Historic Markers Glossary

Duzine 

A term coined by later historians to refer to a group of twelve men, who referred to themselves as the Twelve Men, established in 1728 to manage land divisions and guard against encroachment. A descendant of each of the twelve original patentees was chosen annually to represent their ancestor’s share. 

Consecrate 

To make or declare something (typically a church) sacred; dedicate formally to a religious purpose. 

Esopus 

The indigenous community residing in modern-day New Paltz; a sub-group of the larger Lenape people, they spoke a dialect of the Algonquian language called Munsee. 

Gable-end  

A triangular shaped wall where roof lines meet. 

Gambrel roof 

A symmetrical two-sided, barn-like roof, featuring two pronounced pitches sloping down from the center. Often used to maximize attic/top floor space. 

Homestead 

The original house and surrounding land occupied by the first generation of European settlers in New Paltz. 

Huguenot 

A Protestant from France, many of whom moved about and ultimately fled Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to escape religious persecution. 

Land patent 

A legal document issued to grant ownership of a tract of land. (After signing a land agreement with Esopus leaders in 1677, seven European families were granted a patent for nearly 40,000 acres of land in and around modern-day New Paltz.) 

Patentee 

One of the twelve European men who signed a 1677 land agreement with Esopus leaders, granting them a land patent from the English crown for land in and surrounding modern-day New Paltz. 

Redoubt 

A fort or defensive enclosure. (New Paltz’s first European settlement featured a wooden redoubt south of where the Dubois Visitor Center stands today.) 

Tree-ring dating 

The analysis of tree rings inside wooden objects or architectural features to determine their exact age; also known as dendrochronology. 

Walloon 

A French-speaking Protestant from what is now Belgium. 

Wigwam 

A dome-shaped, semi-permanent structure that was popular among many Indigenous groups across the northeastern United States and Canada. The term “wigwam” means “our house” in Algonquian languages like Munsee.