Where family is the story...

Historic Huguenot Street is filled with the stories of the men and women who came before us — stories that have the potential to entertain and educate. Here, on this street, French Huguenots, the Dutch, Africans and many others came together to create a thriving multi-ethnic community.Within this unique milieu, HHS offers six educational programs for school-aged children which are specifically designed to meet the New York State Standards.

Your visit can also incorporate time for lunch in our picnic grove or in our newly decorated Deyo Hall. Our grounds give ample space for free time and games.


We'll be happy to provide you with materials to prep your class before their visit and to give you follow-up materials for use in the classroom. Our goal is to ensure we help you bring history and community to life for your students and that your students have a good time.

Visiting with Your School or Youth Group

Historic Huguenot Street welcomes school and youth groups from April 15 through November 15. October, May and early June are our busiest times and days fill up quickly. 

The cost per child is $8 per person. One chaperone for every ten children is admitted for free. Additional chaperones are welcome with advance notice at the per person price.  We can accommodate groups of up to 60 students per visit with a minimum of 20 students required to reserve a tour/program.

To make your reservation, contact Rebecca Mackey, Programs, Tours and Visitor Services Manager, via email or by calling 845 255-1660, x 105.  She will take your information and send a confirmation.  Payment arrangements can be made in advance with your school district, BOCES or PTA check or can be paid with cash, check or charge on the day of your visit.  We also welcome home-schooled groups and can tailor your visit as desired. To register for an educational activity without an accompanying tour, the cost is $5 per person.

About Your Visit

A visit to Historic Huguenot Street is designed to reach a variety of learning styles.  Education modules utilize document-based questions (DBQs).  A standard visit to the site lasts approximately three hours; however, the length of the program can be adjusted to meet the particular needs and requirements of the group. Do not hesitate to contact us to tailor your tour or ask questions.  Visits generally include:

• An Orientation (approximately 20 minutes)
  The program begins with a visit to the reconstructed French Church where the students are introduced to the history of New Paltz and the Huguenot immigrants who founded the village.
• House Tour (approximately 60 minutes)
  The students will visit two houses to learn about life in the Colonial era. Guides will discuss topics such as family life, farm work and slavery. Students will also investigate clues that help us understand the history of the houses.
• Interactive Educational Module (40 to 75 minutes depending on age)
  Modules meet New York State Standards and are designed to be both instructive and entertaining. A variety of instructional methods are utilized to meet differing learning styles.
• Lunch in Deyo Hall or in our Picnic Grove (please allow for extra time)

INTERACTIVE EDUCATIONAL MODULES
Select an educational activity from the list below:

Artifact Detective

Your students will become super-sleuths during this hands-on investigation of early American artifacts — objects that may have belonged to a resident of Huguenot Street hundreds of years ago. A sausage stuffer, a crimping iron, a chamber pot, and a foot warmer are just a few examples of the artifacts students will have an opportunity to familiarize themselves with. Students will work in pairs, discussing and analyzing each object, and then connecting the objects back to the house tours where possible as well as learning their cultural importance.

New York State Social Studies Educational Standards: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4

Grades: 1-3. Program Length: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Remember Me
The Culture of Quilts

Our American past can be recaptured in many ways — reading old diaries, listening to music of long ago, and looking at photographs of our ancestors. One of the most tangible ways that we can reconnect with the past is to see and consider the objects that they used, especially those objects that they made with their own hands. Into these objects they injected their perspectives, their priorities, and their hard work. One type of artifact that speaks most strongly is the quilt. Quilts are not just beautiful objects. They are testaments to the women from our nation’s past who expressed both their creativity and their consciousness in tangible form. The power of these creations continues to be felt as they are treasured by families, preserved in museums and studied by scholars.

In this program, students will have the opportunity to consider how objects tell the stories of the past. They will then be presented with a short history of quilts through a slide presentation of quilts in the collection of the Historic Huguenot Street. An in-depth discussion of the creation and family history of one quilt, a friendship quilt from the 1870s, will follow. Students will then have the opportunity to construct their own class friendship quilt out of paper.

Standards addressed: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4
Grades: 2 through 4. Time required: 60-90 minutes

In a Valley Fair
Early School Life in New Paltz

What was it like to go to school in a one-room school house? Using 19th century photographs, absentee school notes and additional primary sources, students will have the opportunity to learn about the lives of children who went to school more than one hundred years ago.

Grades 4-8

Program Length: 3 hours

A Walk Through Time
One Street, Many Stories

Travel back through time with six individuals whose lives were part of the fabric of the Hudson Valley. Working in small groups, students will use physical artifacts and primary documents to piece together the lives of a Lenape woman, a Revolutionary War soldier, a colonial school girl, a run-away slave, a Civil War soldier and a 19th century student at the Poughkeepsie Academy.

New York State Social Studies Educational Standards: 1, 2, 4 and 5

Grades 4-8. Program Length: 3 hours.

Early America
Real Lives and Real Experiences from Huguenot Street

Walk through the late 18th century with three remarkable people who once lived in Ulster County, New York. Through primary sources, students will learn first hand about colonial life through the lens of these three fascinating and compelling individuals: one female Huguenot, a Dutchman, and the son of an enslaved African woman. By walking in the footsteps of these colonists and a son of a slave, students will discover both the challenges and the opportunities faced by those who laid the foundation for the birth of our nation.

New York State Social Studies Educational Standards 1, 2, 4 and 5
Grades: Challenging for 4; Best for 5-8
Program Length: 3 hours

I regret to Inform You...
The Life and Death of a Civil War Soldier

War is staged in the halls of government but fought by the people. So often the voices of the average individuals who served in the military are ignored, and thus the great tragedy of armed conflict is hidden behind the political maneuverings of the leaders. In this curriculum students will have the opportunity to explore the thoughts and experience of one Civil War soldier, Johannes LeFevre of New Paltz, New York, through his letters to friends and family. Working in small groups, students will investigate his thoughts on was and his perception of race and will consider the effect of war on an individual and his family. Through this exploration, students will construct a fuller view of the reality of one of the greatest calamaties in American history: in the words of Johannes' brother Peter, "this most lamentable, disastrous, causeless, civil war."

Grades 9-College Level

Program Length: 3-and-a-half hours

Pour le Village
Exploring Our Unique French Heritage and Language

French students in grades four through twelve will have the opportunity to work with actual 18th century French documents. Elementary grades will learn about Sarah Freer, an eleven year old Huguenot who is bound out as an apprentice to a dressmaker. High school students will learn about 18th century life by reading French documents dealing with topics such as slavery, education, patents on molds and the use of the French language.

New York State Social Studies Educational Standards 1, 2, 4 and 5

Grades 4-12. Program Length: 2-and-a-half to 3 hours, depending on grade