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New Paltz, New York
Village of New Paltz
Buildings on downtown Main Street
Buildings on downtown Main Street
Flag of New Paltz, New York
Flag
Official seal of New Paltz, New York
Seal
Etymology: From Palatine German pronunciation of Pfalz
Location in Ulster County and the State of New York.
Location in Ulster County and the State of New York.
Location of New York in the United States
Location of New York in the United States
Country  United States
State  New York
County Ulster
Founded 1887
Government
 • Type Village
 • Body Board of Trustees
Area
 • Total 1.80 sq mi (4.66 km2)
 • Land 1.76 sq mi (4.56 km2)
 • Water 0.04 sq mi (0.10 km2)
Highest elevation
(S village line near SE corner)
360 ft (110 m)
Lowest elevation
(Wallkill River at E village corner)
160 ft (50 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 7,324
 • Density 4,161.4/sq mi (1,606.7/km2)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern [EST])
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP Code(s)
12561
Area code(s) 845
FIPS code 36-50551
GNIS feature ID 0958443
Wikimedia Commons New Paltz, New York
Website village of New Paltz

New Paltz is a village in Ulster County located in the U.S. state of New York. It is approximately 80 miles (130 km) north of New York City and 70 miles (110 km) south of Albany. The population was 7,324 at the 2020 census.

New Paltz is located within the town of New Paltz. It is also home to the State University of New York at New Paltz, founded in 1828. The town is served by exit 18 on the New York State Thruway (I-87), as well as state routes 299, 32, and 208, and is about 90 minutes from both New York City and Albany.

History

The Elting Memorial Library, Guilford-Bower Farm House, Jean Hasbrouck House, Major Jacob Hasbrouck Jr. House, Huguenot Street Historic District, Lake Mohonk Mountain House Complex, New Paltz Downtown Historic District, and The Locusts are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Early development

Beers Ulster County Atlas Page097
An 1875 map of the Town of New Paltz; the village was created in the central portion

New Paltz was founded in 1678 by French Huguenots settlers, including Louis DuBois, who had taken refuge in Mannheim, Germany, for a brief period of time, being married there in 1655, before emigrating to the Dutch colony of New Netherland in 1660 with his family. Mannheim was a major town of the Palatinate (in German, the Pfalz), at the time a center of Protestantism. The settlers lived in Wiltwyck (present day Kingston, NY) and in 1677 purchased a patent for the land surrounding present day New Paltz from a Lenape tribe known as the Esopus.

The people of Mannheim use a dialect form of the name Pfalz without the "f", pronouncing it "Paltz." Records of the New Paltz Reformed Church, which was formed in 1683, show the name of the settlement was first expressed not in German, nor in English, but in French: Nouveau Palatinat. The community was governed by a kind of corporation called the Duzine, referring to the twelve partners who acquired the royal patent. That form of government continued well past the time of the American Revolution, by special action of the New York State legislature.

The 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) or so of the patent, stretching to the Hudson River and augmented soon by the other patents on the south, were eventually divided among those twelve partners, their relatives, and a few friends into large plots – part wilderness and part farm. The farms were grouped principally around the heights west and east of the Wallkill River. The commercial center serving the agricultural base was located on the east shore of the Wallkill River, in the area where the first settlers had built their shelters. The street is now known as Huguenot Street.

Huguenot houses in New Paltz
Stone houses of Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz. They are among the surviving examples of early stone houses built by Europeans in North America.

There, the church, schools, blacksmith, seamstresses, and stores flourished for the benefit of farmers who required goods such as seed, tools, clothing, and food not available on all farms, including alcoholic beverages. The church, which was also used as a school, was located here. Many of the buildings still stand today, as a living museum community.

Population slowly spread from the Wallkill up along the street now known as North Front Street and then along what is now Chestnut Street. In the nineteenth century, development continued along what is now Main Street. The secession of the Town of Lloyd and parts of Shawangunk, Esopus, and Gardiner, between 1843 and 1853, reduced New Paltz to its present size. In 1887, the Village of New Paltz was incorporated within a town of the same name.

Higher education has been one of the main concerns of the community since the 1830s, with facilities on Huguenot Street and North Front Streets. Late in the nineteenth century, the college was built in the area of Plattekill Avenue and Manheim Boulevard, where the State University of New York at New Paltz now stands.

The Wallkill Valley Railroad reached New Paltz by 1870, and provided passenger service through the town until 1937. After the rail line's closure in 1977, the section of the corridor running through New Paltz was converted to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, and the former train station in New Paltz was renovated as a restaurant, La Stazione. Many different types of restaurants are located in New Paltz, including several that have earned high ratings from both local and national critics, making it a destination for those seeking a variety of good food.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.8 square miles (4.6 km²), of which, 1.7 square miles (4.5 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (1.70%) is water.

The Wallkill River runs north along the western border of New Paltz, flowing into the Rondout Creek and eventually the Hudson River.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1870 425
1880 493 16.0%
1890 935 89.7%
1900 1,022 9.3%
1910 1,230 20.4%
1920 1,056 −14.1%
1930 1,362 29.0%
1940 1,492 9.5%
1950 2,285 53.2%
1960 3,041 33.1%
1970 6,058 99.2%
1980 4,938 −18.5%
1990 5,463 10.6%
2000 6,034 10.5%
2010 6,818 13.0%
2020 7,324 7.4%
U.S. Decennial Census 2020

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,034 people, 1898 households, and 586 families residing in the village. The population density was 3482.5 people per square mile (1346.7/km2). There were 1,957 housing units at an average density of 1,129.5 per square mile (436.8/km2). 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 age of population was disbursed as such: 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.

New Paltz in fiction

  • New Paltz is the place of residence for Zipporah and Tyler James in V.C. Andrews' book Secrets in the Shadows.
  • In the television show Supernatural, Sam and Dean visit New Paltz in the episode entitled "Provenance", which is about a haunted antique painting.
  • New Paltz appears as "Little Heart" in the 2013 novel "The Cusp of Sad" by Nikki Pison, set in the late 1980s punk scene.

Culture

Newpaltz03-2017
Lower Main Street, New Paltz

New Paltz hosts a number of cultural events.

Unity in Diversity Day

This event, sponsored by the Village, Town, and SUNY New Paltz, celebrates the differences among people through food, spoken word poetry, artistic endeavors and theatrical performance. The 2007 theme was derived from Dr. Seuss's story about Sneetches.

Halloween

Haunted Hasbrouck Park
For over a quarter of a century the Guenther family put on a free haunted house for area residents, which attracted thousands of visitors on Halloween night. After complaints about traffic and noise concerns, owners Ann and Dan Guenther announced in 2006 that they would no longer create the attraction. However, interest continued, and the attraction was relocated to Hasbrouck Park in 2007, utilizing the park's castle playground as a centerpiece. This move also increased community involvement for the event, drawing upon the local YMCA, Department of Public Works, and volunteers from the area.
Halloween Parade
The Village hosts an annual Halloween parade, open to all residents, on Halloween night.
Haunted Huguenot Street
On the nights leading up to Halloween, stories of spirits, tragedy, misfortune and the paranormal fill the 330-year-old street, as Historic Huguenot Street hosts their annual and popular Haunted Huguenot Street tours.
Night of 100 Pumpkins
Since 1990 local eatery The Bakery has hosted this pumpkin carving contest, which had over 2000 attendees in 2006.

Gay Pride Parade

New Paltz hosts an annual Gay Pride Parade that draws participants and spectators from many far off places.

Memorial Day Parade

New Paltz hosts an annual Memorial Day parade.

Turkey Trot

Suzanne Holt founded the annual 5k to raise money for Family of New Paltz

Transportation

Automobile

New Paltz is exit 18 on the New York State Thruway, which is also designated as Interstate 87.

Bus

There is frequent bus service between The Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City and New Paltz provided by Trailways of New York, with connections to many other villages and cities in New York State. Express bus service is also available from New Paltz to New York City via Trailways of New York, serving the park-ride lot at Exit 18 of the Thruway. Ulster County Area Transit also provides service to Metro-North Railroad in Poughkeepsie, along with local bus service to Kingston, Newburgh, and points in between along Route 32. In January 2009 the New Paltz Loop Bus, stopping at points throughout the community, was launched.

Air

Stewart International Airport is the nearest major airport to New Paltz. It is located in Newburgh, thirty minutes to the south.

Rail

New Paltz station postcard
The former New York Central station
New Paltz Train Station
The former station, La Stazione, as viewed from the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail

The Wallkill Valley Railroad, founded in 1866, stretched from Montgomery to Kingston. The New Paltz railroad station was originally built in 1870, rebuilt after a 1907 fire. The railroad and station later came under New York Central ownership. The NYC operated two trains a day, each direction, on a Kingston-New Paltz-Montgomery run. At Kingston, connections were available trains north to Albany and south to Weehawken, New Jersey. The passenger service through New Paltz ended in 1937, and the rail division was abandoned by Conrail in 1983. The former roadbed was converted for use as the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail.

The former station (now called La Stazione) was sold to private interests in 1959. The building was in a state of disrepair by the early 1980s, but renovated in 1988 and converted to an Italian restaurant in 1999.

The nearest active railroad station is the Poughkeepsie Metro-North station, which is served by several Amtrak trains and is the terminus for the Metro-North Railroad's Hudson Line. The Hudson Line stretches from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central Terminal in New York City. Poughkeepsie is a 15-20 minute drive east of New Paltz.

Transportation plan

In 2006, the town and village officials agreed to pay for a transportation study to analyze the transportation needs of the area. The study's suggestions included turning Main Street into a one-way route and improving bicycle and pedestrian access. An implementation committee was appointed in 2007 to study ways to use the plan.

Sister city

Japan Niimi, Okayama, Japan

Notable people

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: New Paltz (villa) para niños

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