JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS IN KINGSTON, NY, USA ארגונים יהודיים בקינגסטון, ניו יורק, ארה"ב

JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS IN KINGSTON, NEW YORK:

Jewish Federation of Ulster County
159 Green Street
Kingston, NY, 12401
Phone: 845-338-8131
Fax: 845-338-8131
Email: ucjf@ulster.net
Website: http://www.ucjf.org
Last updated on: November 16, 2006
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Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is 91 miles (146 km) north of New York City and 59 miles (90 km) south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga. In the 19th century, the city became an important transport hub after the discovery of natural cement in the region, and had both railroad and canal connections. Passenger rail service has since ceased, and many of the older buildings are part of historic districts, such as the Stockade District uptown and the Rondout-West Strand Historic District downtown.

The city of Kingston was first called Esopus after a local Esopus tribe, then Wiltwijck (sometimes anglicized to Wiltwyck). Settled in 1651, it was one of the three large Hudson River settlements in New Netherland, the other two being Beverwyck, now Albany, and New Amsterdam, now New York City. In 1777, Kingston became the first capital of New York. During the summer of 1777, when the New York State constitution was written, New York City was occupied by British troops and Albany (then the second largest settlement in New York and capital of the newly independent State of New York) was under threat of attack by the British. To escape attack, the seat of government was moved downstream to Kingston, which was deemed safer. Ironically, the British never reached Albany, being stopped at Saratoga, but they did reach Kingston. On Oct. 16, 1777, shortly after the Battle of Saratoga, the city was burned by British troops moving up the Hudson River from New York City, disembarking at the mouth of the Rondout Creek on the formation the Dutch had named Ponck Hockie. Contrary to popular belief there wasn't a large conflict between the townsfolk and the British invaders. This is because the denizens of Kingston knew of the oncoming fleet. The city had been evacuated by the time the British arrived, residents and the government having removed to Hurley, New York, which the British did not attack.

The area was a major granary for the colonies at the time, so the British burned large amounts of wheat and all but one or two of the buildings. There is some debate over exactly how much of a fight was put up against the British; one third of the local militia regiment was still to the north at Saratoga, and one third was to the south manning several forts (which were captured days before by the British). This would have left approximately 150 militiamen to defend the city against approximately 2,000 British regulars. The Dutch cultural influence in Kingston remained strong through the end of the Nineteenth Century.