Integrating regenerative and holistic healing practices into and with a particular land and community
The Story of the Land
The land at 181 Huguenot Street lies in the Wallkill River valley, bordered by the beautiful Shawangunk Ridge—a continuation of the long, easternmost section of the Appalachian range. From the property, there is a striking and much-loved view of the “Gunks,” a daily reminder of the larger geological story this place belongs to. The Wallkill River, part of the greater New York City–metro watershed and a tributary of the Hudson River, winds nearby. Today, the river is polluted and prone to regular flooding, often inundating the large community garden on a bordering town-owned property and preventing crops from being grown there. This reality underscores the urgent need for regenerative practices that can help clean the water, restore the floodplain, and heal the wider ecosystem.
Long before European colonization, this land was part of the traditional homeland of the Lenape people. The area along the Wallkill River was their hunting, foraging, and cultivation grounds. The Lenape called this place Esopus, a name that is often rendered as “little river” but according to Lenape history keeper Susan Boice Wick and Lenape linguist Ray Whrittenaur may be better translated as “Wellspring of Creation.”
Colonial settlers later used “Esopus” to refer to the Lenape communities here, calling them the Esopus tribe. Colonial Huguenot accounts tell stories of trading with the Lenape for this land, but we do not fully know the Lenape experience of those exchanges. What we do know is that, like Indigenous peoples across this continent, the Lenape faced dispossession, forced removal, and profound suffering as they were pushed from their homelands. Tree of Life Guild acknowledges this history and offers honor and deep respect to the ancestors, past and present, of this land.
The first European settlers to establish a lasting presence on Esopus were Huguenots, themselves fleeing religious persecution in what is now Germany and France. They established homes, farms, and a village street—what is now known as Historic Huguenot Street. The property at 181 Huguenot Street is one of the last two remaining working farms from that original settlement era. After a number of generations in Huguenot hands, the farm was sold to the Jewett family in the early 20th century and became primarily a dairy operation. For decades, two generations of the Jewett family farmed this land, bridging almost a century of agricultural life here.
As industrial agriculture rose and small and mid-sized farms became less economically viable, this once-profitable family farm became a site of financial hardship. The last farmer, Warren Jewett, took on other jobs and lived in only part of the farmhouse in order to keep the farm going. Over time, the land became more valuable as a potential development site than as a source of food for its community, and the historic farmstead was in real danger of being sold off for development.
At that critical moment, the local community rallied. Neighbors and allies came together to protect the Jewett farmstead and the neighboring Huguenot Street Farm, establishing a conservation easement—often referred to as the “Two Farms” easement—to safeguard the properties from being carved up or developed. This act of community care ensured that the land would remain in agricultural and conservation use, preserving both its ecological and historical significance. After Warren Jewett’s passing, the property changed hands a few times; some owners found the easement too restrictive for their intended uses and moved on. Since 2022, ArborVitae School of Traditional Herbalism has rented the farmhouse, sharing it as both a teaching space and a family home, keeping the tradition of land-based learning alive on the property.
Today, 181 Huguenot Street remains a generous swath of land with tremendous ecological and community potential. Portions of the property can be rewilded with native plants to support local biodiversity and to receive Wallkill River floodwaters in ways that help filter and clean the water rather than simply pushing flooding downstream. The land has the capacity to host forest farming of high-value medicinal botanicals whose native habitats have been lost to modern development. Its proximity to New York City and the broader metro area makes it an especially powerful site for people seeking access to nature, herbal medicine, and in-person, land-based education.
For the surrounding community, this land can once again become a place where neighbors meet, learn, and work together: a landscape that honors Lenape homelands, Huguenot and farming histories, and contemporary commitments to ecological restoration and community health. In this way, the story of 181 Huguenot Street is not only about what has happened here—it is about what is still possible when land is held in care, and when its next chapter is written in partnership with the people and ecosystems that depend on it.
