Farming in the Esopus Valley

The Esopus band of native Americans used this broad valley, with rich soils deposited by Esopus Creek, to provide a rich, varied diet. Besides hunting and fishing, native Americans used fire to clear the woods to encourage the growth of useful plants such as oaks, chestnuts, blueberries, and strawberries. They also cleared and farmed small plots growing the “three sisters” — corn, beans, and squash — moving on as plots became exhausted. Dutch farmers brought a two-crop system that worked well in the mud flats of the Rhine River valley and was well suited for the mud flats of the Esopus plains. They harvested grain in September for their personal use and planted winter wheat for an April cash crop. Hurley farmers sold their crops in Albany, while those in New Paltz and farther south sold in Manhattan. Later French Huguenots and English settlers removed most of the trees so they could plow, creating a new open landscape. They learned to plant corn and squash, but also introduced new plants such as cabbages, beets, apples, and European grasses, along with domesticated animals including cattle, pigs, chickens, and bees. Local creeks provided water power for the grain mills that supplied much of the flour for Washington's army, and later these mills supplied feed and hay for the mules on the D and H Canal. Sweet corn remains the most important crop, followed today by grain corn and hay for feed and silage, while local farms also grow acres of pumpkins, other vegetables, and flowers.

Hurley, New York · United States