By all accounts, 2012’s Bronxville Historical Conservancy Boat Cruise up the Hudson River to Historic Huguenot Street near Poughkeepsie was a huge success. The weather was perfect for the 66-mile trip north on the river — as the boat traveled under countless bridges, around majestic twists and turns, past West Point and many historic sites along the way.
The venue for this year’s annual voyage, Historic Huguenot Street, was a treasure, unknown to many in the group. A National Historic Landmark District, the site is one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the United States. Nearly one hundred “voyagers” were greeted by the director of Huguenot Street and then weredivided into smaller groups for a personal, docent-guided tour of seven stone houses dating to the early 1700s, a burial ground, and a stone church, all in their original village setting.
The distinctive architecture, antiques and paintings provided the perfect backdrop for the groups’ immersion into the rich history of the Huguenot settlers and their descendants, some of whom still live in the area.
