Ulster County Honors Peter
Sinclair, Preservationist and Hudson Valley Dutch Culture
Leader
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.
Ulster County recognizes and honors Peter Sinclair for these major
contributions:
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.
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Karlyn Knaust
Elia
Ulster County Historian
11 Main Street
Saugerties, NY
12477
Phone: 845-246-4754
FAX: same
Please visit the Ulster County
website: http://www.co.ulster.ny.us/
In
2009, New York State will commemorate landmark passages in American history: the
400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's voyage of exploration aboard the Dutch ship,
Half Moon; Samuel de Champlain's historic expedition to Lake Champlain
also 400 years ago; and Robert Fulton's maiden steamship journey up the Hudson
in 1807, launching a new era of travel and commerce on the river. These
remarkable voyages established New York State's identity as America's gateway
and its first frontier.
Ulster
County will join other counties across NYS in this
commemoration.