Four Corners, Stockade Historic District, Kingston, Ulster County

The Kingston Stockade District intersection at Crown and John Streets is the only intersection in the United States where pre-Revolutionary War-era stone houses are located on each of the four corners. The four houses include the Franz P. Roggen House, the Matthew Persen House, the Kingston Academy, and the Matthew Jansen House.

The Dutch Colonial Matthew Person House (pictured here) was constructed in the late 1600s. The house is named after Matthew Persen, a sergeant in the Dutch Army. Sergeant Persen first arrived in the Kingston area in 1663 as part of a military mission to rescue several hostages that had been kidnapped by the Esopus Indians. After the British Army captured New Amsterdam (New York City) in 1664 and the Dutch Army disbanded, Persen decided to remain in the United States and made his home in Kingston. The house remained in the Persen family until the 1820s and has since been used for a wide variety of commercial uses.