USA > New York > Orange County > The history of Orange County, New York > Part 29
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97
Jeacons
99Cung
XIXXN
XXX
92.5.
IXXXN
LXXXM 1-63
VIS IN
Wilhelm ovuler Jacob first SI-LEIAXXXX
N VIII 9-2
WYBE MIAN
NVI 21-15
XXVIIISLIP
NKLIV F 1-15.
WhendnyWeller Vibrator Philipp Wecker
Solvent
Thames ColettCash NXX 31-13
Philipp Cuelsbach run,
NXLVI ET-y.
William Smith
225
323
TOWN OF MONTGOMERY.
sixty-eight pews, forty-six of which were occupied at a rental of £96 8s. Pews for the elders and deacons were on the right and left of the old- fashioned pulpit. Among the names of the pew-holders are found those of Rockefeller, Youngblood, Mould, Decker, Weller, Robinson, etc., ances- tors of many well-known families. The modern name of the church for years has been "the Brick Church of Montgomery." The present pastor is Peter Crispell.
The St. Andrew's Church at Walden, before alluded to, is another an- cient religious society. This people passed through a troublous existence during the Revolution, and the parish was left vacant for some years until 1790. Finally, after emerging from a heavy debt, a new church was erected in the village of Walden in 1827. Then after many changes in rectors, another new church was decided upon in 1870. This with the parsonage cost $18,000, and in 1880 the church was finally consecrated free from debt.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Coldenham was organized in 1795, and a house of worship built four years later. This was replaced by a new structure in 1838. Dr. Alexander McLeod was the pastor from 1800 to 1812. The present pastor, Rev. Thomas Patton, was installed in 1893.
The Reformed Dutch Church of Berea, which came as a secession from the Goodwill Church, got its first pastor in 1823. Rev. James Ten Eyck, the congregation having been incorporated two years before. When the first little church was built it was surrounded by a forest, the timber for the building being cut from the site itself.
The First Reformed Church of Walden was incorporated in 1870, al- though the society was formed forty years before, and the church building was completed in 1838 at a cost of $12,000. Some $5,000 more was after- ward spent upon the parsonage. Rev. M. V. Schoonmaker was the min- ister from 1849 to 1888. The present minister, Rev. W. W. Schomp, was installed in 1897.
The First Presbyterian Church of Montgomery was incorporated in 1832 and Rev. James O. Stokes was the first pastor. There were many changes in this pastorate in the succeeding years, and the debt piled up gradually until it reached $2.300 in 1848. a parsonage having been built meanwhile. This debt was, however, fully met that year under the pas- torate of Rev. E. R. Fairchild, whose health soon failed, however. Rev.
324
THE COUNTY OF ORANGE.
J. C. Forsyth was installed in 1875 and he continued in that field for many years.
The Methodist Church of Montgomery, was organized in 1829 with Rev. B. Howe and J. W. Lefever as priests. The "table expenses" of Mr. Howe were $100 and those of Lefever $50, which was in addition to the disciplinary allowance. A small church was built that year and a par- sonage four years later.
In 1906 an Episcopal mission was established in Montgomery.
The Walden Methodist Church was incorporated in 1850. Previous to that the "classes" there were under the pastoral care of the Mont- gomery preachers. In fact, it was not until 1866 that the Walden Church became an independent charge. Then a parsonage was built and the church building was enlarged and improved in 1870 at a cost of $6,000. In 1893 it was removed to the east side of the church lot and remodeled.
The Church of the Holy Name in the village of Montgomery was in- corporated in 1870. Rev. Hugh S. O'Hare was the pastor.
The inception of the Church of the Most Precious Blood in Walden was in 1887. Services were held in Lustig's and later in Condon's hall. The church was dedicated by Bishop Farley July 5, 1896. The officiating priests have been Rev. C. A. Meredith, Rev. P. Morris and Rev. F. C. Lenes.
Among the recent church organizations of the town is the People's Baptist Church at Maybrook, erected in 1906. No settled pastor.
Several of the old cities of the dead date back to 1725. The Wallkill Valley Cemetery Association was organized in 1865 and the first burial made May 1, 1867. This cemetery commands general admiration in the beauty and grandeur of its location. It comprises forty-one acres and the interments exceed 2,000. In 1905 Colonel Thomas Bradley erected here a bronze statue, "The Volunteer," memorial to Company H, 124th Regi- ment. Other burial places are Goodwill, St. Mary's, Riverside, Berea, Brick Church and Coldenham.
Wickham T. Shaw.
325
TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE.
CHAPTER XXIII.
TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE.
BY WICKHAM T. SHAW.
LOCATION, ARE.1, ETC.
T HIS is one of the smaller towns of Orange County and it is located in the acute angle of the western boundary line of the county formed by the indentation of Sullivan County. The territory of the town is diamond-shaped. The Shawangunk stream, which flows through the town lengthwise toward the northeast, leaves it in the apex of the angle and then forms the boundary line separating Orange from Sullivan, as well as the northwestern bounds of the towns of Wallkil! and Crawford.
It is bounded on the north by Sullivan County and a very small part of the town of Wallkill, east by that town, south by the towns of Waway- anda and Greenville, and west by the town of Deer Park.
The area of the town is now placed at 16,104 acres. The assessed valuation of all the real and personal property, as reported by the assessors in 1906, was $632.075, upon which the tax levy for that year was $3.903.36. in 1880 this land was valued at $673.470, and the annual tax was $5,157.79. But it would be manifestly unfair to assume that the land is less valuable now than it was twenty-five years ago. The average town assessor in the State of New York, under the prevailing political conditions and customs, is largely a creature of circumstance, with strange vagaries in judgment, if indeed he is called upon to exercise any judgment at all under the official limitations of his position. Then, too, standards of value have greatly changed during that time.
This Mount Hope territory lies wholly north of the oldl county line which originally divided Orange from Ulster County.
NATURAL FEATURES.
The Shawangunk mountain range in the western border of the town is the most important topographical feature. This northern spur of the
326
THE COUNTY OF ORANGE.
Alleghanies is known as the Blue Mountains in New Jersey and the Kitta- tiny Mountains in the State of Pennsylvania. Beginning in the central part of Ulster County the general trend of the range is toward the south- west for some 250 miles. There are few isolated peaks, and the greatest altitude reached is about 1,800 feet above tide. The more notable eleva- tions of this range are Sam's Point, near Ellenville, Sky Top and Eagle's Cliff at Lake Mohonk, all of which are in Ulster County. The Indian word Shawangunk, which has been used to designate this range since the settlement of the region, signifies "great wall" in the aboriginal vernacu- lar, which in fact seems especially appropriate as a descriptive title.
The eastern slopes of these mountains are uniform and well adapted to cultivation, even to their summits, in most instances. But on the western side they are broken and precipitous. The approach from the east has been fitly described by an old writer in the following language: "The eye rests upon fields of grain and grass, upturned furrows, the verdure of waving trees and the homes of thrifty hospitality, spread out from valley to crest, over the south and the far north, in unwearying panoramic beauty -a patchwork of gold and green, of brown and gray, of white and red."
The Shawangunk River is another dominating feature in this Mount Hope township. Rising in the adjoining town of Greenville on the south, this stream enters the Mount Hope territory near the middle of the south- ern boundary line and flows northeasterly through the central portion of the town, leaving the north boundary line at the apex of Sullivan County, as before stated.
The Little Shawangunk rises at Shawangunk Lake, on the eastern bor- der of the town, flows northward along the line some four or five miles, then crosses over into the town of Wallkill, anon reentering Mount Hope in the northeast corner, and finally unites with the parent stream in the western bounds of Wallkill. There are several small tributaries which enter the Shawangunk from the west and drain the mountain slopes ef- fectually.
This territory also presents many geological features of interest which have attracted considerable attention in past years. Here, as elsewhere in this mountain range, rich mineral deposits have been found. Lead, copper and zinc ores were discovered many years ago, and numerous mining companies have been formed in the town.
327
TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
This being one of the newer towns of the county, having been taken from the towns of Wallkill and Deer Park in 1825, the details pertaining to its early settlement are of course embodied in the history of those towns and cannot well be treated separately in this place at much length.
Among the early pioneers in this section was John Finch, who settled in what was afterward known as Finchville. The records show he was there in 1733 at least. He came from Horseneck, Conn., settling first at Goshen, where it was said in after years he was the first adult person to receive burial in the Goshen churchyard.
Jasper Writer came from Germany, and after spending a few years in Philadelphia he removed to this section and settled on what was after- ward known as the Writer farm. This was probably before 1763, as he was over a hundred years old when he died in 1842.
Ashbel Cadwell was another early settler here, and his grandson. Har- vey R. Cadwell, in later years became a prominent citizen of Otisville.
The Green family was also among the carly settlers here. Israel Green, the pioneer, started at Middletown, and he had many children. some of whom lived in the Otisville section. Daniel Green, his brother, settled near Finchville. William Shaw must also be numbered with the well known Mount Hope pioneers, and he settled near Howells some years before the Revolution and left many worthy descendants in that . region.
Stephen St. John was another enterprising and public spirited citizen of that little village. James Finch served in the militia during the Revo- lution for more than three months, and also in the French and Indian war in 1755 and 1756. In his youthful days he served as valet to General Abercrombie at Fort Stanwix.
Benjamin Woodward. already mentioned, came into the section in 1773 from Stonington, Conn. He served several sessions in the Legisla- ture, was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1821, and was state senator from 1827 to 1830. His son Charles also represented his town in the Legislature in 1863 and 1864.
Joshua Corwin was another Mount Hope pioneer who came there some- time before the Revolution, coming from Southold. L. I. He had eight children, who settled on an extensive tract of land in that region.
328
THE COUNTY OF ORANGE.
Jacob Wiggins came very soon after the Revolution and settled two miles south of Otisville.
ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN.
The act of incorporation of Mount Hope was passed in 1825, as before stated. But the new town was then named "Calhoun" in honor of the distinguished South Carolina Senator, John C. Calhoun, whose patriotic course as secretary of war during the contest with Great Britain in 1812 won him great favor with the people of this entire region. But they soon regretted this action and the honor conferred because of Calhoun's course and policy during the nullification discussions of 1831 and 1832. There was a violent revulsion of public opinion and everybody wanted to drop this now unpopular name of the town without ceremony, thus showing their open disapproval of the new policy of the Southern statesman. A public meeting was held, the old name was dropped with a heavy thud and the present title of "Mount Hope" was unanimously adopted with much enthusiasm. In response to a popular petition sent to the Legisla- ture in 1833 a law was passed March 14 of that year discarding the old name and ratifying the new one. The plan of thus honoring a political favorite of the hour, however distinguished and popular he might be, had proved a dangerous experiment even in those eight short years, and the people were now resolved to adopt some title for their town which could not be affected by the sands of time or the progress of human events.
While all the earlier records of this town were destroyed by fire in 1848, the account of the first town meeting, which was held at the house of Joseph Conklin, April 5, 1825, is happily preserved in the books of Deer Park. Joseph Chattle and Richard Penny were the presiding justices of the peace. One hundred and fifty dollars were raised for the support of the poor for the ensuing year and $35 for the maintenance of bridges. Joseph Chattle was chosen the first supervisor and Joseph Conklin town clerk. While many of the principal officers were chosen by ballot, all the minor town officials were selected by the primitive method of raising of hands. Four constables were chosen, six firemasters, four fence viewers and forty-one highway masters. Just what the duties of the latter were can only be conjectured, as very little attention was paid to the public roads of that period or their repair, and fortunately so, perhaps, because of
329
TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE.
the primitive and defective methods in vogue. The official list of the town included also three assessors, two overseers of the poor, three commis- sioners of highways, three school commissioners and three school inspec- tors.
The first town meeting after the fire was in 1849. At that time the rather extravagant civil list of the town had been somewhat reduced in number. One hundred dollars were then raised for repairs to roads and bridges.
It is interesting to note in passing that in 1906 the sum raised for the maintenance of public roads alone in the town under the money system of roadwork was $2.743-33. Of this amount $933.12 was received from the State and $260 from the poll tax.
LITTLE SHAWANGUNK KILL.
Heretofore it has been said that the little Shawangunk Kill, in this town, was of such little importance that historians declined to mention it, yet this stream, lying practically all in the town, was at one time the scene of five thriving saw-mills in operation, but which have since disap- peared. Yet the city of Middletown in 1890 saw a basis of great water works in this stream, and just from the line at the headwaters of this kill in the town of Wallkill, erected a reservoir which was known as Highland Lake, containing about 500.000,000 gallons of water. On April 22, 1901, just below Highland Lake and in the town of Mount Hope, the city of Middletown decided to erect another lake, and the contract was let to Charles Sundstrom of the city of Middletown, who, by the erection of what was known as Shawangunk, Greenleaf and Steward dams, im- pounded a large quantity of water, which was to form a part of the Middletown system.
This work was at the cost of something like $57,000, and was con- nected with Mohagen Lake by a twenty-inch conduit, and also a twenty- four-inch conduit was extended in a westerly direction to a point in the Shawangunk Kiil, above Mount Hope, from which it was intended to take water at high times, and conduct it to what was called Shawangunk reservoir.
This reservoir when full contains over 434.000,000 gallons of water. and has an acreage of about 102 acres, on what was formerly known as
330
THE COUNTY OF ORANGE.
the Greenleaf farm. It will be observed that Highland Lake had been erected some fourteen years, but since Shawangunk Lake was erected, litigation sprang up front the mill owners on the big Shawangunk Kill, as far north as Pine Bush, and all the farmers on the line of the little Shawangunk Kill were brought into proceedings for condemnation, and the payment of damages for the taking of this water, and this litigation, which continued some two or three years, was finally settled in the year 1907, when all water rights to both kills were finally determined, but the city of Middletown had paid in expenses and damages something like $25,000.
VILLAGES.
The village of Mount Hope is in the southwestern part of the town. This name was bestowed long before the formation of the town itself, which was evidently named after the old village. The site of the hamlet is a commanding elevation, and there is a charming view of the surround- ing landscape on all sides far and near.
Benjamin Woodward and Dr. Benjamin Newkirk are credited with the establishment of the place in May, 1807. On the eighth day of that month, after the "raising bee" was over, James Finch, the old settler, called the assembly to order and made a very enthusiastic speech, during which he christened the place "Mount Hope" with proper ceremony.
Otisville was settled in 1816 by Isaac Otis, a merchant from New York, and named for him. There were but three houses on the upper street, and probably but little more than a dozen buildings comprised the entire village when the Erie Railroad was opened on November 3, 1846.
The officials of the road who arrived on the first train dined at the hotel of Ambrose W. Green, who for many years was one of the leading citizens of Otisville. At this time, 1846, Dr. Avery Cook lived and had his office near where the depot stands. Galen Otis owned the only store which stood where he later built a large square house. Ezra Coleman lived and had his wagon-making shop where Dr. Writer now lives. Samuel K. Wheat was the harness-maker, and lived where later Judson Van Duzor lived. Stanford Harding was the blacksmith, and Squire Baker had a cooper shop. Harvey R. Cadwell, a member of Assembly in 1862, owned the farm on the north, and Smith Loomis, father of Supervisor Charles Loomis, owned the farm on the western boundary of the village.
Garrett H. Tymeson,
331
TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE.
The schoolhouse in 1846 was nearly a mile south of the village on the plains, the present site of the cemetery. A church was also there. This same year Algernon Sidney Dodge, son of Benjamin Doge, of Mount Hope, came to Otisville and leased the store of Galen Otis. Alsop Wood- ward Dodge, son of Algernon Sidney Dodge, now resides in Middletown, and from him we learned some of the facts contained here.
Ambrose Woodward Green, mentioned above, was born in the town of Greenville in 1813. His father was Charles S. Green, and his grandfather was Daniel Green, a soldier of the Revolution from Orange County.
Ambrose W. Green settled in Otisville in 1835, and for a time carried on the tailoring business, which he discontinued, and built the Washing- ton Hotel, now the Greenleaf Hotel, conducting it for some time in con- nection with other business.
Before the Erie came to Otisville, Mr. Green owned a market wagon route to Newburgh, going twice a week by way of Bloomingburg. While Otisville remained the western terminal of the Erie, Mr. Green also owned a stage line to Forestburg, Sullivan County, connecting with lines into Pennsylvania for Honesdale and other western points. He was interested in building the Otisville and Wurtsboro turnpike. Mr. Green sold the Washington Hotel and about 1850 built the hotel near the railroad track. While conducting this hotel, he was engaged in the lumber and coal busi- ness. From 1863 to 1870 he was extensively interested in the lead mining operations on Shawangunk Mountain. The decline in the value of lead after our Civil War caused the mines to be discontinued, and Mr. Green later sold his hotel and removed to a farm a couple of miles north of Otis- ville, where he died in July, 1888.
The coming of the Erie boomed Otisville for the next few years. A Methodist and a Presbyterian church were built and a little later a Catholic church. Several stores and many dwellings were erected. Market wagons came here twice a week with farmers' produce for ship- ment to New York. Previous to the building of the Midland Railroad hundreds of teams throughout the winter, while the Delaware and Hudson Canal was closed, came to Otisville from Sullivan and western Ulster Counties, with leather from the tanneries, and returned with the green hides for tanning. For many years, until the introduction of refrigera- tor cars, Otisville was the western terminal of the milk train.
George Strickland and Joel D. Northrup. residents of Otisville, were
332
THE COUNTY OF ORANGE.
the conductors-the latter for many years. The Orange County Express for several years went no further west than Otisville. The gravel and construction train for this section, with nearly a hundred employees, had its headquarters at Otisville. Until coal was used as the fuel for the en- gines of the Erie, Otisville for many years was the principal point where the thousands of cords of wood were received which the Erie consumed yearly. This wood was all sawed by hand, and many men were employed. Many citizens of Otisville found various kinds of employment with the Erie during these years, and much of the prosperity of the village canie from the dollars left here by the monthly pay-car of the Erie.
TUBERCULOSIS SANATORIUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
To the historian of the future the name Otisville will be associated with one of the great sanitary advances made in this country, namely, the establishment, by a municipality, of a tuberculosis sanatorium outside. the political limits of that municipality.
The establishment of such a sanatorium was first suggested in 1889. At that time, however, not even a medical sentiment was ripe for such a movement. In the succeeding fifteen years, little progress was made to- ward a realization of these plans, and it was not until Dr. Thomas Dar- lington became commissioner of health that any tangible results were achieved. He proved an aggressive and resourceful champion. With political, corporate, and private interests leagued together to prevent the city from acquiring a site, it was largely owing to the indefatigable labors of Dr. Darlington that the most determined opposition to the plan was overcome.
After carefully examining many sites, it was finally determined to estab- lishi the sanatorium at Otisville, a little village lying in the Shawangunk Mountains, and about seventy-five miles from New York City. As a south- ern exposure was desired, the grounds, covering an area of over 1,400 acres, were selected on the southeastern slope of one of the most pic- turesque and most favorably situated mountains of the entire range. The grounds have an altitude varying from about 800 feet to 1,500 feet above sea level. The sanatorium property consists of what were formerly thir- teen separate farms, which were purchased at different times during the years 1905 and 1906, the health department first taking possession for the city of New York on December 1. 1905.
333
TOWN OF MOUNT HOPE.
To avoid delay in establishing the institution on a working basis, it was deemed best to renovate and remodel the buildings on the property, and use them until such time as the needs of the sanatorium would require the erection of new ones. By July, 1906, the institution was ready to receive its first patients, and a year after that date had accommodations for about 100.
Since the sanatorium is designed for the treatment of those ill with tuberculosis in the early stages of the disease, there is only a small build- ing for hospital accommodations. The rest of the buildings, in which the patients practically live outdoors, are portable houses and shacks. All the frills and ruffles so universally connected with the construction of public buiklings have been omitted; everything has been subordinated to that which is best for the patients.
There are six portable houses, which are set on posts and can be taken apart and transferred to any location desired. The houses all measure ten by sixty feet, and are divided into five rooms. The center room, heated on cold days, is used as a bathing and dressing room, as well as a sitting room in inclement weather. Those on either side are used as bed rooms. Each room has four windows, two of which are always open and so arranged as to avoid all draughts. Each room contains one bed. The two rooms on either end are entirely open on the three sides, a fine screen only enclosing to keep out insects, etc. Heavy canvas curtains are folded in a roll outside, and can be dropped in stormy weather. These end rooms each accommodates two patients, thus making a capacity of six to each house.
In the latter part of 1906 a one-story and a two-story shack were erected for the additional accommodation of patients ; and during 1907 two single- story shacks and one small house were built.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.