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New Hurley Reformed Church

The New Hurley Reformed Church, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as the Reformed Dutch Church of New Hurley, is located on New York State Route 208 roughly 3 miles (4.8 km) north of the hamlet of Wallkill, New York, United States, midway between it and Gardiner to the north, in the town of Plattekill. It is a wooden structure built in the Greek Revival style during the 1830s. In 1982 it was listed on the NRHP.

Building and grounds
The church is located on the east side of New York State Route 208, in the northeast corner of the three-way intersection with New Hurley Road (Ulster County Route 20). It is three miles () north of the hamlet of Wallkill and roughly the same distance south of Gardiner, the next hamlet to the north; it is almost a thousand feet south of the boundary of the town of that name. The church is in the westernmost corner of the town of Plattekill; neighboring Shawangunk, where the church's Wallkill ZIP Code is based, is on the south and west across the two roads. The surrounding area is primarily rural in character, with a mix of woodlots, orchards and open fields. The terrain is gently rolling, mostly level on the east side of the church but descending slowly towards the Wallkill River, two miles (3.2 km) to the west in that direction. To the east is the Catskill Aqueduct, part of New York City's water supply system. Around to the southwest along the highway is the combined property of Shawangunk and Wallkill state prisons. Three sets of steps, the central one with metal handrails, cut in the bluestone porch provide access to the portico on the south elevation. Four round fluted Doric columns support a projecting pediment with a tympanum faced in flushboard. On the facade behind the colonnade, the curtain wall has two wide smooth square pilasters at either corner. A wooden wall is at the west end of the porch. In between the pilasters are three wide entrances. The main entrance, in the center, is flanked with two iron lamps. Above it is a wooden plaque with "R.D. Church of New Hurley, founded 1770, rebuilt 1835" on it; the other two are topped with windows of equal size. Both sides have four evenly spaced tall and narrow windows. A pair of bulkhead doors to the cellar is located on the east side near the south corner. On the rear there are two near the corners. The roofline is set off by two wide molded friezes divided by a narrow dentilled course and topped by a raking cornice, a treatment that continues into the broken pediment on the rear. Below the eaves on the front pediment are two plain linear nested molded friezes. The roof is sheathed in wooden shingles. The bell tower has five stages, all faced in narrow clapboard. The first ends in a narrow molded cornice; the second, slightly smaller, ends in a much larger cornice. Above it the taller third stage has a louvered rectangular vent on each side, flanked by pilasters with a larger pilaster at each corner, all topped with mutules ending on a molded course. The fourth stage, above that, is another short clapboarded section ending in a projecting cornice, above which a short clapboarded parapet, the final stage, rises. It is topped by eight pluicles. Interior All three entrances, set with paneled doors, open into a narrow vestibule. They in turn open into the sanctuary, corresponding to three aisles between and aside the wooden pews, each with mahogany back rails and arm rests. At the rear of the church is a lectern on a raised platform. Behind it is an entablature screen supported by four fluted pilasters, flanked by the rear windows. Pilasters flank all eight side windows, rising to a broad, flat cornice at the ceiling. In the space between the cornice and window sash are five wooden bosses. The space is illuminated by chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Staircases at opposite ends of the front vestibule lead up to the organ and choir where a trap door permits access to the bell tower. In the basement is a furnace. ==History==
History
The church owes its establishment to the accident of a flood along the Wallkill River denying settlers in the area easy access to what had up till then been their church. For its first half-century it shared a pastor with yet another nearby church. constructed by the end of Tysse's tenure. Between the two new buildings and the church, the old horse sheds were finally torn down and a parking lot built on their location, acknowledging that congregants now traveled to the church by automobile. Within the church itself the cellar was excavated so that a modern furnace could replace the old wood stoves that had up till then provided heat in wintertime. When the church's bicentennial came in 1970, another new pastor, D. Reardon, came to New Hurley. His project would be further renovations to the interior. Most significantly, the organ and choir were finally moved from the front of the sanctuary to the rear upstairs, bringing them into line with Reformed Church tradition. The pews were removed and repainted, the floor was refinished and a new ceiling was installed. ==Services and programs==
Services and programs
"We seek to be an honest and faithful Christ-centered Biblical group of people," the church says in its mission statement. "We have committed ourselves to joyfully and obediently offer praise to God." To that end its members aim to create "an accepting environment for people on their [s]piritual journey towards a greater commitment to Jesus Christ." Sunday school, for children 4 and up with another class for interested adults, and regular services are held every Sunday morning, with a coffee hour afterwards. Also during the week, Footprints, a morning day care program, is held. Local Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, with a women-only session on Fridays. ==See also==
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