In 1609 Henry Hudson was the first European to sail up what is now known as the Hudson River on an expedition for the Dutch East India Company. He wrote in his journal, "It is as pleasant a land as one can tread upon".... The Dutch returned in 1626 to found New Amsterdam, now of course New York. In 1661 they founded "Nieuw Dorp", now known as Hurley, near "Wiltwyck", which we know as Kingston.

When the State University of New York at New Paltz conducted an archeaological dig on our land in the 1970s, they found Native American artifacts dating back to 2000 BCE. This site has been continously occupied since that time, first by the Esopus Indians and then, from the late 1600s, by the Dutch colonists.

Around 1680 the Kool (sometimes spelled Cool or Cole) family were amongst the earliest settlers in Hurley and acquired the land our house now stands on. There is some evidence of an early wooden house on this site probably built after that date. We think that the oldest part of the existing stone house was built sometime between 1705 and 1720. In 1707 Cornelis Kool was granted a land patent with others in Hurley of around 70,000 acres which included what are now Woodstock, Marbletown, Rosendale and New Paltz. It appears that he lived in our house, greatly expanded it to its present size, and around 1745 built the house next door (The Patentee Manor).

The house exhibits many of the features of Dutch vernacular architecture typical of the Hudson Valley in the 17th and 18th centuries. Fieldstone walls, a steeply pitched roof, enormous beams, evidence of four jambless fireplaces, wide plank floors, Dutch doors, early sash windows and the remnants of leaded window frames can all be seen.

The house is one of the finest examples of early Hudson Valley Dutch vernacular arcitecture in private hands, as most others of similar quality are now museums. The Stone House Bed and Breakfast at the Cornelis Kool house represents a unique opportunity to stay in probably the oldest house in New York State that you can actually sleep in.