The 325 sites author William B. Rhoads explores in Ulster County, New York display the variety and changing architectural styles that have appeared over nearly 300 years in the Hudson River Valley and Catskill Mountains, from 17th-century Dutch limestone houses of the colonial era, through the Federal and Victorian periods, up to the Modernist architecture of the mid-1950s. The architecture reflects the history, tracing the evolution of one of the first regions in today's New York State to be settled by Europeans. Dutch and French Huguenot villages and homesteads of the 1600s form the core of today's Kingston, New Paltz, and Hurley, surrounded by the structures built by their descendants and later immigrants the English, Irish, Italians, and scores of other ethnic and national groups as Ulster County rose from the ashes of the American Revolution and became an important commercial center, with bustling ports on the Hudson River in the booming 19th-century "Empire State."

This is the first comprehensive historical restrospective on Las Villas of Plattekill and Ulster County ever written. Ulster County was first settled in 1652 and officially became a county in 1683. Its rural nature, scenic beauty, and the Catskill Mountains have made it a popular vacation destination since the 19th century. Describedin numerous news article as the Spanish Alps, Las Villas, as they were collectively known, was a lively enclave of Spanish, Puerto Rican, and other Hispanic summer resorts in Plattekill, New York, and the Catskill Mountains. Starting in the 1920s and for the next 60 years, the area became the most popular vacation destination for Latinos in the Northeast, with an emphasis on music, food, language and customs. -- from cover.

In 1870, the" New York Herald" proclaimed that Ulster County was New York's "Ulcer County" due to its lawlessness and crime. The columnist supported his claim by citing that in only six months, "it has been the scene of no less than four cold blooded and brutal murders, six suicides and four elopements." Hannah Markle--the bane of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union--ran a Kingston saloon where murder and violence were served alongside the whiskey. John Babbitt confessed on his deathbed to murdering Emma Brooks, and Willie Brown--reputed member of the Eastman Gang--accidentally shot his best friend. The infamous Big Bad Bill, the "Gardiner Desperado," lashed out more than once and killed in a drunken rage. Discover the mayhem and murder that these and others wreaked on one of New York State's original counties.

Uncover Ulster County's hidden history of unsavory characters and stories of its wicked past. Situated in the scenic Hudson Valley, Ulster County is a lovely location to make a home and raise a family, but it wasn't always so pleasant. Unsavory characters and immoral events have sullied its name. In the 1870s, the Shawangunk Mountains inspired fear rather than awe, as groups like the Lyman Freer and Shawangunk gangs robbed and terrorized locals, descending from the protection of the wooded peaks. Kingston was torched, arson blazed in Kerhonkson and even the Mohonk Mountain House was threatened by flames. In 1909, the Ashokan Slasher's bloody crimes and sensational trial captured headlines across the country. Discover these and other salacious stories buried in Ulster County's history.