State Senator Jen Metzger Secures $50,000 for Historic Huguenot Street as Part of State Budget
June 10, 2019
New Paltz, NY....As part of the 2019-2020 New York State budget, Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz will receive $50,000 in funding from the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Aid to Localities grant program. The funds, secured by Senator Jen Metzger as part of budget negotiations, will go to support the planning, development and presentation of Historic Huguenot Street Museum’s award-winning educational programs that focus on the mid-Atlantic region’s multicultural history.
“Historic Huguenot Street is an incredible historical treasure for our state, and plays a valuable educational role in sharing stories from all of the cultures that have lived in the area, including Native Americans, enslaved Africans, and Dutch and French settlers,” explained Senator Jen Metzger. “These funds will ensure that Historic Huguenot Street will continue to have the resources it needs to collaborate with local schools and engage the public in the multicultural history of the region.”
Historic Huguenot Street currently receives up to 20,000 visitors each year and the number continues to grow.
“The Board and staff of Historic Huguenot Street are extremely grateful for this critically needed support secured by Senator Metzger,” said Executive Director Liselle LaFrance. “The site has expanded its educational offerings in recent years to better reflect the diversity of those who inhabited the site throughout its history and to meet the varied interests of its growing audiences.”
Historic Huguenot Street is a 10-acre National Landmark Historic District that includes seven stone houses, a reconstructed 1717 stone church, a visitor center, and several accompanying structures that are believed to have been built in the early 18th century by Huguenot settlers. The site is one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the United States and has been included in the National Register of Historic Places since 1966, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960.
Jen Metzger represents the 42nd Senate District, which includes all of Sullivan County and parts of Delaware, Orange, and Ulster Counties. Senator Metzger serves as Chair of the Agriculture Committee and sits on the Environmental Conservation, Education, Health, Energy and Telecommunications, Local Government, Women’s Issues, Domestic Animal Welfare, and Legislative Commission on Rural Resources Committees.
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