Historic Edmonston House

02/12/2026

The Burning of Kingston will return to Uptown Kingston for a weekend-long series of events and re-enactments from October 15-18, 2026.

The Burning of Kingston commemorates the plight of New York’s first capital during the American Revolution, as well as colonial life and times. This year’s event also celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the American colonies’ Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Mayor Noble said, “The Burning of Kingston is one of our city’s signature events, telling an important story of our history, including its hardships, resilience, and determination to rebuild. It’s also a fun weekend with something for everyone. Visitors to this year’s Burning of Kingston can expect to be entertained and encouraged to look at events from 250 years ago in new and unique ways as well as more familiar interpretations.”

This year’s theme, The Many Faces of Revolution, reflects the programming, which showcases perspectives of the many peoples involved in the Revolution, including combatants from all sides, civilians, indigenous, enslaved and indentured servants, women, elderly, children, and people of different classes and trades. Programs will include the cultural context of the Revolutionary Period, including its music, art, literature and crafts. This year’s event will feature performances, numerous re-enactments including street battles, film-screenings including Hamilton, public displays, stories, Grand Ball, and more.

“As we approach the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, this year’s Burning of Kingston weekend offers a powerful opportunity to reflect on the vital role Kingston played in the American Revolution,” said Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck. “With the theme Many Faces of the Revolution, the commemoration will highlight the often-underrepresented individuals and communities whose contributions helped shape our independence, reminding us that the diversity of experiences and voices at the nation’s founding is a defining strength of America—then and now.”

Burning of Kingston events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. All events will take place in the Stockade District. For more information visit www.burningofkingston.com.

Burning of Kingston 2026 is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Ulster County Office of the Clerk, and by the event’s signature sponsor Basch, Keegan and Spada.

01/14/2026

Join us this weekend at Cowpens National Battlefield to commemorate the 245th anniversary of the Battle of Cowpens, a pivotal American victory during the Revolutionary War.

Fought on January 17, 1781, near present-day Chesnee, South Carolina, the Battle of Cowpens demonstrated strategic leadership and disciplined coordination by American forces under Brig. Gen. Daniel Morgan. The decisive victory weakened British efforts in the Southern Campaign and helped shift momentum toward independence.

As the nation looks ahead to America’s 250th anniversary, Cowpens stands as a powerful reminder of the people, places, and turning points that shaped the fight for freedom.

This free, family-friendly commemoration includes historic weapons demonstrations, ranger-led programs, guest speakers, lantern tours, children’s activities, and more. A meaningful way to connect with Revolutionary War history in South Carolina’s Upcountry.

Learn more: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/245th-anniversary-commemoration.htm

Photo by NPS

01/10/2026

🧭 Knox Trail 250 Is Coming to Massachusetts

This winter, communities across the Commonwealth will bring history to life with Knox Trail 250, commemorating the 250th anniversary of Henry Knox’s legendary “Noble Train of Artillery.” In the frozen winter of 1775–1776, Knox and his team hauled massive cannons more than 300 miles from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston—a bold, 56-day journey that helped force the British evacuation and changed the course of the American Revolution.

From January through March 2026, events in more than 33 towns will trace Knox’s route with reenactors, historians, civic leaders, short films, historic artifacts, and local stories tied to the expedition. The journey begins on January 10 in Alford, Massachusetts, with a ceremonial “handoff” at the New York–Massachusetts border, then moves east to Great Barrington and onward—celebrating each community’s role along the trail.

Knox Trail 250 is part of the exciting countdown to America’s 250th birthday on July 4, 2026, sponsored by Revolution250 and generously supported by MA250. Follow along at https://www.revolution250.org/250th-commemorations/knox/ &
https://massachusetts250.org/event/knox-trail-250-2/2026-01-10/

👉 Find Henry Knox Trail events and many more Revolution-era programs happening across MetroWest at metrowestvisitors.org/ma250

01/08/2026

11/24/2025

The massive ceiling beams in the east side of our house came from this type of tree

National champion Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) in Bedford, VA. It boasts an amazing trunk circumference of 362 inches and stands at 139 feet tall making this the overall largest of its kind in the United States. Another giant known as the Fork Ridge Tulip Tree, located in the Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina measures an astonishing 191 feet 10 inches (58.47 m) tall making it the tallest tulip tree ever recorded. Tulip trees are among the tallest broadleaf trees in the eastern US. They have a long lifespan and can live for up to 450 years. Valued for its strong, straight-grained wood. They have unique tulip-like yellow-green flowers that give the tree its name. Its native range is from Ontario to Florida, from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean.
Photo by: Eric Wiseman And The Virginia Big Tree Program
Instagram.com/bigtreehunters

11/11/2025

Come see the General and the house!

Tuesday, November 11, 2023: “Your Excellency’s Dog kennel at Mount Vernon, is as good a Quarter as that I am now in” at the Edmonston House.

From 2:00 – 6:00 PM visit this Revolutionary War headquarters and learn why General Horatio Gates, was none too happy to be billeted in this house. This is a cooperative program of the National Temple Hill Association and the New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site. Free admission. Edmonston House is located at 1042 Route 94 in New Windsor, New York, just ½ mile west of the 5 corner intersection.

The home of James Edmonston has stood for over 250 years. Rescued in the 1960’s by the National Temple Hill Association, the house by that point was a junkyard showroom filled with old car parts. Nicely restored, the house serves as the headquarters for this local historic organization. When General Horatio Gates was assigned the Edmonston home as winter quarters for 1782-83, he wrote General George Washington: “Your Excellency’s Dog kennel at Mount Vernon, is as good a Quarter as that I am now in”. Eyeing the larger and far more refined Ellison House, he expected to be billeted at that nearby property. To please Gates, the senior ranking major general in the Continental Army, Quartermaster General Colonel Timothy Pickering had to evict Surgeon General John Cochran from the Ellison house. Angered by his removal, Cochran challenged the beleaguered Pickering to a duel.

Despite his utter defeat and shameful flight from the battlefield of Camden, South Carolina, in 1780, he still remained as arrogant as ever. An intriguer and schemer, he used friends in Congress to wrest the command of the army that would eventually defeat and capture a British army at Saratoga, in 1777. Many of his contemporaries and later historians believed that the victory was the result of the efforts of the man he replaced - Philip Schuyler. He was implicated in a plot with the same

Congressional partisans who helped him supersede Schuyler to supplant Washington as commander-in-chief. While at the Ellison house he was involved in a conspiracy in March 1783, which threatened the very freedoms the country had fought to achieve.

03/03/2025

On this day in 1748: Austin Roe, member of the Culper Spy Ring, was born. A tavern keeper, Roe was recruited as the courier of information, traveling between Long Island and New York City, where he would retrieve coded messages to deliver to his fellow spies. Traveling on horseback, especially carrying the coded messages through British territory, was severely dangerous. The Culper spies risked their lives for freedom, and their courage and commitment to the success of the Revolution will forever be honored.

Learn more about Austin Roe and other members of the Culper Spy Ring in our lesson at https://lockesociety.org/the-culper-spy-ring/.

02/23/2025

Please let us know if you are interested in attending our March 16th event. We still have some seats available!

Thanks