Saugerties

By Marjorie Fallows Block

Saugerties, nestled between Esopus Creek and the Hudson River on one side and the Catskill Mountains on the other, is an old village first settled by the Dutch. Following the opening of the Erie Canal, industrialist Henry Barclay set into motion plans to use the area s waterpower to turn Saugerties into an industrial community. The village became home to the Ulster Iron Works and Barclay s paper mill, and a rich supply of some of the world s most beautiful bluestone was discovered. Sidewalks for Boston and New York City came from the quarries in the area, and the blossoming industry caused Saugerties to grow from approximately 20 families in 1825 to over 4,000 citizens by the 1880s. Today the village of Saugerties is lined with beautiful Victorian buildings and is home to the first business district in the country to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Apr 19, 2010
• ISBN: 9781439638576

Marjorie Fallows Block

Marjorie Fallows Block, a Saugerties native, grew up behind the counter of her father�s local establishment, Bill�s Corner Store. She is currently in her third term as president of the Saugerties Historical Society. She is also the historian for the village of Saugerties.

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INTRODUCTION

Settled in its early days by the Dutch, Saugerties sits nestled between the base of the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson River. Purchased from the natives in 1677 by New York governor Edmund Andros for a piece of cloth, a shirt, a loaf of bread, and baize for socks, these documents still exist today in the Ulster County archives and can be seen with the signature of Thomas Chambers and Kaelcop, chief of the Amorgarickakan family. The earliest settler in Saugerties is known as the little sawyer, or Barent Cornelis Volge, who mentioned in these documents; thus, it is known that the sawyer had secured a Native American title to these lands. It is from him that the name of the town and village originated, showing the community’s early Dutch influence. Zager’s Killetje is a derivative from Dutch, meaning sawyer. Eventually his land was sold to George Meals and Richard Hayes and is known as the Meals and Hayes patent.

Lined with beautiful Victorian buildings that are topped with pediments and named for the early visionaries in the community who saw the promise of river with a chance to prosper as the community grew, the Village of Saugerties is the first business district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This shows both the importance of this community as well as the commitment Saugerties has to preserving its heritage. Great efforts were made to keep what is sacred to the people of Saugerties safe. The Saugerties lighthouse, which was once falling into the Esopus Creek, was restored with a great deal of effort and is safe again today. The Saugerties Lighthouse Conservancy works closely with the schools of today, teaching local young people. This lighthouse is the only one in the Hudson Valley that is accessible by foot.

The people of Saugerties rallied together again in the early 1900s to forever maintain the Kiersted house, which is home to the Saugerties Historical Society. Almost $70,000 was raised within two months to preserve this home, which has become such a vital part of the community. Built by the Dubois family in 1727, it became home to Dr. Christopher Kiersted in 1774 and remained in this prominent family until the 1950s. Dr. Kiersted’s son, John, was a surveyor who, along with William Cockburn, surveyed a great deal of the Hardenberg patent. John Kiersted was the first supervisor to the Town of Saugerties when Saugerties separated from Kingston in 1811. Over 1,500 original documents from these two families are in the New York State Library. Today this wonderful stone house stands tall and proud on Main Street and is a place of community. Summer concerts by the Saugerties Community Band and Chorus are performed on Sundays with people relaxing on the front lawn of this historic home, reflecting the tone of days gone by. Boy Scouts and local artists and area groups come here to celebrate all that is good about the Hudson Valley.

Saugerties experienced minimal growth after the mid-1600s until two major events occurred. One was the coming of the Palatines, a group of refugees who fled the Rhine River Valley in Germany and, in part, settled in the West Camp in Saugerties. Christian Myers, one of the most known and beloved of the Palatines, settled in Saugerties. At the West Camp church, there is a monument paying tribute to these people who came to America fleeing persecution, only to arrive with barely the clothing on their backs. Both sides of the river, Saugerties and Germantown, are currently working together to prepare for the 300th anniversary of their arrival, which is in 2010. Many of the descendants of these people are still in the area today.

Henry Barclay, who visited Saugerties in 1825 with Robert Livingston after the opening of the Erie Canal, caused substantial growth as well. Together their plan was to build a dam and use the Esopus River to generate the power needed to run the planned mills and build an industrial village, which they did accomplish. There