Est. 1659 · One of the oldest active Reformed congregations in North America, organized 1659 · Site damaged in the October 1777 British burning of Kingston, New York's first state capital · Burial place of George Clinton, New York's first governor and U.S. Vice President · National Historic Landmark, designated 2008
The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Kingston was formally organized in 1659, drawing on a congregation that had gathered informally in the settlement since the 1650s. The current stone building, on what is now Wall Street in Kingston's Stockade District, replaced earlier structures and has been in continuous use as an active house of worship since the colonial period. The church was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2008.
In October 1777, British forces under General John Vaughan moved up the Hudson River following the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga. On October 16, they landed at Kingston — newly designated as New York's first state capital — and systematically burned the town. Roughly 300 of the town's approximately 400 structures were destroyed. The church was damaged but survived. The churchyard received the remains of many Kingston residents who perished or were displaced in the burning.
The cemetery holds an ethnically diverse burial population: Dutch settlers, enslaved people and free Black Kingstonians, and British soldiers. George Clinton, who served as New York's first governor from 1777 to 1795 and later as Vice President of the United States under both Jefferson and Madison, was originally buried in Washington D.C. His remains were moved to Kingston in 1908 and reinterred under a large obelisk in the southwest corner of the churchyard in a formal ceremony.
Local church lore describes a hobgoblin said to be trapped in the steeple — a creature that allegedly arrived on a dominie's ship near Dunderberg Mountain and became imprisoned in the tower. Stories say a small painter has been glimpsed at work on the steeple during lightning flashes.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Dutch_Church_(Kingston,_New_York)
- https://hauntedhistorytrail.com/explore/old-dutch-church-cemetery
- https://wandercuse.com/at-the-historic-old-dutch-church-in-kingston-the-ghosts-come-alive/
Hobgoblin figure reported on steeple during lightning flashesAtmospheric presence attributed to 1777 burning victims
The cemetery's atmospheric power is rooted in genuine historical trauma rather than conventional ghost stories. The October 1777 British burning killed and displaced hundreds; the churchyard received their dead alongside the enslaved people and free Black Kingstonians who form a significant portion of its burial population. The weight of those documented events shapes the church's relationship with the supernatural traditions of the Stockade District.
The most specific supernatural legend attached to the church is the steeple hobgoblin — a creature said to have arrived in Kingston on a Dutch minister's ship after the vessel passed Dunderberg Mountain on the Hudson, a peak associated in Hudson Valley tradition with mischievous supernatural entities. The hobgoblin allegedly became trapped in the church tower and has remained there since the colonial period. Witnesses over the years have described a small figure visible on the steeple during lightning flashes, apparently painting the tower.
Theatre on the Road's October living history program uses the cemetery as a stage for one-hour theatrical tours that portray former Kingston residents — people who actually lived and died in the Stockade District — rather than fabricating ghost encounters. Performers draw on local historical research to present the community's documented stories, some of which are characterized by the organization as 'haunting tales.'
Notable Entities
George Clinton (1739–1812; New York's first governor; reinterred 1908)Steeple hobgoblin — local lore figure said to have arrived on a colonial ship
