Mission Statement—The Archives Is...

A mission statement contains the general philosophy, goals, and benefits that an organization provides to a community.  Once well defined, it serves as a template for everything that the organization does. This is ours.

By the way, you may have noticed the old county seal.  It was replaced by the new one in preparation for the 1976 national bicentennial. 

The seal was adapted from the county flag designed by John Pike (1911-1979), internationally known Woodstock artist and father of the “Pike Plan” of uptown Kingston.

Descriptions—The Archives Writes

To date, over 1,500 cubic feet of archival records of the Ulster County Clerk’s Office have been described.

The archival descriptions are written in the standard Machine Readable Cataloging or MARC format using established headings and tags. These descriptions are useful for students, authors, genealogists, and anyone else interested in using the archival collection for research.

The Archives is often called on to write historical essays, press releases, power-point scripts and remarks about subjects of local interest or Archives Gallery exhibits.

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Questions—The Archives Answers

Wondering where to get a copy of a Naturalization record?  Want to know who served in the Civil War in New York State?  Curious about who was living in your New Paltz home in 1905? 

We’ve heard all these questions and more!  If you’re curious, give us a call, send us an email or check out our website.  Maybe we can help you answer the question that’s been on your mind.

Operators are standing by to take your call!  Try the Ulster County Record Center at (845) 340-3415 or email archives@co.ulster.ny.us for help with your query.

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Genealogy—The Archives Discovers

Over 3,400 researchers have accessed more than 29,000 records since the Archives Division started recording that information in 2004.

The Archives welcomes genealogists, scholars, professors, students, authors, historians, local museums, community organizations and more each year to research a variety of topics.

The vast majority of researchers are doing family genealogy and the most popular record series in the Archives Division is the Naturalization Record Collection.  The Archives appreciates their interest in all the records and welcomes future inquiries; it makes us feel like part of the family.

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Online—The Archives is Global

The Archives Division launched its web site in 2002.  In 2020, it was completely revamped with even more content and searchable databases.

Thousands of people from around the world have received useful information about the records that are filed in the Archives, the data they contain, and the services and activities of the Archives Division. 

Awards—The Archives is Recognized

The Ulster County Clerk’s Office has received all records management awards granted by the New York State Board of Regents and the New York State Archives.  We have been honored with awards for Excellence in Local Government Archival Program Development, Excellence in Educational Uses of Local Government Records by a Local Government, and Excellence in Local Government Records Management.

The Records Management Program has also been recognized by the New York State Assembly, New York State Senate and United States Congress, as well as other awards not shown above from the Lower Hudson Conference for Historical Agencies & Museums, New York State Association of Local Government Records Officers, and the National Association of Counties.

Exhibits—The Archives Shows Off

Since the grand opening of the Archives in 2002, the Archives Division of the Ulster County Clerk’s Records Management Program has staged 124 exhibits: 31 here in the Archives Gallery and 93 in other locations throughout Ulster County.  Exhibits held here in the Archives Gallery, as well as those tailored to specific topics or sites, are available to public libraries, schools, museums, municipal buildings and other local governments.

Subjects range from the Burning of Kingston to the Bluestone Industry; from student poster collections to early maps of Ulster County; from Dutch Court records to the Ashokan Reservoir Collection; from Census records to Civil War Military Discharge Papers.

Many exhibits offer special handouts, activity packets and/or gallery guides.  Records displayed include court records, maps, census records, naturalization papers, photographs, land records, business certificates and more.

View Our Online Exhibits

Curriculum—The Archives Publishes

Document Based Questions (DBQs) help students compare and contrast issues from differing perspectives, reconcile differing positions, evaluate the strength of particular arguments, and develop life skills.  DBQs are a feature on New York state social studies assessment tests.

With support from the New York State Archives, the Ulster County Clerk’s Office has published curriculum guides about the rise of the poorhouse system, immigration, local Native Americans, and Dutch Colonial Kingston—all using primary documents from the Ulster County Archives and other local repositories.

These teaching packets were developed for fourth through seventh grades and each packet offers multiple lessons, activity worksheets and necessary background information.

View Our Educational Publications

Kids—The Archives Plays Games

Keenly aware of the importance of education, especially of our youth, the Archives reaches out to them with a series of activity booklets based on some of the Archives Gallery exhibits.

Activity booklets “for kids” include Genealogy, Biographies, Maps, Archives, the Persen House, Exploring Ulster County, Voting, and even a booklet on the original Dutch Court records of the late 1600’s.

The books offer games, puzzles and activities while delivering educational information from a fun-filled point of view.  Join our tiny tour guides, like Archie Ant from the Persen House, while they take students through all of the fun facts and games.

View Our Student Activity Packets

Persen House—The Archives Grows

In 2010, the Ulster County Clerk’s Office took on the responsibility of managing the Matthewis Persen House Museum and Cultural Heritage Center.  From May to October each year, the Persen House is open to the public for tours and special exhibits.  Up through the 2021 season, we’ve had over 34,800 visitors from all 50 states and 59 countries.

Each year, historical and cultural heritage groups from throughout the county guest host at the Persen House and share their treasure troves of history & culture with visitors.  They offer reenactments, crafts, music, colonial games, lectures, exhibits, demonstrations and more!

The Persen House welcomes group tours and school field trips, too. Tours can be tailored to your group's interests or curriculum including colonial life, architecture, archaeology, local history, Dutch heritage, and the Revolutionary War.   Visit us online for the season schedule, exhibits, upcoming events, photo galleries, guest hosts and more.

Visit the Persen House