French Church

"Blessed be God, who has put it into our hearts to build a house where He may be adored and served, and that by his grace we have finished it in the year 1718; and God grant that his gospel may be preached here from one age to another till the day of eternity. Amen."

(from the original consecration service)

The original church was dismantled in 1795, and the stone used to build a schoolhouse.

During the 1960s, Reuben Crispell, a prominent New York attorney, and Kenneth Hasbrouck, then president of the Huguenot Historical Society, engaged in a correspondence revealing their mutual interest in forming a Crispell Family Association. The first project for this organization would be to build a replica of the original stone church that had been an important part of Huguenot life in New Paltz during the 18th century-done in memory of Antoine Crispell and his descendants, by his descendants.

Antoine Crispell, one of the original New Paltz patentees and member of the original Duzine ("Dozen") government, never moved from Kingston/Hurley. Reconstructing the church seemed an appropriate way to pay tribute to Antoine's importance in the community and lend presence to the Crispell name on Huguenot Street.

The replica was completed in 1972, and the Crispell Family Association held its first meeting there. It was consecrated in 1973 and now serves as a nondenominational chapel for special services, baptisms and weddings.