Settlement of Orange County

There is, perhaps, no County in the State as early settled as Orange, about which so little has been written and made public in any way. The history rests in the memory of the inhabitants, and the difficulty is in procuring the items and arranging them together in one sensible and connected form. This we shall not attempt to accomplish at present, for the reason stated hereafter, as the subject is wholly new and unexplored, and the materials not well arranged for the readers benefit. Not only has the history of the County never been written, but we do not know where to go and lay our hand upon the written statement of the early settlement of any one district or neighborhood in a town, much less of a town, which except one relating to Minisink, we lay before the reader, and is of very interesting character for early information. We think the learned and well-informed among those who have preceded us in the County were direlict in this particular. As it is, all the facts with uncertain dates lie in a confused mass, and we have no certain relief or guide to direct our steps in threading our way through the doubt and uncertainty by which the subject is surrounded. Dr. Arnell, of Goshen, now deceased, many years since proposed to write and publish a history of the County, and why he did not we do not know. This gentleman was an old settler, grew up with the inhabitants and improvements of the County, well informed of its early settlement and historical incidents, and withal of a literary turn of mind and would no doubt have written not only an accurate but interesting work. His failure to accomplish his design we now experience as a great loss in the execution of our paper, as it is to the County at large. With him, and those who have died since his time, were treasured up many facts of a local and general character which are now lost beyond the hope of recovery—the grave has sealed them up. There being no early statements nor extended records of those particulars upon which we could fall back and draw with safety and historic certainty, we are compelled to write the article from the best materials in our possession, under the strongest lights which shine upon us. These are general information derived from tradition and the testimony of living witnesses which do not reach back in many instances with the certainty of day and date to the early settlement of the County.

Ulster was settled at an earlier period than Orange, and the settlement of that County had a large and controlling influence on the after population of this. The settlement in Ulster was made at the mouth of the Walkill or Paltz River, at or near the present village of Kingston, formerly Esopus, by Huguenots originally from France, who left their native country before or during the reign of the infamous Louis XIV. These men were compelled to flee for personal safety, and some fled to Germany and to Holland, and others to England and to Switzerland.

As the early settlement of Ulster and Orange and other parts of the State are deeply indebted to these persecuted, pious and hardy adventurers, we cannot perform a wore agreeable or grateful task than to honor their memory by a few remarks, while we may impart some historical information to our young readers.

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Table of Contents Settlement of Orange County Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Orange County AHGP/ALHN New York AHGP/ALHN AHGP ALHN	History of Orange County
	Settlement of Orange County There is, perhaps, no County in the State as early settled as Orange, about which so little has been written and made public in any way. The history rests in the memory of the inhabitants, and the difficulty is in procuring the items and arranging them together in one sensible and connected form. This we shall not attempt to accomplish at present, for the reason stated hereafter, as the subject is wholly new and unexplored, and the materials not well arranged for the readers benefit. Not only has the history of the County never been written, but we do not know where to go and lay our hand upon the written statement of the early settlement of any one district or neighborhood in a town, much less of a town, which except one relating to Minisink, we lay before the reader, and is of very interesting character for early information. We think the learned and well-informed among those who have preceded us in the County were direlict in this particular. As it is, all the facts with uncertain dates lie in a confused mass, and we have no certain relief or guide to direct our steps in threading our way through the doubt and uncertainty by which the subject is surrounded. Dr. Arnell, of Goshen, now deceased, many years since proposed to write and publish a history of the County, and why he did not we do not know. This gentleman was an old settler, grew up with the inhabitants and improvements of the County, well informed of its early settlement and historical incidents, and withal of a literary turn of mind and would no doubt have written not only an accurate but interesting work. His failure to accomplish his design we now experience as a great loss in the execution of our paper, as it is to the County at large. With him, and those who have died since his time, were treasured up many facts of a local and general character which are now lost beyond the hope of recovery—the grave has sealed them up. There being no early statements nor extended records of those particulars upon which we could fall back and draw with safety and historic certainty, we are compelled to write the article from the best materials in our possession, under the strongest lights which shine upon us. These are general information derived from tradition and the testimony of living witnesses which do not reach back in many instances with the certainty of day and date to the early settlement of the County. Ulster was settled at an earlier period than Orange, and the settlement of that County had a large and controlling influence on the after population of this. The settlement in Ulster was made at the mouth of the Walkill or Paltz River, at or near the present village of Kingston, formerly Esopus, by Huguenots originally from France, who left their native country before or during the reign of the infamous Louis XIV. These men were compelled to flee for personal safety, and some fled to Germany and to Holland, and others to England and to Switzerland. As the early settlement of Ulster and Orange and other parts of the State are deeply indebted to these persecuted, pious and hardy adventurers, we cannot perform a wore agreeable or grateful task than to honor their memory by a few remarks, while we may impart some historical information to our young readers. 2997th