NEWSLETTER
New Paltz, NY (July 7, 2026) – Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) is pleased to announce two new online exhibits that revisit and expand upon earlier research, revealing new information and stories that were previously unexplored. Both exhibits can be accessed for free at https://www.huguenotstreet.org/exhibits:
Released in commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary, Provincial Exile: Roelof Josiah Eltinge and Solomon Eltinge’s Banishment from the Paltz highlights the experiences of two brothers accused as Loyalists to the British Crown after refusing to accept paper money produced by the Continental Congress in their family store. As a result, both brothers were imprisoned and eventually exiled to live behind enemy lines in British-controlled New York for the duration of the war, leaving behind their elderly parents, siblings, and Roelof Josiah’s wife Maria and their eleven children under age fifteen.
Launched this spring, the online exhibit John Hasbrouck, A Most Estimable Citizen reveals the story of a Black child born under New York’s gradual abolition acts in 1805 in New Paltz and explores the personal stories of how the laws impacted him, his enslaved parents Peg and Phillip, and other family members. Having learned how to read and write, John later kept two remarkable account books, purchased land, and was one of the town’s earliest Black voters. The account books, in particular, reveal new information about John’s interactions with both the White and Black communities in New Paltz.
Both exhibits are hosted by Hudson River Valley Heritage (www.hrvh.org) and draw on recently digitized historic documents from the Huguenot Street Archives, Town of New Paltz Records, Reformed Church of New Paltz Records, and the Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection, Elting Memorial Library. For more information about these collections, visit www.NewPaltzHistory.org.
About Historic Huguenot Street
A National Historic Landmark District, Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to preserving a pre-Revolutionary Hudson Valley settlement and engaging diverse audiences in the exploration of America's multicultural past, in order to understand the historical forces that have shaped America. As an educational institution founded by the town’s French-speaking Protestant descendants and chartered by the University of the State of New York Department of Education, HHS explores the lives of the early European colonists, honors the region’s Indigenous people, and acknowledges the enslaved and disenfranchised peoples who built this place. Today, HHS is recognized as an innovative museum and community gathering place, providing visitors with an inclusive presentation of our shared past. For more information visit www.huguenotstreet.org.
Image caption: Continental Currency, 1775. Historic Huguenot Street Archives.
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