KINGSTON – The City of Kingston was awarded $27,016 from the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to support a survey of the Wilbur and Ponckhockie neighborhoods.
The Historic Preservation Fund’s Certified Local Government Grant Award will help fund the surveys of the Wilbur and Ponckhockie neighborhoods, which will advance the city’s historic preservation efforts and will result in the determination of eligibility of new potential local landmarks as well as the State/National Register designations.
“The project will focus on two overlooked neighborhoods, both of which occupied major roles in Kingston’s history,” said Mayor Steven Noble. “This work also aligns with the Kingston 2025 Comprehensive Plan to further preservation of the city’s historic and architectural resources, while making our historic designations more inclusive.”
The city’s Planning Department will oversee this initiative in conjunction with the Friends of Historic Kingston and members of the Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission.
This research will build upon previous individual National and State Historic Registry listings, studies already conducted, and the Historic Buildings Inventory identified in the 1987 Urban Cultural Park Plan.
“Both Wilbur and Ponckhockie are keys to Kingston’s maritime and industrial past,” said Mark Grunblatt, chairman of the Historic Landmark Preservation Commission. “The brickyards drew immigrant laborers to Ponckhockie, and their work remains obvious from Kingston Point Beach. The caves below today’s industrial park once grew mushrooms for market. Wilbur’s quarrymen gave Kingston its bluestone curbs and sidewalks, while kilns in the Wilbur hillsides produced cement for New York City’s streets and buildings. Prior surveys failed to explore these important neighborhoods. This grant will allow the city to show a fuller breadth of Kingston’s history and bring Ponckhockie and Wilbur new notoriety.”
