Place: Kingston, New York

Kingston, NY, was originally called Esopus after the grounds of the Lenape Esopus Indians, at the junction of the Rondout Creek and the Hudson River. Here the Dutch as early as 1614 set up a trading post; by 1654 they began “buying” this land from the Esopus. Many tensions arose as the Dutch and other Europeans began to farm the land. These are well documented in the court records and led Petrus Stuyvesant, Director General, to order the fortification of the settlement on high ground, known as Uptown Kingston today, and to name the area Wiltwyck. The Esopus Wars ravaged the area until 1663, when the Europeans, joined by Wappinger and Mohawk people, defeated the Esopus.