Kingston NY Real Estate includes the Hamlets of Halihan Hill, Jockey Hill, Sawkill, Stoney Hollow and Sweet Meadows. Bluestone quarrying in the area increased in 1828 when the Delaware and Hudson Canal was being built. Bluestone was used to pave sidewalks in New York City, Albany, and Kingston and was shipped all over the world. Entrepreneurs bought up the rocky ground and brought unskilled immigrants, mostly Irish, upriver from Manhattan. Sawkill became a “quarry-town” with company-owned housing.
In the 1900s railroads helped spur tourism in the region. During the summers, many farmers would take in boarders from the city. The scenic beauty and trout fishing in the Saw Kill and other similar creeks is part of what attracted people to the area.
The Town of Kingston includes the Town of Kingston is in the northeast part of Ulster County, north of the City of Kingston. Kingston is inside the Catskill Park. The population was 889 at the 2010 census.
Kingston Town Information
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Town of Kingston NY
During the 1600’s Holland discovered the Hudson and claimed land on both sides of the river. They established trading posts to trade goods with the Indians. In 1614 a trading post was built at the mouth of the present Rondout Creek.
In 1673 Kingston was retaken by the Dutch and the name was changed to Swannenburg. Finally, in 1674 the land was retaken by the British once again and the name was permanently changed to Kingston. Troubled by the Indians the settlers were forced to move and build their houses into a stockade. By 1687 the population in the stockade greatly increased.
Governor Dongan granted to the people in common, then residing about Kingston, a piece of land extending from the Hudson River near Little Esopus Creek, to and along the bounds of Hurley to the mountains, thence along the mountains to the County of Albany. The land granted became known as the “Kingston Commons,” and marks the founding of the Town of Kingston.
The original Town of Kingston was settled around 1611, primarily as a military post, but that part of the town is now the City of Kingston. In 1811, part of the Town of Kingston was used to form the Towns of Esopus and Saugerties. Additional parts of Kingston were used to set apart the City of Kingston in 1827 and the Town of Woodstock in 1879.
Town of Kingston NY History
The quarrying industry brought many immigrant laborers to the town, and these new arrivals established themselves in the few communities within this town.The community of Sawkill takes its name from the sawmills plus “kill”, the Dutch word for creek.
On January 1, 1765, William Legg bought around 100 acres of land lying on both sides of the Saw Kill. Legg built a sawmill and a house. The Legg family lived there for 88 years. It was reported that they ground wheat in the mill for the Continental Army. Saw mill and grist mill construction were commonplace along the Saw Kill River by the end of the 18th century. Milling died down by the end of the 19th because of decreased profitability.
James Gaddis continued the milling operations and denied requests of people to use the land for quarrying. However, in the 1880s a fire destroyed both the house and the mill. Gaddis, needing money to rebuild, gave permission for quarrying bluestone on the Saw Mill creek ledge. The extensive quarrying moved the falls that were located by the mill back 300 feet.
Howe’s Mill was another mill located on the Saw Kill. It was powered by a dam at Little Falls. The mill was used to make gunpowder and there were frequently explosions. The mill stayed mostly intact, however, and continued operating until the 1860s when it was hit by lightning.