Sullivan County, NY – The Sullivan County Human Rights Commission is proud to sponsor County Historian John Conway’s presentation “STRANGERS IN OUR MIDST: New Ethnicities in Sullivan County History.”
Sullivan County has long been home to a rich tapestry of ethnic and religious diversity. The area was once the warm-weather lands of the Native American Lenape tribe, but by 1730 they had mostly moved on. The earliest permanent European settlers were mainly of English descent, but as the frontier wilderness was tamed and developed, they were soon joined by waves of Irish and German immigrants, spurred largely by the construction of the Delaware & Hudson Canal and the growth of the timber and tanning industries throughout the early and mid-19th Century.
Later in that century and well into the next, the growth of the tourism industry brought other ethnic groups, including Eastern European Jews and African Americans to the area. Although there were some struggles integrating these cultures, for the most part Sullivan County was able to escape much of the ethnic turmoil that was common elsewhere.
Conway will take a critical look at this phenomenon in his presentation, to which the public is warmly invited on the following dates:
• Hurleyville - Sullivan County Historical Society, 265 Main Street, Hurleyville, Sunday, July 30, 2:00 p.m.
• Mamakating - Mamakating Library, 128 Sullivan Street, Wurtsboro, Thursday, August 24, 6:30 p.m.
• Callicoon - Western Sullivan Public Library, Delaware Free Branch, 45 Lower Main St, Callicoon, Tuesday, September 26, 6:30 p.m.
• Grahamsville – Daniel Pierce Library, 328 Main Street, Grahamsville, Sunday, October 29, 2 p.m.
