Plan of Kingston in 1695
The first European settlers came here between 1652-53 to farm the rich land in the lowlands along the Esopus Creek near the fields where Native Americans had grown maize for centuries. Friction between the settlers and the Esopus Indians mounted to acts of vandalism and assaults on both sides. In May of 1658, the settlers appealed for help to Peter Stuyvesant, director-general of the New Netherland Colony. Stuyvesant ordered the settlers to move to a central location surrounded by a stockade. He selected the bluff above the flats because its height afforded a natural defense on three sides: north (North Front St.): west (Green St.) and east (Clinton Ave.). Stuyvesant told the Esopus Indians they should sell the land for the Stockade Area, but, instead, they gave it as a gift.
Marker is on N Front Street near Green Street, on the left when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
