% of the population.
There were 1,898 households out of which 12.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 21.1% were
married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 69.1% were non-families. 41.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.03 and the average family size was 2.66.
In the village the population was spread out with 6.9% under the age of 18, 58.7% from 18 to 24, 19.0% from 25 to 44, 10.1% from 45 to 64, and 5.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 80.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $21,747, and the median income for a family was $51,186. Males had a median income of $33,103 versus $22,935 for females. The
per capita income for the village was $11,644. About 11.8% of families and 36.9% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 18.6% of those under age 18 and 12.2% of those age 65 or over.
*
Louis Dubois, founder of one of the earliest
Huguenot colonies in the Americas
*
Abe Attell was a
boxing champion.
*
Floyd Patterson was a
boxing champion.
*
Lewis DuBois was a descendant of the original Huguenot refugees and a
military commander in the
Continental Army during the
American Revolution.
*New Paltz was the place in which the character Penny Johnson (
Cynthia Rhodes) got an
abortion in the
1987 movie
Dirty Dancing, which was set in the early
1960s.
The Village of New Paltz Government has an elected Mayor and Village Board.
Mayor Jason West and
deputy mayor Rebecca Rotzler are members of the
Green Party.
New Paltz is exit 18 on the
New York State Thruway which is also designated as
Interstate 87. There is frequent bus service between The
Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City and New Paltz with connections to many other villages and cities.
Stewart International Airport is the nearest major airport to New Paltz. The
Wallkill Valley Rail Trail [
1] is on the bed of the Wallkill Valley
Rail transport, the former main transportation link for New Paltz.
*
New Paltz Community Information*
Village of New Paltz Government*
Huguenot Historical Society documents the history of New Paltz with a focus on the Huguenot refugees and their descendants
*
Elting Library contains a special local history collection
*
Elting Memorial Library Digital Collections*
G. Steve Jordan Nature Photography*
State University of New York at New Paltz*
Mohonk Mountain House*
WikiPaltz, a Wiki about New Paltz*
New Paltz Farmers' Market*
One Book One New Paltz community reading project
*
New Paltz Regional Chamber of Commerce visitor information, lodging availability and attractions
