Local History by Dede Terns-Thorpe - Historical Guide to the Land of Rip Van Winkle

HISTORICAL GUIDE TO THE LAND OF RIP VAN WINKLE. 1974. JOAN PILATICH & NELL GRECO.

1.      They started their booklet in Catskill, which was first settled by the Dutch in the mid-1600s, calling Catskill THE LANDING or HET STRAND (Het meaning love and Strand meaning waterways) because of how Catskill is situated with the Catskill Creek.

2.      1. They spoke of steamboats and North River, the original name for the Hudson River. (A separate article will cover Pilatich and Greco’s excellent information on steamboats and the railroads.)

3.      2. Uncle Sam’s Bridge (named after Samuel Wilson, a Catskill resident and meat packer providing meat for the northern armies and stamping their meat barrels with “U.S.” leading to Samuel Wilson being the patriotic symbol known as Uncle Sam). The privately owned bridge opened for traffic in 1802, with pedestrians paying 0.03 to cross, and 0.25 for horses and carriages. It remained a privately owned bridge until 1870 when purchased by the Village of Catskill.

4.     3.  Pilatich and Greco spoke about the Hudson River School of Art, mentioning each artist while emphasizing Thomas Cole and Church’s Olana.

5.      4. Years ago, Palenville, The Village of Falling Waters, had numerous mills and factories. Its first name was Irvingsville after Washington Irving.

6.      5. The 4-mile Kaaterskill Trail gains close to 2000 feet in altitude. Palenville Overlook and South Mountain are to the right of 23A followed by Labelle Falls, Artists Grotto, More’s Falls and Bridge, Fawn’s Leap, Hillyer, Wildcat, and Buttermilk Ravine and Falls. At “Horseshow Bend” below Bastion Falls you’ll cross Lake Creek Bridge, then climb past Molly Smith’s Rip’s Lookout Point with Santa Cruz Ravine and Falls on the left.

7.      6. Haines Falls, the entrance to the Town of Hunter, was first called Haines Corners. When the post office opened on December12,1883, it opened as Haines Falls, which it continued to be called. The first settler was Aaron Haines, along with the original Haines family. The authors spoke of North and South Lake Campsites, the Catskill Mountain House, the Laurel House, and the 1200 room Hotel Kaaterskill.

8.      7. They spoke of Tory Swamp, between Round Top and High Peak, which had a fort to house Tories and their Indian allies.

9.      8. Tannersville’s motto, “Above the Clouds,” was named for the tanneries that brought enterprise to the mountains. They spoke of the popular man-made Rip Van Winkle Lake.

10.  9. Hunter was first called Edwardsville, named after Colonel Edwards, opening the tannery about 1817. Hunter is the proud home to Hunter Mt. Ski Bowl and the Slutzky brothers.

11. 10. Next is the Ukrainian Church on Route 23A in Jewett, N.Y., a church completely built of wood with a hand carved interior.

12. 11.Next came Windham, a quaint and beautiful village, first called Osbornville, then Windham Center, with mountains on all three sides.  The authors continued through Round Top, Cairo, Durham, East Durham, Leeds and back to Catskill, naming important historical points along the way. 

It’s been a great source of research, and we thank both authors for the amazing research they did. No “Google” back in 1974! 

Thanks for reading.

Stay safe and be well.