After more than two years of work, the Slingerlands Historical District has officially been added to the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
Town residents and local officials came together to celebrate the milestone on Sunday, Sept. 30, at the Slingerlands Community United Methodist Church. All of the research required to finish the project and qualify for the distinction took many months, but residents had talked about creating the district for nearly two decades.
“It’s exciting for us to get to this point,” said Bethlehem Town Historian Susan Leath.
The district extends from Couse Lane to Helderberg Parkway, and along New Scotland Road. It also includes Mullens Road and Bridge Street, which follow the Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail.
The town is home to single locations on the National Register of Historic Places, but this is the first Bethlehem historical district to be added to the list. Many parts of the town have been in constant use for so long they’ve been modernized, Leath said, but in this part of Slingerlands the original architecture largely remains.
The process to establish a district started several years ago with the installation of a blue-and-gold historic marker next door to Ilona Muhlich’s New Scotland Road home. The marker acknowledged the nearby burial ground of 19th century resident Andrew Conning. This put Muhlich’s own property in more of a historical context, and she next sought the help of Leath and Tony Opalka from the State Historic Preservation Office to get the entire neighborhood added as a historical site.
There are about 100 buildings within the district, but only about half have historical significance to the region. Leath said to create the proposal, residents had to be interviewed to learn information about each building. The application then focused on properties with the most extensive history.
“We focused on the history of the district up until the automobile-suburb era, so about the 1920s,” said Leath, who explained the area has three periods of significance: from when Slingerlands was first formed to the railroad era, and then when automobiles were introduced. Each period had an impact on the hamlet’s architecture and history.
A new Slingerlands Historic District Walk passes by about 20 locations of importance.
The distinction does not mean there will be any new restrictions to homeowners.
“This is an honor to say that our district had an impact on state history, it does not control what can be done to your house,” Leath said. “We really rely on the property owners, who understand they have a historic house in a historic areato take care of their home and preserve it.”
At the ceremony, Opalka presented the town with a certificate of recognition that will be placed at Town Hall.
The district will be marked by two large signs to be will be installed by the town’s Highway Department. The signs were paid for through the fundraising efforts of Slingerlands residents.
Former Supervisor Sam Messina was in office when the project began and had backed the effort as a Slingerlands resident. He said he was proud to see the district officially be recognized by the state.
“Bethlehem is special because of its people and because of its volunteers,” he said, explaining how without dedicated residents like Leath and Muhlich, the designation would have remained a pipe dream.
The next Slingerlands History Hike will take place on Saturday, Oct. 13, at 9:30 a.m. Each hike is limited to 20 people and are free. Participants must preregister through the Bethlehem Parks and Recreation Department.