POUGHKEEPSIE – Following the placement of an historical marker at the Dutchess County Juror building, Arlington High School (AHS) students recently helped place a marker at the Poughkeepsie home of Gaius Bolin (1864-1946). Bolin’s parents moved from Dover to Poughkeepsie in 1860, and Gaius was raised at the home at 153 North Clinton Street.
The funding for the historical marker was made possible through the and the Bolin marker is the 12th one placed by AHS students.
Arlington students Aileen Keevins, Amauri Smith-Miller, Brianna De Prossino, and Cameron Kastanis researched Bolin under the supervision of AHS social studies teacher Robert McHugh. At the unveiling, the students said that Bolin was the first black man to graduate from Williams College as part of the Class of 1889. When he returned to Poughkeepsie, he became the first black lawyer to practice in the city. A staunch supporter of President Teddy Roosevelt, Bolin was also one of the founders of the Dutchess County chapter of the NAACP.
The practice of law in the Bolin family continued through his children, most notably his daughter Jane Bolin, the first black woman to attend Yale Law School and then practicing law in New York City. The Bolin daughter became America’s first black woman judge and was reconfirmed by the successive three NYC mayors.
Gabriella Fryer owns the Bolin home on North Clinton Street near College Hill Park and said she was thrilled when she was approached about placing the marker in her front yard. The sign was placed by City of Poughkeepsie DPW workers.
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