Stockade District, Kingston

The Fair Street Church, also known as the Second Reformed Dutch Church of Kingston, was constructed in 1850 using local limestone blocks. It was designed by Thomas Thomas, Jr., a noted regional architect, in the Gothic Revival style. The congregation officially formed in 1849 when parishioners at their sister congregation, the more famous Old Dutch Church (also known as the First Reformed Dutch Church of Kingston), requested the building of a second church to accommodate the growing congregation. Two years after construction, the 50-foot spire atop the church, supposedly the highest steeple in the state outside of New York City, toppled over during a storm. According to the church website, “the congregation believed this was a sign of God’s displeasure with their pride over the height of the steeple and they vowed never to replace it.” The Fair Street Church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.