Matthewis Persen House Heritage Center

image1

In 2004, Ulster County government had completed the conservation of the highly significant Matthewis Persen house, a structure with additions spanning 350 years of Kingston's history.  Each room is a part of this timeline, telling the story of its community from the Native American Esopus Indians, through Dutch and British occupants, and the bustling growth of Kingston in the 19th century.  Jennifer Schwartz Berky conducted a feasibility study of the structure with recommendations for reuse of the facility as a heritage interpretive center that could host a consortium of Ulster County heritage organizations to display their temporary exhibits and histories in the building.  Following this, she procured the prestigious American Alliance of Museums to provide a Museum Assessment Program peer reviewer and support a strategic planning process for the facility.  The work led to heritage tourism planning on many levels in the county's work.