A former rock quarry in Kingston, New York has officially become a public swimming destination. Lake Sophia — named after the daughter of civil rights icon Sojourner Truth — opened inside Sojourner Truth State Park on July 17, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by local officials and eager swimmers.

The emerald-green swimming hole, carved into limestone cliffs, received roughly $83 million in state funding championed by Governor Kathy Hochul. Accessibility ramps, lifeguard towers, and a natural-filtration swimming crib were all part of the buildout.

The site has a playful history: Kingston's own mayor admitted he had sneaked a swim there "not so legally" in years past. Now, the splashing is fully sanctioned.

Interesting Facts

Ulster County, New York holds some genuinely unexpected distinctions that even longtime residents may not know:

• First American turnpike: The Ulster and Delaware Turnpike, running through the county in the early 19th century, was among the first toll roads built in New York State, predating many of the better-known Eastern turnpikes and helping open the Catskills to commerce.
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• Cement capital of the world: In the mid-1800s, the town of Rosendale in Ulster County produced a unique natural hydraulic cement so durable it was used in the foundations of the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge — yet the entire local industry nearly vanished by the 20th century.
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• Home of the first chartered city in New York: Kingston, Ulster County's seat, received its city charter in 1872, but more strikingly it served as New York State's very first capital in 1777, a fact often overshadowed by Albany's longer tenure.
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• Underground railroad density: Ulster County had one of the highest concentrations of documented Underground Railroad safe houses in New York State, partly because its geography — dense forests and the Shawangunk Ridge — made it ideal for concealing fugitives moving northward.
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• Shawangunk climbing mecca: The Shawangunk Ridge's "Gunks" cliffs are composed of a rare, extremely hard quartzite conglomerate found almost nowhere else on the East Coast, making the area a destination for technical rock climbers from around the world since the 1930s.

Quote Of The Day

"The Catskills have ears — every valley remembers the stories told along the Hudson's banks, and Ulster keeps them longest of all."