The first Rondout National Historic District walking tour for 2012, offered by Friends of Historic Kingston, will take place on Saturday, May 26, departing at 11 a.m. from outside the Kingston Heritage Area Visitors Center, 20 Broadway. The tour traces the rapid rise of Rondout from farmland to a thriving maritime village and port during the nineteenth century when it was the terminus of the Delaware and Hudson Canal. The rich legacy of commercial buildings, cast-iron storefronts, homes and churches built by the various immigrant groups who settled in Rondout is viewed. The tour fee is $5 per adult and $2 for children under 16.  Some uphill walking is involved.

The tour is offered on the last Saturday of the month May-October.  Other dates can be scheduled by appointment. For information, call (845) 339-0720; www.fohk.org.

A new exhibit will be featured in the Friends of Historic Kingston Gallery when it opens on Friday, May 4 for the 2012 season. “Save the Best to Last:  The Fred J. Johnston Story,” celebrates the 200^th birthday of the circa 1812 historic house at 63 Main Street and the life of the man who rescued it from being razed in 1938 and devoted his life to preserving it. The exhibit also celebrates preservation “success stories” throughout Kingston with a photo display of houses and commercial buildings that received Annual Preservation Awards from the Friends of Historic Kingston throughout the years. Friends of Historic Kingston board member and artist Ken Gray created the exhibit. Admission to the gallery exhibit is free.

The exhibit features photos from Mr. Johnston’s personal collection that chronicle his rise from selling antiques at age 17 from the family’s garage in St. Remy to becoming an antiques dealer of national stature who used the historic house at 63 Main Street as both his home and showroom. The eight elegant room settings he designed to display his collection can be viewed on house tours offered by the Friends of Historic Kingston to whom it was left by Mr. Johnston when he died in 1993.The new exhibit, however, offers the public a first-time view of objects from the attic and basement which cannot be accessed on regular house tours.

The exhibit also pays homage to the builder of the c.1812 Federal style house, John Sudam, a prominent attorney, New York State Senator and Regent. A large portrait of Sudam painted by John Vanderlyn, Jr. has been loaned to the exhibit by SUNY Ulster. Sponsors of the 2012 exhibit are the Halper Foundation, Floyd Lattin and Ward Mintz, Rhinebeck Bank and Interface Carpet Corporation.

New visitation hours for the Friends of Historic Kingston Gallery and the Fred J. Johnston House for 2012 will be Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays by appointment. The new gallery exhibit, which is free, can be viewed through October 27. Johnston House tours are $5 per adult; $2, child under 16. The Friends of Historic Kingston Gallery and Fred J. Johnston House are located on the corner of Wall-Main Streets in the Stockade District of uptown Kingston. For more information, call (845) 339-0720 or visit www.fohk.org.

The first walking tour for 2012 of the 1658 Stockade National Historic District, offered by the Friends of Historic Kingston, will take place on Saturday, May 5, departing from the Friends of Historic Kingston Gallery at 2 p.m.

Following the street plan designed by Peter Stuyvesant in 1658, the tour walks the heart of the largest intact early Dutch settlement in New York State and the neighborhood where New York State was born in 1777. Included is a tour of the interior  of the c. 1812 Johnston House, the former home and showroom of nationally noted antiques dealer Fred J. Johnston where his collection of 18^th and early 19^th century furnishings and decorative arts, mostly American, are showcased in eight elegant room settings he designed.

Walking tour highlights include viewing the many eighteenth century limestone houses still standing in the Stockade District, and visiting the site of the drafting of the New York State Constitution in 1777 and the gravesite of New York’s first elected governor, George Clinton, in the Old Dutch Church Burying Ground.  The fee is $10 for adults and $5 for children under 16. The tour departs from the Friends of Historic Kingston Gallery, corner of Wall and Main Streets, opposite the Old Dutch Church. Reservations are suggested but not required.

For information, call (845) 339-0720, or visit www.fohk.org.

The Fred J. Johnston House and Friends of Historic Kingston Gallery will reopen for the 2012 season on Friday, May 4 at 11 a.m. New visitation hours this year will be Friday-Saturday, 11-4 and Sunday by appointment.

The FHK Gallery will host a new exhibit the celebrates the 200th birthday of the Fred J. Johnston House and the life of Mr. Johnston who rescued the house from demolition in 1938. Mr. Johnston devoted the remainder of his life to restoring the c.1812 Federal style house which he used as both his home and showroom. At this death inn 1993, he bequeathed the house to the Friends of Historic Kingston to be maintained as a museum. The house showcased the nationally noted antiques dealer’s private collection of 18th and 19th century furnishings and decorative arts in eight elegant room settings he designed.

Dr. Thomas R. Ryan will be the featured speaker at the annual meeting of the Friends of Historic Kingston.  The meeting will be held on Sunday, April 15 at 2:30 p.m. in Bethany Hall at the Old Dutch Church opposite the Friends of Historic Kingston’s headquarters  on the corner of Wall and Main Streets. The public is invited.

Dr. Thomas R. Ryan

Dr. Ryan is president of the Lancaster County Historical Society a not-for-profit organization that preserves the history of Lancaster County and educates the public to its importance in the history of Pennsylvania and the nation. The organization also maintains Wheatland, the home of James Buchanan, the fifteenth president of the U.S.

Dr. Ryan will look at the legacy of Fred J. Johnston and how it offers signposts for the future of preservation in Kingston. He will address issues such as how to maximize preservation efforts to achieve the greatest impact and strengthen the preservation ethic in the community. His talk will be illustrated with a PowerPoint presentation

A Kingston native, Dr. Ryan earned his doctorate in the History of American Civilization from the University of Delaware and the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum.  He has co-authored a book with Neil Larson to be published by the University of Tennessee Press entitled, “Stone, Frame and Log Houses: Reconstructing the Hudson Valley Cultural Landscape from the 1798 Federal Direct Tax.”

Dr. Ryan currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Society of Winterthur Fellows, Donegal Historical Society and Fulton Opera House, the Board of Advisors of the Lancaster-New York Heritage Region, and as president of the Museum Council of Lancaster County.

The Friends of Historic Kingston’s Annual Preservation Awards will also be presented at the meeting. A reception will follow at the Friends of Historic Kingston Gallery. Bethany Hall and the Friends of Historic Kingston Gallery are located on the corner of Wall-Main Streets in the Stockade National Historic District.  For more information, call (845) 339-0720 or visit www.fohk.org.

Several new organizations are joining the Third Annual Kingston Clean Sweep this year, raising the number of participating groups to more than 20 and the volunteer corps to more than 200.  New to the event this year are the City of Kingston Planning Board, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Friends of Senate House, Kingston Cares, Kingston Catholic School, Kingston Library, St. Joseph’s School and Viridion.

The Sweep will take place Saturday, April 21, 9 a.m. to noon with volunteers picking up litter lying along the “Kingston Corridor” from Washington Avenue through the uptown business district, down Broadway to the Rondout waterfront. Last year, approximately 200 volunteersfrom students to senior citizens picked up nearly four tons of litter.

“Litter-free streets affect the quality of life for residents as well as creating a favorable perception of the city by tourists. As citizens of Kingston, we all share the responsibility for helping to maintain a clean environment. We hope people will join us and pitch in,” says Friends of Historic Kingston President Patricia Murphy.

The Kingston Clean Sweep is sponsored by the Friends of Historic Kingston with support from the City of Kingston and numerous other business and service organizations.  Returning organizations are the Boys and Girls Club of Kingston, Business Alliance of Kingston, Junior League of Kingston, Kingston Rotary Club, Kingston Sunrise Rotary Club, Kingston Uptown Business Association, Kingston Farmers Market, Kingston Uptown Residents Association,  Kingston Kiwanis Club, Kingston Land Trust, Kingston Lions Club, Kingston Opera House, Ulstercorps, Ulster Garden Club and Ward 9. Organizations oversee a designated section of the “Sweep Corridor.”

“The “Clean Sweep” will not only spruce up the ‘Kingston Corridor,’ but hopefully inspire hundreds of Kingstonians of all ages to do the same in their own neighborhoods,” says Steve Noble, Environmental Educator for the City of Kingston. The event, timed to occur near the 42^nd anniversary of Earth Day, helps to promote environmental stewardship, Noble says.

Individuals are welcome to participate. Trash bags and plastic gloves are provided. Anyone who wishes to volunteer can call the Friends of Historic Kingston at (845) 339-0720 or e-mail fohk@hvc.rr.com.

We are getting ready for a season of celebration with a new exhibit on the historic house and Fred J. Johnston, the man who saved it from demolition.

2009 HUDSON-FULTON: TAKE TWO

Felt Replica of "Half Moon" by Susan Basch

As part of New York State’s Quadricentennial celebration, 10 artists were invited to create contemporary responses to memorabilia from the 1909 Hudson-Fulton observance. The mixed media exhibit was curated by FHK Board Member and artist Ken Gray.

The work of Kingston artist Anton Otto Fischer (1882-1962), noted for his stunning seascapes that graced 50 “Saturday Evening Post” covers, will be showcased in the FHK Gallery during the 2011 season. The exhibit opens Saturday, May 7, 1 p.m. and will run thru October 30. Viewing hours: 1-4 p.m. Click here for full details.