On Friday, December 15, 2006, Peter Sinclair of West Hurley  was presented  the  Pride of Ulster County Proclamation by David Donaldson, Chairman of the Ulster County Legislature and Karlyn Knaust Elia, Ulster County Historian.  The presentation took place at the Thompson House at the Northern Dutchess Hospital, Rhinebeck, New York,  where Sinclair is recovering from a stroke.

 

 

Peter Sinclair has made  significant contributions in the area of preservation, education and our understanding of early Dutch culture in Ulster County, the Hudson Valley and in New York State.

In 1991, Peter Sinclair began publishing Living History, a quarterly publication that provided insights and information about our relationship to our past focusing on the study and preservation of America's material culture, architecture, tools and objects of our rural past and the heritage of our regional traditions.

In the mid 1990's Peter Sinclair formed the Mid-Hudson Chapter of the Dutch Barn Preservation Society which eventually led him to found the Society for the Preservation of Hudson Valley Vernacular Architecture (HVVA). This Society studies and preserves vernacular architecture and material culture in Ulster County and the Hudson Valley. The society continues to arrange tours of early Dutch houses and barns, assist with workshops in teaching the skills of thatching, hay barrack construction, and barn moving.

Peter Sinclair has selflessly provided advice to historical societies and owners of early stone homes. He has been a curator for numerous exhibits pertaining to Dutch culture.

For the past ten years Peter Sinclair has published and edited the newsletter for the Society for the Preservation of Hudson Valley Vernacular Architecture, an invaluable resource of surveys of local and regional dwellings, agricultural structures, and information that accurately interprets the past.