Historic Huguenot Street — Attraction in Town of New Paltz

Our guided tour at Historic Huguenot Street – led by Eddie who was both brilliantly knowledgeable and deeply thoughtful – was the rare kind of experience that leaves you with a real sense of wonder.

If you are looking for good history, this tour is for you. Our guide Eddie began by earnestly acknowledging the site’s authentic history and telling us that we would be talking about all of the people who once called this land home, and doing so sincerely.

We walked just a short distance on our tour and visited just a few structures, but we traveled through centuries of time on this land. Eddie pieced together the stories from the Munsee Lenape people indigenous to the land, the Europeans, and enslaved Africans – providing us a mosaic of a story and also framing it within the larger historical forces that shaped this period.

But it is a small place, and Eddie reminded us of that too, encouraging us to take on the perspectives of the individual characters we were talking about. The ones who lived and worked on the land we were now standing on, reading over primary source documents and imagining the scenes in our heads.

If you are interested in early American history, this museum and the guided tour are well worth your time. Eddie was exceptional – he made the history come alive, telling us the stories of the many people who lived here and how their stories tell, in part, the story of America’s beginnings, authentically and...

Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz is a portal to another era, a winding path that leads to the very heart of the past. As I strolled through its historic grounds, I felt the whispers of centuries past, the echoes of lives lived and stories told.

And then, I met Mathew and Maya, the charming docents who brought the history to life with their infectious enthusiasm and boundless knowledge. Their passion was palpable, their words weaving a spell of wonder and curiosity. They were the perfect guides, navigating me through the labyrinth of the past with ease and charm.

Their engaging narratives transformed the stones and timbers of the ancient houses into living, breathing entities, imbuing the past with a sense of vitality and meaning. Mathew and Maya were more than mere guides – they were storytellers, conjuring the spirits of the past and breathing life into the dusty annals of history.

Historic Huguenot Street is a treasure trove of stories, a place where the past and present converge in a swirl of imagination and discovery. With guides like Mathew and Maya, it is a destination that will captivate your heart and ignite your curiosity. Visit, and let the magic of the past...

Historic Huguenot Street is a beautiful and well preserved part of history that everyone can see. The site consists of 7 houses that were built in the 1700's by Huguenot settlers who were fleeing France from religious persecution. The street is in the middle of a residential neighborhood, but it is still easy to gain an appreciation for the history of the area. I took the free audio tour which was easy to do. Just download the app and walk from house to house to get the story behind each one. Sometimes, the audio would skip from one house to another without warning, but the problem was easy enough to fix. The audio tour takes under an hour. There was no traffic in the area and the place was kind of like a mini Williamsburg. In case, you cannot make it in when they have reenactors at the site the audio tour is a good substitute. You can visit anytime with the audio tour, but if you want to see the reenactors check their webpage to see which days they are there. You will also need a ticket to see this. There is a parking lot nearby. There is also a nearby bike path that you can take to the site. A unique historical site to see in...