Wurtsboro Founders’ Day Street Fair Brings Summer Fun and Family Reunion

The Wurtsboro Founders’ Day Street Fair was held last Saturday, July 12th on Sullivan Street in Wurtsboro, New York. The annual celebration saw one of its biggest years yet with the 200th Anniversary of the village’s naming that honored William and Maurice Wurts for their invention of the Delaware and Hudson Canal.

The street fair included over 100 vendors and featured live music, face painting, a birds of prey exhibit, an antique car show, and five new murals painted by New York-based artists. These talented artists were selected by the Wurtsboro Board of Trade to paint the murals in locations along Sullivan Street for the two weeks ahead of the fair. Once unveiled, the beautiful images, including dragons, purple pink skies over cityscapes, and rocket ships flying into space were on display for all to enjoy.

But among the visitors to Wurtsboro on Saturday were also some very special guests – the descendants of George Wurts, the brother of the town’s namesake.

Two branches of the same family, currently located in Massachusetts and California, were specially invited by the Wurtsboro Board of Trade and welcomed by Mayor Frank Sisco to enjoy the street fair and a weekend of activities honoring their lineage.

“Our ancestors footsteps were here, and we’re walking on them,” said Catherine Wurts of Boston, Massachusetts. “It gives me the chills on a 90 degree day!”

Image: The Wurts families in front of one of the live painted murals on Sullivan Street. From Left to Right – Catherine Wurts and John Wurts of Boston, MA; Annette Baldwin (Wurts), Hannah Wurts, Lindsey Wurts, Andrew Wurts and Matthew Wurts of Ventura, CA (Credit: Genevieve Hartnett)