In the spring of 1662, Petrus Stuyvesant, Director General of New Netherland, established the village of Niew Dorp on the site of an earlier Native American settlement.

[5] The southern section was quickly settled by farmers and the villages of Bloomingdale and Wagondale (later Creeklocks) were established.

The discovery of limestone suitable for cement made this a valuable economic area and the village of Rosendale became its center.

Farming the Esopus Valley, they supplied grain to the growing colony, New England, and the American Revolutionary forces.

During October, November, and December 1777, Old Hurley was the military headquarters for General George Clinton's Continental forces and the temporary capital of New York State, moving from Kingston.

Old Hurley's Main Street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its well-preserved stone houses which have served as residences for more than 300 years.

Some are open to the public once a year in July on Stone House Day, and one contains the Hurley Heritage Society's museum.

In 1917, New York City's need for a dependable water supply resulted in land condemnation and the flooding of the valley to create the Ashokan Reservoir.

The flooded villages of Glenford and West Hurley were resettled on the shores of the reservoir, but Ashton was never relocated.

[5] Parts of Hurley have been used to form the towns of New Paltz (1809), Esopus (1818), Olive (1823), Rosendale (1844), and Woodstock (1853).