Huguenot Street

“The oldest street in America with its original buildings” is now a National Historic Landmark. Along its cool and shady time-ripened blocks stand six stone houses built in the early 1700s, as well as a reconstructed 1717 French church and cemetery, a 1799 house, a library, and museum.

All official walking tours of the street begin at the 1705 DuBois Fort Information Center on Huguenot Street between Broadhead Avenue and North Front Street. A small museum there documents the street’s history. Houses on the tours include the Abraham Hasbrouck House—once the village’s social center—and the Bevier-Elting House.

The most interesting house is the Jean Hasbrouck House, which contains much original woodwork and a beautiful “jambless” fireplace. Downstairs are rooms that once served as a tavern and general store, while upstairs are period furnishings, including a “senility cradle” used for the old and infirm.

Huguenot Street is run by the Huguenot Historical Society (18 Broadhead Ave., 845/255-1889 [tours] or 845/255-1660 [office], www.huguenotstreet.org [1]), which includes among its members many descendants of the original families. The society offers walking tours of the street 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday–Sunday May–October, with the last tours leaving at 4 p.m. The standard tour lasts 90 minutes (adults $10, seniors $9, children 6–17 $5, families $24); an abbreviated tour lasts 55 minutes (adults $7, seniors $6, children 6–17 $3, families $17).

During the Colonial Street Festival, held on Huguenot Street the second Saturday of August, all the houses are open and various Colonial-era skills, such as quilting and musket firing, are demonstrated.