Old Dutch Church, Kingston, Ulster Co., New York
The area of present day Ulster County was called Esopus by the Dutch settlers. Then part of the New Netherland Colony. In 1652 Thomas Chambers, a freeholder from Rensselearwyck, purchased land at Esopus and began trading there. In 1654 Johan de Hulter, owner of 20% of the Killian van Rensselaer Company was granted a patent,together with the patents of Christoffel Davids, and Jacob Jansen Stoll, this supplies evidence of the first permanent settlement, that grows into the village of Wiltwijck, later: Kingston. In 1683, the Duke of York created twelve counties in his province. Ulster County was one of them. Its boundaries at that time included the present Sullivan County, and portions of the present Delaware, Orange, and Greene Counties.
Newburgh was incorporated as a village in 1800 and chartered as a city in 1865. At the time of its settlement it was in Ulster County and was that county's seat. When Rockland County was split from Orange County in 1798, Newburgh and the other towns north of Moodna Creek were put in a redrawn Orange County. Newburgh thus lost its status as the county seat to Goshen. The former Ulster County courthouse still stands as Newburgh's old city courthouse building (currently used as municipal office space).