Ulster County History
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Named for the Duke of Ulster, brother of King Charles
Ulster County is one of the original counties of the State of New York, having been formed by order to the Duke of York on November 1, 1683. The county was named for the younger brother of King Charles, who held the Irish title of the Duke of Ulster.
Kingston, the present county seat, was founded by Dutch settlers in 1653 led by Captain Thomas Chambers. It was called Wiltwyck at that time. Another settlement in Ulster worthy of mention was New Paltz, founded by French Huguenots in 1678.
Two Indian wars, known as the first Esopus War (1659) and the Second Esopus War (1663) practically finished any Indian power in the area. Future Indian trouble came from the powerful Iroquois tribes in the Mohawk Valley, who generally sided with the British during the Revolutionary War.
Ulster County residents were tremendously important to the westward migration, going as a rule to areas now encompassed in the states of Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and finally California. The Revolutionary War and the Civil War were factors that led many to go forth to western lands.
The building of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, which linked Pennsylvania with the Hudson River at Rondout near Kingston in 1825, was a most important event. The final era of the Delaware and Hudson Canal was becoming evident by the rapid growth of railroads in the country. By 1910, the canal was no longer used. Trolley cars had come into vogue. The automobile was soon to replace horse and wagon transportation and the first practical airplane had been invented The telephone and electricity added to the great changes of the new century.
Ulster County, before the turn of the century, had an agrarian society. Gradually, dairy farms and the growing of grain crops, the main types of farming of the 19th and early 20th century, ceased. Apple orchards and grape vineyards increased in number and replaced many acres once tilled for farm crops. Large corporations, such as IBM, brought thousands of people to the area, thereby creating new centers of increased population, and need for more schools and housing. These new inhabitants changed the social structure of the county.
On May 20, 1885, an act, providing for the maintaining of a normal and training school at New Paltz, was passed by the New York State Legislature. The Normal School at New Paltz became a state university, increasing enrollment from a few hundred in the early 1900’s to nearly 7,000 now.
With the advent of the automobile, truck and refrigeration services rapidly increased as a means of transporting merchandise and the use of railroads began to decline. By the 1930’s, passenger service had practically ceased in the county. In the late 1950’s, it became evident that railroads, such as the Wallkill Valley Railroad, (later owned by the New York Central) the Central New England, and the Delaware and Hudson Railroad, etc. Were in danger of making their final runs.
Ulster County water gradually was being routed into large reservoirs, Ashoken in 1908, then in 1932 the Lacawach Dam was built. Practically three-fourths of our watershed is used for New York City consumption. Of course, local communities can tap the aqueduct; however, a tax must be paid. The building of the reservoir and the aqueduct both had a great social and economic effect upon the county.
During the early 1900’s, numerous areas in our county were noted for the attraction for summer boarders. The art colonies, Woodstock and Cragsmoor, flourished. Large hotels, such as the Catskill Mountain House, Lake Mohonk Mountain House and Lake Minnewaska, were in their heyday. The depression of the 1930’s, the building of the New York State Thruway (1932), World Wars I and II, Korea, and Vietnam, made their mark upon the county. Since World War II there has been a tremendous increase in local and county cultural interests.