tlement was called '_De Paltz_,' now '_New Paltz_,' as the Palatinate
was always styled by the Dutch. Here, also, the beautiful stream flowing
through New Paltz was known by the name of _Walkill_, after the river
Wael, a branch of the Rhine, running into Holland.

The first twelve patentees, or the '_Duzine_,' managed the affairs of
the infant settlement as long as they lived, and after their death it
was a custom to elect a court officer from among the descendants of
each, at the annual town meetings. For a long period they kept in one
chest all the important papers of their property and land titles. The
pastor or the oldest man had charge of the key, and reference was made
to this depository for the settlement of all difficulties about
boundaries. Hence they were free from legal suits as to their lands; and
to this judicious, simple plan may be traced the well-known harmony of
the numerous descendants in this region,--the fidelity of their
landmarks, with the absence of litigation.

We know of no region in our land where property has remained so long in
the same families, as it has at New Paltz; since its first settlement,
there has been a constant succession of intermarriages among the French
descendants, and many continue to reside upon the venerable homesteads
of their early and honored forefathers.

Devoted as the Huguenots ever had been to the worship of the Almighty,
one of their first objects at New Paltz was the erection of a church. It
was built of logs, and afterwards gave place to a substantial edifice of
brick, brought from Holland, the place answering the double purpose of
church and fort. Their third house of worship was an excellent stone
building, which served the Huguenots for eighty years, when it was
demolished in 1839, and the present splendid edifice placed on the
venerable spot and dedicated to the service of Almighty God. It is
related that a clergyman of eccentric dress and manners, at an early
period, would occasionally make a visit to New Paltz, and, for the
purpose of meditation, would cross the Walkill in a canoe, to some large
elms growing upon a bank opposite the church; on one occasion the stream
was low, and while pushing across with a pole, it broke, and the
Dominie, losing his balance, pitched overboard. He succeeded, however,
in reaching the shore, and proceeded to the nearest house, for the
purpose of drying his clothes. This partly accomplished, he entered the
pulpit and informed