Senate House

In the fall of 1777, amidst the turmoil of the American Revolution, the elected representatives of rebellious New Yorkers met in Kingston to form a new state government. While convened in Kingston, New York's first Senate met in the home of merchant Abraham Van Gaasbeek, today known as Senate House. In October of 1777, after meeting in the Senate House for only a month, the Senate and the rest of the newly formed State government hastily fled Kingston when a British force sent north from New York City began plundering the Hudson Valley. On October 16, 1777, British forces swarmed through and set fire to every house in town as punishment for Kingston's role in supporting the Revolution.