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AN EVER-CHANGING CAMPUS

The State University of New York at New Paltz

By Kristen Warfield

November 11^th, 2015

The New Paltz Normal school

The college’s earliest descendant, the New Paltz Classical School, was first established in 1828 to offer reading, writing, Greek, Latin and arithmetic courses to children. The classical school operated for 56 years until it was destroyed by a fire in 1884. Following this, The New Paltz Normal School was born. Reorganized to train the state’s future teachers, the normal school lasted for 22 years until yet another fire devastated the college in 1906. Its replacement building, Old Main, opened in 1909 as the newest home to the New Paltz Normal School. In 1948, the building was officially recognized as one of the first entities of the State University of New York system. The 108-year-old-building was originally the institution’s only site for college offices and classes, but quickly became part of the ever-growing campus that is modern-day SUNY New Paltz.

Source: newpaltz.edu. Hover over photos below to read captions.

A classroom inside the New Paltz Normal School.

The 1905 New Paltz Normal School baseball team poses for a group photo.

The night of the 1906 Normal School fire.

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The New Paltz Normal women's basketball team of 1905.

SUNY new paltz - then and now

Take a tour through SUNY New Paltz to see just how much the campus has changed over the years. Video powered by Google Earth Pro.

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DID YOU KNOW?

Four dorm buildings on the SUNY New Paltz campus were named after former principals of the New Paltz Normal School. They are Bouton Hall, Capen Hall, Scudder Hall and Bliss Hall.

Eugene Bouton - Principal 1886-1888

Frank S. Capen - Principal 1888-1899

Myron T. Scudder - Principal 1899-1908

John C. Bliss - Principal 1908-1923

Eugene Bouton, New Paltz Normal School principal from 1886-1888.

Frank S. Capen, New Paltz Normal School principal from 1888-1899.

Alumni Spotlight

Have you ever wondered what it was like to attend New Paltz in a different era? Two SUNY New Paltz alumns (from the classes of 1957 and 1981) share their stories of attending the college:

Charlene Wynkoop '57 - Art Education -

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Dr. William J. Haggerty was the president of the college when Charlene attended.

A female student works in the library, 1950s.

Students walk away from the College Union Building, 1950s.

For Charlene Wynkoop, SUNY New Paltz was the beginning of the rest of her life. A native of Walden, New York, Charlene chose New Paltz due to its proximity to her hometown. Knowing that she could not afford to attend a far-away school, Charlene chose to commute for the first two years before getting a job on campus as a proctor (Resident Assistant) in the freshman girls’ hall during her junior and senior years. Though the art education program had just begun to blossom during her time as a student, she says the new ideas she was exposed to were unprecedented. Her time at the college brought her to where she is today, she says – a retired art teacher who lives comfortably.

“I was introduced to new ideas … And as a result of that, it has shaped my life ever since.”

- CHARLENE WYNKOOP ON ATTENDING NEW PALTZ

Click “play” below to view Charlene’s story.

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1981 - leon "Butch" dener - political science -

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Photo collage of protests in the late 60s

Shots of places around the town and college. Late 60s

Butch pumping gas at the Shell Station in New Paltz in 1970.

Butch Dener first came to SUNY New Paltz in 1968 fresh out of military high school. With a world of opportunity and freedom lying ahead of him at college, Butch found his world exploding with change. As an 18-year-old kid in the late 60s, New Paltz’s psychedelic era was in full swing. Students were rebelling against rules that their 50s counterparts had always followed. They were introducing new ideas among the student body as it became more diverse. They were bringing hit artists to perform on campus with extra money from their Student Activities Fee. And most importantly, Butch says, students from this era were dedicated in activism – working together for change.
Butch found himself immersed in new ideas, people, music and ways of thinking at SUNY New Paltz – and he credits those experiences as ones that have stayed with him forever. After leaving New Paltz in the early 70s and eventually graduating in 1981 with a political science degree, Butch later worked as a road manager for Hall of Fame band The Band. He says his entry to the rock industry stemmed from musicians he met in New Paltz as a student.

“ You met students that you wouldn’t have met normally – New Paltz campus from ‘68 on out was a melting pot. It let you know there was an infinite universe that awaited you, as long as you were willing to go out there and expand yourself a little bit. It showed me the different paths I had in front of me … and I took a lot of them.”

- BUTCH DENER ON ATTENDING NEW PALTZ

Click “play” below to view Butch’s story.

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Footnotes

All historic photographs were published with permission of the Sojourner Truth Library Special Collections Department of SUNY New Paltz.

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FootNotes

All historic photographs were published with permission of the Sojourner Truth Library Special Collections Department of SUNY New Paltz.

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