30 Years: Orange County Celebrates Famous Bull Family Heritage With New Proclamation

You might be surprised that a pretty significant historical home sits in the town of Campbell Hall, New York, in the Hudson Valley's Orange County.  This site, and the multi generational family that still occupies, just celebrated their 300th anniversary, and the 155th annual reunion.  Let's take a trip down the archives of the Bull Stone House.

Bull Stone House, Once Home to the Pioneer Settlers of Central Orange County, NY

Today it is a historic house and living museum and the only example of a New World Dutch Ban still standing in Orange County, but 300 years ago, the ten-room Bull Stone House was built by William Bull and Sarah Wells, and to this day, is still occupied by dependents of the Bull family.  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, It's been noted as one of the few homes in America that are still owned and occupied by the same family, with the current dwellers noted as 10th generation member of the lineage.

In 1712, Sarah Wells arrived as the first female settler in Goshen where she met William Bull, who would become her husband in 1718.  They are both noted among the first settlers in Orange County, where they arrived to work on the Wawayanda Patent. William and Sarah went on to have 12 children, the start to a long and historical lineage, and are both buried yards down the road from the Bull Stone House in Hamptonburgh Cemetery.

The Bull Stone house isn't the only one built by William Bull, as he is responsible for constructing many in what we now know as Orange County, NY, including Knox Headquarters in New Windsor.

Bull Stone Day, 300th Anniversary Celebration and 155th Annual Family Reunion

A scroll through the Bull Stone House social media pages, or even the Orange County Facebook page will prove to you just how deep the Bull family roots run in the Hudson Valley.  There are so many generations of "Bulls" that you are likely to come across someone local who is a descendant, or knows someone that is, of the Bull family. There's actually a section of the website where you can add genealogy information.

Just last weekend, on Saturday, August 5th, the 155th Annual Bull Family Reunion was celebrated and brings together hundreds of relatives.  This year marks a pretty significant celebration, being the 300th anniversary of the Bull Stone House, and to celebrate that, during the reunion, Orange County Clerk Kelly Eskew, along with Orange County Historian Johanna Yuan presented a proclamation to the family officially declaring Bull Stone House Day.  Believe it or not, County Clerk Kelly Eskew is actually a Bull descendant as well.

If you're interested in learning more about this historic Hudson Valley family and home, you can visit Bull Stone House which is currently open for tours by appointment only.