With new name, Goshen Girl Scouts carry on the legacy of Sarah Wells

GOSHEN — It was a sad day for many local Girl Scouts when they heard that the Sarah Wells Girl Scout Council was to be renamed the Heart of the Hudson Girl Scout Council. The legacy of Sarah Wells, who was married to William Bull, runs deep in Orange County. At age 18, she made a brave journey up the Hudson River to settle Christopher Denn's portion of the Wawayanda Patent, for whom she was an indentured servant. But the Sarah Wells name has returned, as the Scouts learned at a recent Goshen Service Unit Girl Scouts leadership meeting. The Heart of the Hudson Council approved a new name — the Goshen Sarah Wells Service Unit — for the Goshen area Scouts effective Oct. 1. Bull family descendants Michael Brown and his daughter Melanie Latimer, who live in the Bull Stone House in Campbell Hall, and Sarah Brownell, a ninth-generation Bull Family member and Stone House Association board member, were present at the meeting. Lisa Forst, Goshen Service Unit volunteer chair, championed returning the Sarah Wells name with great passion and determination. The Sarah Wells and William Bull Stone House Association prepare to celebrate the tricentennial of Sarah's journey up the Hudson in 1712, next year. The Bull Stone House is open for tours by appointment for Girl Scouts and anyone else interested in the history of one of the early families to settle in this area. For more information visit www.bullstonehouse.org.