History of Hurley
In the spring of 1662, Petrus Stuyvesant, Director General of New Netherland, established the village of Niew Dorp on the site of an earlier Native American settlement. On June 7, 1663, during the Esopus Wars the Esopus attacked and destroyed that village, and took captives who were later released.[4] The English acquired the Dutch colony on September 6, 1664. On September 17, 1669, the village, abandoned since the Esopus attack, was resettled and renamed Hurley. It has been stated that the resettled village was named after Francis Lovelace, Baron Hurley of Ireland.[5] However, no such title existed and it is more likely that Lovelace renamed the settlement Hurley somehow in reference to, or solidarity with, his kinsmen and fellow royalists, the Barons Lovelace of Hurley in Berkshire, England (contemporaries as well as modern historians often confuse Francis Lovelace the colonial governor with a son of Richard, 1st Baron Lovelace (1564-1634) of Hurley, Berkshire. This earlier Francis was to be the grandfather of the John Lovelace (1672-1709) a later colonial Governor). In 1708 two large land patents from the New York Colonial government expanded the bounds of Hurley northward to near the present boundary with the Town of Woodstock and southward to the old boundary of the Town of New Paltz.[6]
The southern section was quickly settled by farmers and the villages of Bloomingdale and Wagondale (later Creeklocks) were established. The discovery of limestone suitable for cement made this a valuable economic area and the village of Rosendale became its center. These villages and the surrounding area became the core of the town of Rosendale, established in 1844.[6]
The central part of the town (known sometimes as "Old Hurley") remained an agricultural community of close-knit families. Farming the Esopus Valley, they supplied grain to the growing colony, New England, and the American Revolutionary forces. During October, November, and December 1777, Old Hurley was the military headquarters for General George Clinton's Continental forces and the temporary capital of New York State, moving from Kingston.[6] The town was succeeded by Poughkeepsie as the capital.
For additional information about Hurley history, visit the Hurley Heritage Society website >>
(source: wikipedia)