Historical Surveys for Wilbur and Ponckhockie Neighborhoods

The City of Kingston received a grant from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to conduct two surveys – of the Wilbur and Ponckhockie neighborhoods.

The City has engaged the professional consulting services firm Archeology and Historic Resource Services (AHRS), a recognized historic and cultural resource consulting group out of Rock Tavern, New York, to assist with the project and development of the reports.

The Project represents Phase 1 of a two-phase City-wide survey and preservation project. Phase 1 will include reconnaissance and intensive-level surveys for the largely overlooked neighborhoods of Wilbur and Ponckhockie, which occupied major roles in the City's distinguished history.

lt will build upon previous individual NHR/SRs and local listings, information already collected, and the Historic Buildings lnventory identified in the 1987 Urban Cultural Park Plan. At the conclusion of this essential research, the project team will create a digitized inventory of historic assets specifically in Wilbur and Ponckhockie and a detailed written history to be included in a later comprehensive citywide preservation plan. This information will also be used to nominate eligible properties located in these two neighborhoods to the NHR/SRs.

City staff and consultants will host two neighborhood meetings to discuss the findings:

July 18 Wilbur Neighborhood Meeting at Blackbird Infoshop & Café, 6:00pm, more info here.

July 25 Ponckhockie Neighborhood Meeting, Ponckhockie Congregational Church at 93 Abruyn St., 6:00pm

Funding comes from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation's Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) Sub-Grant/Certified Local Government (CLG).

GRANT AMOUNT: $27,016.29

LOCAL MATCH REQUIRED: $11,589.90

REQUIRED COMPLETION DATE: September 30, 2023