CHAPTER 35

This area is noted for the making of maple syrup from the sap of the hard maple trees,although it is not asextensively done now as in years gone by. Almost every farm had its sugar grove, as it was called,and a sap house builtnearby. A good pile of wood was cut in the fall and piled near the sap house to be ready for sugarmaking time. Theowner went about and tapped the trees with an auger, boring a hole in the tree and putting in thehole what is called aspile a little metal trough like affair for the sap to flow through into the sap bucket that was hungbeneath the spile.When early spring weather began to arrive with cold nights and nice warm days, the sap ran freelyand it was a busy timefor all hands to help gather the sap, going from tree to tree and emptying the sap in milk cans orlarge containers to betransported by horse and sled to the sap house. Many times the snow was still deep in the woodsand the sap had to becarried some distance by hand. For this a wooden yoke that fitted over a person's shoulders andaround the neck with aheavy chain and hook attached was used so a pail of sap could be hooked on the yoke and carriedto the sap house. Aperson would balance one on each side. The sap house, according to size, had one or more largevats where the sap waspoured in. A brisk fire had to be kept going day and night under the vats of sap until it was boileddown thick enough forsyrup. Scum was constantly taken off as it came to the top of the boiling mass. When of the rightconsistency, it was putup in gallon tin cans ready for sale on the market. Around sixty years ago farmers also made someof the syrup up insugar loaves, using bread tins for the forms. This sugar had to be shaved off when used. It wasused for baking or in anyway that the finer and more expensive white granulated sugar was used. If you have never eaten asugar cookie madewith maple sugar and sour cream and baked with maple sugar shaved on top or eaten shavedmaple sugar on a goodwell-buttered pancake, you have missed something.

In later years some of the maple syrup for sale in stores is put up in pint-size glass jars. Alsosome is boiled down towhat is called soft maple sugar or maple butter and sold in glass jars or in a small flat tin box.Today's price for a gallonof new maple syrup is $5.00 or more. Price in early days was $1.00 a gallon and less. At themaple syrup season, partieswere frequently held among the younger set. They were called "sugaring off" parties. The maplesyrup was boiled downin a large kettle to a soft ball stage. Then each person was given a cereal or soup dish about halffall of the syrup andwith a spoon vigorously stirred and stirred until the syrup became a soft mass of maple sugar.There was always acontest to see who could get the lightest colored sugar cake and the smoothest, without grit.Pickles and crackers wereserved with it to counteract the sweet. If there was enough clean snow about at the time of a"sugaring off" party, snowwas gathered in a large pan and when the syrup got to the soft ball stage some was poured aroundon the pan of snow,each person using a fork and winding a large mass on the fork to fit their mouth. It was called"lockjaw" because it wasa sticky mass and with a mouthful one was unable to talk.

Today some sap houses have modern evaporators and some are even oil fired.

The old rusted tin sap buckets have in many instances been replaced with plastic bags, andother improvements areconstantly made in making of the maple product. The modern sap containers are made of a toughpliable plastic and havespiles as an integral part of the units. They hold 14 quarts and are not affected by freezing. At theend of the season theymay be cleaned by turning inside out and washing in the family washing machine.

CHAPTER 36

I wonder what the baby sitters of today would think of the hours and pay received for caringfor children fifty yearsago. Young girls would care for the children of city boarders who came for the summer vacation.The hours were 7 a.m.to 7 p.m. including Sunday, and the pay was two dollars for the entire week. Also the pay toyoung girls who worked atthe local boarding house "Briar Cliff Lodge" as waitresses was six dollars per week for a sevenday week. The work wasfar from just waiting on table. The girls worked from an early hour until sometimes ten o'clock atnight. They wererequired to do all the dishes, take care of the dining room, iron the table linen, and prepare thefruits and salads.

There were no TV, Hi-Fi sets, or radios in the village fifty years ago. The first great eventthat I recall in the line ofrecorded music was the old Victor phonograph. A large horn was attached to the box-likemachine to carry the sound,and the records played on it were a cylinder shape. It had to be wound up each time a record wasplayed. Organs werearound the village and country long before pianos came.

Intoxicated men, or "drunks" as they were called, were more prevalent on the village streetsfifty to sixty years ago.It was not an unusual sight to see one staggering up the street or fallen in the gutter. The villagehad a small room calledthe village "lockup." It was located to the right side toward the back of the old Fire Hall buildingnow owned by Mr.Everett Herrick. A drunk was put in the village lock-up to sober up overnight. The door waslocked on him and thewindows had iron bars across them. If it was known that anyone was in the lock-up, childrenwould peer in through thebarred windows and try to annoy him.

Long gone, and probably forgotten by many, was the hop-vine growing all along the wallbelow the early Gorschhome on Main Street. No doubt the hops were used by the family in early days for making beer.Beer at that time did notcome in bottles or cans. It was sold on tap at the saloons and drawn from a keg on the village bar.Those preferring todrink beer at home took a pail to the village saloon and purchased the amount wanted for theday.

Attorney William Allaben was a familiar sight on the street each day carrying a littletwo-quart galvanized pail with atin cover up and down the street to his home in the "Bee Hive." The pail was filled with beer forhimself and wife.

Corners were the favorite location for a saloon and they were called "The Corner Saloon."They were so locatedboth in villages and cities in early days. It was a favorite location to entice all traffic coming orgoing in eitherdirection.

The hard-laboring men of early bark-peeling days drank more, according to history of thosedays, and stories werewritten about intoxicated drivers of the early stage coaches.

Liquor was made extensively in early days and large loads were floated on rafts down theDelaware to be sold in thecities.

Taverns were first licensed in 1798 in Franklin, N. Y. and were numerous after that date. Animmense quantity ofwhiskey was distilled, and thousands of barrels of whiskey were sent from Franklin to Philadelphiaon rafts.

There were also the "barn-raising bees" in earlier days. Whenever a farmer built a new barn,all the neighbors wouldgather and help with raising the frame of the barn and getting the roof timbers on. The ladieswould come along to helpprepare a hearty meal for all the workers at noontime I have always heard that besides thehammers, saws, and nails, ittook several jugs of hard cider to get the barn up in good shape.

In days fifty to sixty years ago, the village had a night watchman who strolled about thevillage, particularly in thebusiness section, to see that no offense occurred. The night watchman that I remember was a Mr.Reuben Ackerly, ashort, stout, and not too young man. I doubt that if he had encountered any of the present-dayhoodlums or robbers, hewould have been able to do much in defense.

In the upper Main Street block in the only two-story building in the block, over what was theearly harness shop ofthe late James Mungle, lived a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. "Rod" Anderson. Mr.Anderson worked for years onthe "Halbeck Hill" estate above the village. He was a very short man and his wife was extremelytall and lank. Theyreceived the nickname, and were always spoken of as, "Rod" and "Rod and a half."

CHAPTER 37

Before the days of the automobile with its ease of travel, the "pack peddlers" traveled aboutthe rural areas. Theheavy pack which they carried on their backs was filled with many things-- combs, shoelaces,scissors, knives, thimbles,trinkets of all kinds, and clothing. It was a great day when the pack peddler arrived. He wouldtravel the dusty roads allday, and, when night came, he would stay wherever he happened to end his day's work. He wasfed and lodged for anextra trinket or something from his pack or just by the generosity of old-fashioned folks whoshared what little theyhad.

The late Albert Halpern of this village and the late Sam Korn of the early noted Korn store atArkville both started inbusiness as pack peddlers. Another peddler about the country in early days was the "tin peddler"or "rag picker," whodrove a horse and wagon. A large enclosed box on the back of the buckboard wagon was filledwith all manner of tindishes and utensils used in early days. He carried a scale that was hooked onto the wagon box.There was a hook on theend of the scale to fasten the article being weighed. The exchange with the "tin peddler" for somenew kitchenware wasa bag or more of old rags. The rags were discarded pieces of material not suitable for use inmaking the old ragcarpet.

The father of Earl Jenkins and Mrs. Hildred Weeks of this village, who for many yearsoperated the country storeand post office at Denver, N. Y., peddled by horse and wagon once a week through surroundingrural areas. Whenvisiting my grandmother in Vega, it was always "peanut day" for me when "Wes" Jenkins came.Meat was also peddledabout the village and rural areas once a week. In early days it was done by horse and wagon andin later days by truck."Russ" Austin was an early meat peddler in the horse-and-wagon days.

Albert A. Halpern mentioned, who started in business as one of the early pack peddlers, lateramassed a fortune. Hecame from Russia, his native country. He was a member of the Halpern Brothers firm in thisvillage for about twelveyears and then went to Fleischmanns. His brothers were Simon and Maurice. Simon, known as"Sam," built the largehome on East Orchard Street now owned by Claude Kelly. The sons of Simon, Sigmund, knownas "Zeke" and Louis"have operated the Halpern Supply Store at Fleischmanns for many years.

There is but one weather vane remaining in the village of Margaretville. It is on the largebuilding back of theRoswell Sanford home on Walnut Street, The building was formerly the stables of the well-to-doMr. Muller, who livedat that place and who rebuilt and owned the large hotel, the Pocantico Inn. Mr. Muller always hada driver, GroverHenderson, who drove the old gentleman about the village winters in a fine two-seated sleigh withspirited horses withbells on. Mr. Muller was comfortably tucked in the sleigh with a great light colored fur robe usedin the early days.

CHAPTER 38

The early settlement of "Pakataghkan," now spelled Pakatakan, was an Indian village situateda short distance abovethe present village of Margaretville. The name Pakatakan has been used a great deal locally.

The highest mountain near our village is called "Pakatakan." The large summer boardinghouse in the woods aboveMargaretville, in Arkville, was named "The Pakatakan Lodge," and the colony of cottagessurrounding the Lodge,mainly homes of artists, was called the "Pakatakan Colony."

The noted artist the late J. Francis Murphy and the late Adah Clifford Murphy, his wife, alsoan artist, had a home inthe colony.

The golf course that was built in connection with the Lodge in early days was known as the"Pakatakan GolfCourse," and the house near the bridge entrance to Arkville, at the left, was called "ThePakatakan Country Club." Atone time a restaurant or tea room was operated there. The last large camp built at Perch Lake forboys and girls is called"Camp Pakatakan."

The first early bowling alley near the entrance of the old fair grounds, operated by Mr. Grey,was called "ThePakatakan Bowling Alley."

The early organization of the Odd Fellows in 1855 was called the "Pakatakan Lodge," and theearly fire company ofthe village was called "The Pakatakan Hose Co."

There was at one time in the town of Middletown a society called "The Council ofPakatakan" that collectedhistorical data.

In 1896 the local school had a "Pakatakan Glee Club."

Alexander Grant Jackson, son of Att. J. K. P. Jackson, composed a piece of music called"Pakatakan Waltz."

CHAPTER 39

In 1871 J. Hopkins Dean erected a hotel at what is now Arkville. The village in early dayswas known as "Dean'sCorners." Soon after the close of the Revolution, a spring flood occurred at Dean's Cornersflooding the flats, and somehomes had as high as two feet of water in them. An elevated position of the block tavern at thetime of this floodafterward suggested the name of Arkville.

Fleischmanns, formerly called "Griffin Corners," was named after an early settler, MatthewGriffin, who in 1833kept a store and until 1855 operated a hotel in the village. The village was renamed for thewealthy Fleischmann familyof Fleischmann Yeast Company who came to Griffin Corners summers and built a beautiful homethere.

Pine Hill received its name from the Indian word "Kauren sinck" meaning place of the pinetrees. The nameShandaken comes from "Schindeken." This is the Delaware Indian word for hemlock woods. TheIndians called theCatskills "Onti Oras" meaning "Land in the Sky" or "Mountains of the Sky." Catskills in earlydays was written "Kats-kill," "Kats" for the many wild cats in the area, and "kill," the Dutch wordfor stream. They were first called Katskills bythe Dutch.

The first settlement above Margaretville, to my knowledge, has always been called "Austin'sBridge." People by thename of Austin owned a large farm in that section in earlier years, and the old covered bridge thatwas located there wasalways known as "Austin's bridge." A little beyond that, the little settlement is known as "Devil'shalf acre." How itreceived that name, I do not know. The name denotes that some very disagreeable people livedthere at one time.Halcottsville was named for Matthew Halcott who was the first merchant in the place, opening astore in 1814. Fiveyears later he built a fulling carding and cloth-dressing establishment.

Roxbury was called "Beaverdam" because of the many beavers in that section and thebuilding by them of severaldams near the village.

What is now Grand Gorge was called "Mooresville" after the first settlers in that section bythe name of Moore.

"Head of Delaware" was applied to what is now the village of Stamford, and the settlementwas called that for manyyears.

Vega was called "Bataviakill," "Bet-auw" meaning great meadow, and kill, the Dutch wordfor stream. The name ofthe stream flowing through the Vega-Denver valley is still called "Bataviakill."

Prattsville was founded by Zodack Pratt of tannery fame, and the village was named forhim.

The word Gilboa signifies "bubbling fountain." Shacksville was a name given in early days tothe flats belowRoxbury village. This section was later called Brookdale.

Kelly Corners received its name from a prominent family by the name of Kelly who were earlysettlers there.

The first name for the Clovesville community near Fleischmanns was "Franceville" in honor ofone France whosettled there. Later a clothing mill was established there, which wove wool fabrics; because ofthis, the place was knownfor many years as "Clothesville." This was corrupted to Clovesville and finally Covesville.

The lake known as Lake Delaware, near Delhi, was originally called "Fish Lake."

Downsville was named for the first wife of George Downs Wheeler, whose name wasAntoinette Downs. She wasthe daughter of Abel Downs.

Dingle Hill got its name from the glens and recesses on its easterly side. Settled by Davisesmore familiar withEnglish dingles, but said to be occupied by the tinkers and gypsies than with Scottish glens. Thegypsy name was appliedto the hill rather than a Scottish name.

Bussy Hollow, located in Pleasant Valley, received its name from four Bussy brothers,Solomon, Abraham, Lewis,and Israel who settled in that area at an early date.

The little settlement of Lake Delaware was in early days called "The Hook." The origin of theterm came from atavern at this point referred to as "the first hook out of Delhi." This was a stage-coach stop for achange of horses on theold turnpike. The stage-coach drivers and many of the passengers took on some fortification forthe road.

Mrs. Lina Kelly, one of the older residents of Kelly Corners, related to me that what is now"Pink Street," thesection between Kelly Corners and Denver, was in early days called "Prink" Street. The wordcame from the manyparties held in that section which were called "prinktons."

On the farm below Halcottsville owned by the Rev. John D. Hubbell, a hotel and still wereoperated there before andafter 1828. The present home of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Hubbell was the former home of Rev. JohnD. Hobble who was thegrandfather of Harry, Fanny, Ralph and the late John D. Hobble. Much of the settlement in thatsection of Kelly Cornersis owned by the Hubbell family. The fourth generation of the family is living there. It is interestingto note that the postoffice established in 1892 at Denver, N. Y., was named by Mrs. Charles Wesley Jenkins. TheJenkinses operated a storeand the first post office there and for many years after. Mrs. Jenkins was the mother of EarlJenkins and Mrs. JudsonWeeks of this village. Mrs. Jenkins spent her latter years at the home of her daughter in thisvillage. She was ninety-threeyears of age at the time of her death in 1959.

The head waters of the East branch of the Delaware river, which flows through our village onthe East, is below thevillage of Grand Gorge. It is scarcely more than a swamp in that location. The East branch of theDelaware river wascalled by the Indians "Papakunkill."

"Pawpachton," now written Pepacton, was an Indian settlement, the name meaning calamusor sweet flag place.Arena was called "Lumberville" because of the great lumber industry in that section in early days.Nearby Dunraven wascalled "Clark's Factory" because of the settlement and industry located there built by the Clarkfamily.

Margaretville, as mentioned earlier, was named in honor of Margaret Lewis who inherited alot in this section fromthe Livingston patent owned by her mother, Gertrude Livingston Lewis.

Kingston, N. Y. was burned by the British in 1777. Five thousand acres of the Livingstonpatent were donated byChancellor Livingston to the suffering inhabitants who had lost their homes. Although it was notsettled until sixteenyears after the burning of Kingston, the settlement was called "New Kingston." Some of the earlynames of the settlerswho came to New Kingston were Yaple, DuMond, and Van Benschoten.

In early days and until after the Civil War, Kingston, N. Y., was known as Esopus, and whenthe early toll-plankroad was built from Kingston to this section, it was called the old 'Sopus Turnpike.

Kingston was called "Sopus" from a tribe of Indians by that name. They belonged to theIroquois nation. Beforethis, Kingston was called "Wiltwych" by Governor Stuyvesant. The English Colonial Governorgave the settlement thename of Kingston after his own home in England, "Kingston L'Isle."

The Indian word "Chehocton" or "Shehawhen," said to be the Delaware word "Sakung"meaning mouth of astream, was applied to Hancock. Hancock went by the name Chehocton as late as 1851. Unadillasignifies the meeting ofwaters or the place of meeting. Oneonta means stony place. The Ouleout is an Indian name stillused taken fromOulyoulet, meaning continuing voice. Breakabeen means horse tail. Palenville was named forJohathan Palen, one of thefirst earliest residents of "The Village of Falling Waters." Haines Falls was also named for an earlyresident, AaronHaines, who went there on horseback from Connecticut. Keepnocka, Oneonta's nickname usedafter the Revolution, wasa sly allusion to the state of war or vigilant neutrality existing between the Yankees and Germansliving there.

Judge Foote, a member of the Legislature in 1796-97, who was interested in the formation ofDelaware County wasappointed to choose the name for the county seat. A group of his cronies asked to be allowed tosuggest a name. Foote'snickname was "The Great Mogul," and since Delhi (India), was the city of the Mogul, the friendsproposed the nameDelhi, and Foote agreed. Schoharie means driftwood.

Schenevus Creek was named after an old Indian who lived on its banks. William Franklin, theonly son of BenjaminFranklin, was active in colonial affairs and was appointed Governor of New Jersey in 1762. Thetown of Franklin wasnamed for him. At one time he owned land in that vicinity.

Cabin Hill derived its name when the early road was being cut through the forest in thatsection. Not far from theCabin Hill Church, a large rock hangs out of the bank about high enough for a man to standunder. It was used as acabin by the men who were cutting the road through the wilderness. From this it derived its nameas Cabin Hill.

In an old cemetery on Cabin Hill just after you pass the road on the left leading through theBullet-Hole and about ahalf mile from the village of Andes, are buried all the Waterburys.

The 1809 survey of the old 'Sopus Turnpike shows the nearby house of Daniel Waterbury -eighty links from theroad on the north side. The family seemed to have disappeared from this locality before the CivilWar. Rev. DanielWaterbury, a member of this family, said to have been born here in 1793, was a trustee andprincipal organizer of theDelaware Literary Institute at Franklin in 1835. This continued for many years one of the bestschools in DelawareCounty. He once taught school on the Tremperskill in a shop on what became the Liddle farmbefore the logschoolhouse was built on the Perch Lake road, probably around 1809. He also preached in thePresbyterianMeetinghouse in Tremperskill (Andes), said to have been erected by the Waterburys, Benedict,and Bassett families in1818 and fixed by the Legislature in 1819 as the place of the first town meeting of the town ofAndes to be held inMarch 1820. The Presbyterian Church in Andes was built in 1848.

John Waterbury was the first postmaster in Andes in 1820. Rev. Daniel Waterbury marriedMary Lewis Grant ofMiddletown in 1822, and she died in Franklin in 1838. Among the children of Rev. DanielWaterbury were: Dr. RobertL., born in Andes in 1823 who married Christine, daughter of Henry and Lucy A. Douie ofAndes, and was practicingmedicine in Franklin in 1850; Daniel, born in Franklin in 1828, a teacher, lawyer, farmer, andmember of Assembly(1861-62) and who died in Margaretville in 1895; and Mary, born in Franklin in 1829, and who in1854 at Fergusonvillemarried George Downs Wheeler whose first wife was Antoinette Downs, daughter of AbelDowns, from whomDownsville received its name.

From Andes village two men arose to take places in posterity. One of them, "Hiram" Scutt,migrated to Illinois afterthe Civil War and achieved renown as the inventor of barbed wire.

Matthew Linn Bruce of Andes was the son of Dr. James Bruce. He becameLieutenant-Governor of New York andwas finally appointed to the Supreme Court.

Teunis was the last Indian to reside in Delaware county after the Revolution. He was aMohican Indian and whenthe first white men discovered the deserted Indian village of Pakatakan in 1762 just north of thepresent Margaretvillevillage. He lived in a wigwam in the lower part of the Plattekill valley. He remained very friendlywith the white men.Teunis warned the white settlers of their impending danger when the Indians planned to massacreall the white settlers atPepacton. The old Indian retired to the seclusion of a lake that now bears his name lest histribesmen should take his lifefor his aid to the settlers of this area.

The last Indian to live in the town of Halcott was named Froman. His wigwam stood near aspring in a meadowclose by the present boundary line between Halcott and Middletown. He, too, was friendly withthe white people, but hemysteriously disappeared about the time the pioneers settled in his vicinity.

CHAPTER 40

In other records of early history, I find that Delaware County, and the Delaware river, tooktheir names from LordDelaware who was appointed Governor of Virginia in 1609 in recognition of his services to theearly colonists.

Other versions of the origin of the name Arkville came from one of the first settlers beingnamed Noah. When he hadan early store, it was called "Noah's Ark" and was later shortened to "The Ark." When the firstpost office wasestablished in 1837 at the settlement, the village was officially named Arkville.

Dunraven was named after the Earl of Dunraven, England. The post office at Dunraven wasfirst established as"Clark's Factory" February 8, 1849 with Egbert A. Clark as postmaster. Henry A. Clark wasappointed postmasterOctober 6th, 1854. Smith A. Taylor was appointed June 9, 1873.

The office was discontinued January 9, 1882 but re-established May 29, 1882 with Olney M.Smith as postmaster.Ettie O'Brien was appointed April 3, 1886. The name of the post office was changed from"Clark's Factory" to"Dunraven" on March 17th, 1890. Etta Barnett was appointed May 21, 1903. John BrinkKnickerbocker was appointedOctober 5, 1904. lna Scott was appointed January 2, 1913. The office was discontinued June 30,1945, and mail is nowsent to the Margaretville office and delivered by R. D. from that office. The Catskill Mountainregion is especially rich inthe heritage of place names left to it by the American Indians. These are of Delaware and othernearby counties. Onehamlet in Delaware County carries the Indian name "Cadosia" meaning "covered with a blanket."Several mountains,lakes, and streams carry on the tradition of the Red Man. Susquehanna means either "muddywaters" or "river of longreaches." A tributary of this great river is the Ouleout creek meaning "a continuing voice" or"rapid waters." Oquago, acreek at Deposit, is a Mohawk Indian word meaning "place of wild grapes." Mount Utsayantha isa "beautiful spring."There is another story which tells of a fair Indian maid, a Mohawk, who loved a Sioux.Intermarriage being forbidden, sowe are told, she drowned herself and was buried at the summit of the mountain. In a search afterthe truth, the supposedtomb was entered but nothing was found.

In the late 1700's, Samuel A. Law, an early settler of Meridith, was responsible for theimmigration into DelawareCounty of a great many Connecticut Yankees. These men, remembering their homes back in NewEngland, brought withthem the names, Colchester, Stamford, and Roxbury. Other towns were called after the villagefounders: Davenport,Hales Eddy, Walton Kortright, and Shavertown. Delaware County has the only settlement whichhonors a woman; that'sMargaretville. There is a creek carrying the name of "Charlotte," named for one queen consort ofthe British Empire.Charlotte Creek is in central New York in Chemung and Schuyler counties. It is less than tenmiles in length. Depositwas once an important station for lumber prior to "rafting on the Delaware" during the springfreshets. Earlier the Indianword "Cokeose," meaning "owl's nest," was used. This soon was corrupted into "Cookhouse,"and this the settlementwas called for many years.

The Dutch influence, so prominent in the Hudson Valley district, is found in several DelawareCounty names. A"kill" is a creek, or stream, thus Kaaterskill is "Wildcat Creek." Plattekill is "flat creek." There aremany others, likeTremperskill, Little Bushkill, Beaverkill, et cetera. Bovina, at one time locally spoken of as ButtEnd, was named byGeneral Erastus Root. He used the Latin word for ox, alluding to the fitness of the land forgrazing in that section.Mount Pisgah derives its name from the mountain where Moses saw the Promised Land. It wasnamed by GeneralErastus Root. A story is told of Cat Hollow near Downsville in Delaware County. A resident ofthat settlement, to geteven with a boarder who shot her pet cat, served the murderer that same cat boiled up in adelicious cat stew. There areover two hundred Indian place names in New York State alone, and with some of these areconnected Indian legendsthat still live in the folklore of the state. The village of Big Indian in Ulster County has its Indianhistory of love,romance, and tragedy. Not far from the time of the Revolutionary War, among the early settlers inthe Esopus valley wasa family one member of which was an attractive young lady of marriageable age. Her white suitorwas not of the bestcharacter, but she had another suitor, an Indian, with unusual charm of manner for one of his racewho was known asWinnesook. His unusual height attracted much attention. The young woman was impressed withthe attentions of herdark-skinned suitor, but her parents strongly objected. They finally prevailed upon her to acceptthe white man inmarriage. The matrimonial venture was an unhappy one. Winnesook knew of this and contrived toelope with the whiteman's wife. The couple went to the wilds of the upper Big Indian valley where they spent a fewyears in comparativeobscurity. Several children were born to them. Finally Winnesook, with several Indian friends,made a raid upon thewhite settlers and appropriated some cattle. A posse of white men was organized for pursuit.Among them was thehusband of Winnesook's companion. The marauders were easily tracked from the presentShandaken a few miles up theEsopus. There, as the white pursuers were preparing to camp for the night, one of the posse sawthe bushes move in anunusual manner some distance from him. He discovered an Indian in ambush. Raising his gun, thewhite man fired. Ahuge Indian leaped from his covert and ran into the darkness of the woods. He was traced bybloody footprints in theforest leaves, and the next day his lifeless body was discovered in a large hollow tree. The corpsewas measured and itwas found that Winnesook, for such he proved to be, was seven feet and two inches in height. Hewas buried near thetree. The mother and children came and viewed the grave. She would not accept a home the whitemen offered her.

The name Big Indian was applied to the village that stands near where the giant savage methis death. Many yearslater a ploughman working near the tree unearthed a human skull of unusual size. This was takento Kingston andpronounced to be that of an Indian.

In the Catskills, and especially near our village, are many names using the word "kil" or kill,the Dutch wordmeaning stream. There are Redkill, Platterkill, Batariakill, Kaaterskill, Beaverkill, Westkill, andManorkill.

Dunraven, although a very small settlement was in early days, a center of activity when theearly factories, sawmills,gristmill, potash factory, toll-gate, first station for mail delivery for the surrounding area, earlyschool, and store werelocated there. Then there was a period of decline, and Margaretville became the business center.Today even the postoffice has been discontinued at Dunraven. Two stores are now located there, and a littlesettlement of new homes hasformed an attractive colony in the upper end of Dunraven.

Several people that were forced to leave their homes in the villages destroyed with thebuilding of the Pepactonreservoir have built there. New life has come to Dunraven.

The first tannery in Dunraven was built by Abraham Shults in 1811. The early gristmill wasdestroyed by fire in1834. It was rebuilt by Sam and Elkanah Smith, ancestors of the Smith family at GledsmereLodge. An early store atDunraven was on the Sanford farm, more recently known as the Norton home. It was operated atone time by ColonelGeorge Sands. The Sandeses operated a gristmill which was famous. In the fall, when streamswere too low to powerthe mill, George Sands used young slave girls to turn the stile for the mill operation. They wentround and round on thedirt floor in bare feet pushing the thick pole. The place became known as the "Wench Mill." Thesecond farm below thevillage of Margaretville on Route 28 was the old Avery Grant house, originally built around 1830.It has in recent yearsbeen remodeled. Colonel John Grant, father of Avery Grant, came from Torrington, Conn., in1779 and settled on whatwas recently known as the Ben Fairbairn property in Dunraven, now destroyed with the buildingof the Pepactonreservoir. The draft of the war of 1812 took place in the Grant homestead, and the militia wastrained on the broadmeadows nearby. Fifty years after the Grant settlement in this section, Avery built the houseacross the valley. It wasbuilt of native pine trees and lumber sawed in the mills owned by the Grant family. A stonechimney rises through thecenter of the house. It has a base measuring seven by twelve feet at the cellar floor. There are twofireplaces on the mainfloor and a Dutch oven in the cellar. A circular staircase imported from France rises from the hallat the main entrance.The farm is now owned by Robert Forsburgh. The Old Stone Schoolhouse at Dunraven was builtin 1820. In 1860 thebuilding was remodeled, the doorway being brought from the north to the south end. Thepredecessors to the Old StoneSchoolhouse was a log cabin not far from the same location. An 1842 report shows an attendanceof 87 pupils. Wagesof an early school teacher were $1.52 a week.

At an early date an old school Baptist church held services in the schoolhouse. In more recentyears Methodistchurch services for the area residents were held there.

For more than a hundred years, the Old Stone School served as a social and civic center tothe community. It is stillstanding but is on property held by New York City in connection with the Pepacton reservoir, andits fate isuncertain.

The 125th Anniversary Meeting was held at the Old Stone Schoolhouse October 16, 1945, bythe Stone SchoolCentennial Association. This was the last meeting by the association held there. The Old StoneSchool House Chapelwas the name of an association launched in July, 1940, at the Stone Schoolhouse. The districtschool there had beenabandoned and left the ancient school building without tenants.

A deed is on record at Delhi, dated July 5, 1820, from John and Anna Van Wagenen to theschool district, giving theland for school purposes, but there is a clause in the deed which says that it may be used forreligious purposes if schoolis discontinued. For this reason the association was formed - that the traditions of the buildingmay be preserved and thatit might serve as a place of worship. The organization is non-sectarian andnon-denominational.

It is interesting to note that the reason the Old Stone School was erected of stone was duesolely to the influence ofa woman. Thankful Louise Grant, wife of Col. John Grant and great-grandmother of the late Mrs.Charles Ellis. Sheinsisted that it be built of stone and, therefore, be permanent. It was done accordingly, and thefirst early log school onthe knoll near the site was sold in 1823 by the trustees to John A. Brush for $15.00 and then soldby him to Asa Grantfor $12.50.

The first religious services held at the Old Stone Schoolhouse were by the Baptists. AnnaGrant was a very activeworker.

It is interesting to note that the first Sunday school taught there was for females only. TheSunday school was heldonly in summers. The reason boys were not taught was not given in records. Perhaps they werebetter little boys thanones of this century, or perhaps they were so unruly that they had to be kept at home andinstructed by theirparents.

In early days, School District No. 10 took in a very large area. In 1842 there were 87 pupilsin the school over 5 andunder 16 years of age.

The teachers' wages were $2.25 per week. This was an increase over the year 1840 when theyreceived but $1.52per week.

The Old Stone School was disbanded in 1920. Only six pupils were then attending. They werethen taken by bus tothe Margaretville Central School.

CHAPTER 41

The first farm to be settled between Margaretville and Dunraven was the one formerly knownas the James Fairbairnfarm, now owned by Orvil Rosa. It was bought by Harmanus DuMond in 1763 at twenty shillingsper acre. It was one ofthe first four places to be settled in the whole town of Middletown. Eight years later, in 1771,William Henry Yaplesettled on what was later known as the Keeney place or "Meadow Brook Farm," and he at oncemarried DuMond'sdaughter Nelly. These two families were the only white settlers in the community at the time. TheTuscarora andDelaware Indians occupied all the rest of the land.

At the close of the Revolution, a German named Henry Myers, who had fought in the Patriotarmy, settled on whatwas formerly known as the Kaufman place, now the residence of Howard Fairbairn. He broughthis wife, CatharineShafer, to the place. She was fourteen years old. She became the mother of twenty-three childrenand died on the placeto which she was brought as a bride after a residence of eighty-four years.

A house which was built in 1791 stood until not too many years ago. On what was known asthe old Waterburyplace in Dunraven which was settled in early times by the Grants. Col. John Grant was postmasterthere for over fortyyears. The mail was kept in a milk pan on a shelf, and whenever anyone came for mail, the panwas taken down and themail sorted out. Mr. Grant also kept a store and tavern there for a long time carting his goods byhorseback and horseand wagon from Esopus (now Kingston).

The farm, in later years occupied by Jonas M. Sanford and later the Nortons, was originallysettled by PeterVandenbergh, but later it was occupied by Abel Sands who kept a store there.

The Sands family, from Connecticut, brought several slaves with them. They were the slavesthat operated the"Wench Mill" told about elsewhere in this history.

A toll-gate was kept near the covered bridge at Dunraven, but later was transferred to Clark'sFactory.

Other neighbors of Mr. Grant's in early days were Richard M. Goodrich, John VanWaggoner, Daniel Burrow,William Burgher, and Peter Sloughter. The latter two crossed over Huckleberry Hill to thewestward before there wasany road down the river and made the first clearing on Mill Brook.

Such was the community and its inhabitants at the time of the war of 1812.

Early settlers of what was Arena were Benjamin Ackerly, who had established a mill there in1789, and JohnDickson, who opened the first store there in 1795.

The old cave opposite former Arena on what was the Herman Fairbairn property wasoccupied by the Indians.Remains of bones and flint clippings were found there.

Among the first early settlers in the Millbrook valley were Samuel and Blaisdel Gavett andDavid Delemeter.

As the lumbering industry started, the settlement at the mouth of Millbrook grew inproportion. In 1810 BenjaminAckerly conducted a tavern at his home.

Early mail-riders for that locality were Charles Miller and Joseph Wooley, and the old "Elmtree" mail box served asa mail center for many years.

A Stock Company was formed in 1841 to build a house to be used as both a church and aschool. It was laterbought by the District and used as a school. A larger school was built in 1879. This later burnedand the school of laterdays was erected.

In 1854 the Bryant hotel was built, and in 1872 the erection of the Conklin house began.

In 1850 the Lumberville post office was established with John Tompkins appointedpostmaster. Around 1800 thename of Lumberville was changed to Arena.

There was a settlement just across the river from Lumberville known as "Slab City." There amill was located knownas a "sash mill" where an up-and-down saw instead of the usual circular saw was used. Power tooperate the mill waswater from a pond formed by a dam across the river below the bridge that led to Lumberville. Atone time there werethirteen sawmills on the Millbrook during the peak of activity in early days of lumbering.

In 1889 a newspaper was printed called the "Arena Enterprise" and was published atLiberty.

In later years, after the Delaware and Eastern railroad was built, a creamery was built inArena and the Kersten stavefactory begun for making barrel staves. At one time the factory employed thirty-two men.

At that time there were five hotels with saloons operated in Arena. They were the HubbellHouse, Conklin House,Bryant Hotel, and the Empire House.

Soon after the Revolution a Dutch Reformed church was built at Arena. An Advent Christianchurch was built in1908. Rev. Braisland conducted services there for forty years. A Free Methodist church wasformed in 1947 and in 1916Catholic services were held at the home of Charles Corrall.

One of the oldest cemeteries in the county was at Lily Pond just above Arena. The tombstoneof Captain SamuelDunham, dated 1792, was in this burying place. A new cemetery was begun in the old church lotin the village in 1859.Benjamin Ackerly, Jr., was the first person to be buried there.

Shavertown was settled around 190 years ago. Probably the first man to see the site ofShavertown was HenryWooster of Stamford, Conn. while making the first survey of the gigantic Hardenburgh patent in1740. Wooster carriedthe survey up the East Branch of the Delaware.

The first settlement on land at the former Shavertown site was in 1770. In 1778, during theRevolutionary War, thesettlers were forced to flee their homes. They hid what belongings they could, burned their crops,scattered their cattleinto the forest, I and escaped over the mountains to the Great Shandaken. In 1781, the firstpermanent settlers came.Among them were John, Jacob and Philip Shaver, brothers from Dutchess county, after whomShavertown was named.With them came Philip Barnhart of Schoharie. His was the first white man's hut on theShavertown flats. The Shaverbrothers erected a sawmill in the Tremperskill just above Shavertown and crude plank houseswere constructed.

In 1785, Hans Osterhoudt cut a road through where the present Beech Hill road goes. It wasthen the only north-south route across the Catskill Mountains.

Another early sawmill was near the center of what became Shavertown village. A small damwas thrown across theriver to supply power. Jonah Hotchkiss was an operator of this mill. His dwelling was just behindthe store and postoffice of later day that was last operated by the Atkins. The dwelling was around 130 years oldwhen removed with thebuilding of the Pepacton Reservoir. The settlement grew and farmhomes grew larger and morepretentious. Settlementsin the Tremperskill valley were especially so.

The first merchant in Shavertown was Richard Woolsey. A later store was located near thewooden covered bridgethat stood where the later day iron bridge crossed the river. The last proprietor was GoodfordTitch who also was ashoemaker. The old covered bridge was destroyed with high water and the later day steel onebuilt around sixty yearsago.

The first post office was established in 1828 with John Shaver III as Postmaster. Previouslymail delivery was madeby the early mail-riders on horseback.

The first settlers were mainly Dutch. A Dutch school was conducted (a plank structure) andearly teachers wereMaria Dickson and Lewis Bussy, son of the French aristocrat whom Bussy hollow was named for.The old plankschoolhouse was abandoned in 1824 and another built near the old cemetery. The older buildingwas used for religiousmeetings, and in 1856 it was moved up toward Beech Hill Brook near the Beech Hill Brookcovered bridge. Anotherschoolhouse was built in 1859.

The Shavertown Presbyterian Church was organized in 1851. Rev. Thomas Larcom was thefirst pastor. The oldPresbyterian church was dedicated in 1852 and was nearing a century when removed with thebuilding of the Pepactonreservoir. In later years the church was sold to members of the Catholic faith. At that time a newPresbyterian churchwas built.

In 1896 the telephone was put through to Shavertown from Andes.

In 1906 the Delaware and Northern Railroad Company ran from Arkville throughShavertown to East Branch. Afine railroad station was built at Shavertown, being the second station to be built along the line.The railroad served thecommunity until it closed in 1943.

Before the Atkinses operated the corner store and post office at Shavertown, it was operatedby the late LesterHulbert and later by his wife Amanda Hulbert Fletcher. The late Uriah Sprague operated a store inShavertown foraround fifty years. The late Albert Armstrong and later his son, Bruce Armstrong, operated ageneral and feed store nearthe railroad station for nearly fifty years.

Shavertown was one of the four villages down the valley to be wiped off the map with thebuilding of the PepactonReservoir to supply New York City with water.

CHAPTER 42

In the early part of the 18th century, John T. More, eldest son of John and Betty TaylorMore, first cleared the landof what is now the Stone House Farm above Roxbury. Edward, the first white child born in thetown of Roxbury, wasthe youngest son of John and Betty More, the original settlers of Moresville. In 1829 the famousStone House was built.Thirteen children were raised in the home by Edward Livingston More and wife Charity Stanley.Edward was a brotherof John T. More. The place was called More Settlement. It obtained its name from the fact thatseveral Mores, fivebrothers and a sister, children of John and Betty More, were the earliest settlers. The house was inpossession of theMore family 100 years.

At Roxbury the old Pioneer Tavern was first operated in 1789. The original buildingcomprised what is now thekitchen and bar of the present Roxbury Inn. A new front, various additions, and much remodelingand modernizing inthe interior have kept this inn apace with the changing times. Mr. Tom Porter is the present ownerand operator.

Across the road from the tavern, now the Roxbury Inn, Major David Mapes built a store in1820 where farmproduce - butter eggs, wood-ashes to make potash, feathers for beds and pillows, flaxseed, oatsand wheat - wasbartered for sugar, tea, tobacco, mittens, boots, piece goods, and other necessities.

The beautiful church at Roxbury, called the Jay Gould Memorial Reformed, was built by theGould children inmemory of their parents. The church is of early English style architecture and is constructed of St.Lawrence marble. It iscruciform in shape. The stained-glass windows are among the finest in the country. Thecornerstone of the church waslaid September 2, 1893. The church was dedicated October 13, 1894.

"Kirkside" at Roxbury for nearly half a century was the summer home of the late Helen GouldShepard and herfamily. The late J. Finley Shepard, railroad executive and financier, was married to Helen Gouldof Roxbury in 1913. Shewas one of the richest women in the world. The wedding took place at Lyndhurst, the grayturreted castle which thebride inherited from her father, Jay Gould. Other members of the Gould family - Kingdon,George, Jay, and Marjorie hadsummer homes in Dry Brook.

The Gould parents and two daughters who died young are buried in the Yellow Churchcemetery at Stratton Fallsbelow Roxbury. Mrs. Helen Gould Shepard died at Kirkside in Roxbury December 21, 1938. Mr.Shepard died in NewYork City August 1942. After his death, Kirkside was sold. It is now a home for retired ministersand their wives.

John Burroughs Memorial Field and Woodchuck Lodge near Roxbury are memorials to thegreat naturalist andworld renowned poet and writer. The original homestead, where John Burroughs was born, is nolonger standing, butWoodchuck Lodge, where he spent many summers, is still intact.

Memorial Field, which includes Boyhood Rock and the final resting place of John Burroughs,has become a shrinevisited by people from all over the world. More than a thousand persons are registeredannually.

On the road to Woodchuck Lodge is a small stone house at the fork of the roads built in1813. It is known as the"Old Stone Jug." It was built as a schoolhouse and used as a school as early as 1820. JohnBurroughs attended schoolthere in 1843-5. It was later used as a church for three different denominations - a sect known asthe Christians orMartinites, the Old School Baptist and the Adventists also held services there. It became a privatedwelling in the early1900's. It was recently the home of the late Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Kilpatrick and their daughter, thelate MargaretKilpatrick.

"The Old Stone House" below Roxbury on Route 28 was built in 1808 by Dr. OliverUnderwood who came fromConnecticut in 1796 and raised a family of fourteen children in the house. The house was used asa social center in thecommunity. It was kept in the Underwood family until 1854.

As early as 1813 the name of David Stratton was mentioned as a landowner in Stratton Fallsbelow Roxbury, and nodoubt the place was named for him. The road through Stratton Falls was then the main highwayand post route toBeaver Dam now Roxbury. Two stores were operated at an early date at the falls. The post officewas established therein 1840. This was discontinued in 1876 when an office was established at Roxbury.

At Stratton Falls were a blacksmith shop, a store, a fulling mill, and a cooperage shop. The"Stone Arch" bridge atStratton Falls was built shortly after 1869.

The Old School Baptist Church known as the "Old Yellow" church at Stratton Falls is a veryold structure nearing150 years.. Nearby, up the West Settlement, is the house in which world-famous financier JayGould was born. JayGould and some of the early Gould family are buried in the cemetery by the "Old Yellow"Church.

Halfway between Stratton Falls and Roxbury on the back road was a settlement called"Shacksville." Riff-raff fromboth communities lived in hovels there and a lively tavern was operated at full blast around1844.

The two-room high at Roxbury was erected in 1872. It replaced the little one-room schoolwhich had served thecommunity since 1812. The schoolhouse was remodeled in 1896 when the front part was built onand the tower erectedto hold the new bell and town clock, the gift of Frank J. Gould to the community. In 1913 theschoolhouse wasdiscarded to make room for a new building. Twenty-five years later that school in turn fell avictim to progress and thepresent modern school was erected.

CHAPTER 43

A post office at Clovesville was the second one established in Middletown. John Beadle wasthe first Postmaster. Heheld the office for thirty years. This office supplied the communities that were later supplied bythe Griffin Corners officewhich was established in 1848 with Matthew Griffin as Postmaster. He served until 1879. Anoffice was established atKelly Corners in 1873 with W. T. Ryer as Postmaster.

The first tavern in Middletown was kept by Simeon Von Waggoner at Arkville, then Dean'sCorners. He also builtthe first grist-mill in this part of the town. The first store was kept by a Mr. Newkirk. ColonelDimmick was a merchantfor a number of years at Dean's Corners. J. Hopkins Dean erected a hotel there in 1871. The firsttrain passed throughDean's Corners station October 24, 1871.

Caleb Stokeham operated a hotel and a still before 1828 on the John D. Hubbell farm in KellyCorners. He wassucceeded by Luman Searle and he, by Millow W. Hubbell. John Burden kept a hard kind of atavern in 1819 andafterward where Hiram L. Kelly later lived.

In 1834 a church was built at Clovesville and a parsonage erected. As early as 1816 areligious class was formed inClovesville by a Rev. Mr. Finegan. The church building was burned at Clovesville around 1837and rebuilt in 1840. DryBrook had an early religious society and a flourishing Sunday School. In 1871 a church was builtat Lumberville, laterArena, and was supplied by the Margaretville minister. Halcottsville was once a thriving littlevillage. The first store inthe village was opened in 1814 and operated by M. Halcott. Five years later he built a fulling,carding, and cloth dressingestablishment. Halcottsville is one of the oldest post offices in the town of Middletown. MatthewHalcott was the firstPost master appointed. An early blacksmith shop was built in 1807 by Phineas Kelly. Three otherblacksmith shops wereoperated later by Z. Williams, Wal Keator, and Mr. McKellop. George Hubbell had an earlygrocery store in part of hishome on Main Street. The home is now occupied by a son, Loren Hubbell. Later Mr. Hubbelloperated a grocery andconfectionery store in the old Red Rose Hall, a large three-story building that occupied the sitejust at the foot of thelittle hill as you cross the bridge over the Delaware River. The second floor of the building wasoccupied by tenants andthe third floor was a large dance hall. The bridge across the river was formerly one of thepicturesque old coveredbridges. A large boathouse was near the Red Rose Hall and in early days, the lake, which is called"Lake Wawaka," wasused for boating. The late Burr Hubbell had a small steamboat with a canopy covering the deck,that he operated on thelake and people took pleasure rides up and down the lake for a small fee. Sixteen people could goon a trip in oneboatload. A very large creamery and icehouse for many years occupied a site along the railroadtracks several hundredfeet above the railroad station. The creamery was operated by the late Charles Kaufman who hadcreameries throughoutDelaware County. In winter there was great activity on the lake as ice harvest began to fill thelarge icehouse. All milk inearly days was cooled by ice for shipping. The ice was cut in large cakes by horse and plow thenfinished cutting bymanpower with saws. Large clamps were hooked on the cakes with long chains attached and byhorsepower they werehauled up chutes into the icehouse. The ice gathered for this big icehouse was used for othernearby creameries also. Themilk trains in those days were of great length. The little railroad station was a busy place handlingall freight and expressand the mail which came by train also. The late G. Edward Griffin was the station agent for manyyears.

Halcottsville had two churches, the Old - School Baptist and the Methodist. The Old SchoolBaptist was the firstone built. Back of the Baptist Church was built the largest church sheds that I ever saw aroundthe country. It was builtin an "L" shape extending all across the back and one side of the large lot back of the church.

Two farms are on the edge of the village - the one at the south entrance and the large KellyBros'. farm on thehillside to the northeast overlooking the village. It has been in the Kelly family for many years andis now occupied byGuy Kelly.

A grist-mill near the dam, from the lake, was operated in early history of Halcottsville by theKelly family. A largefeed store, operated in early days by the Kelly Bros., was in part of the building that housed thefirst creamery.

In later days a creamery was operated on what used to be the McKellop property. It is nowclosed.

Around the early part of the 19th century a new street called Maple Street was added to thevillage. It was on theroad to Brag Hollow and is completely built up.

The one-room schoolhouse was on a steep hill to the east back of the Methodist Church. Itwas a large square room,not like the small one-room schools of early days. There was a hall entrance on one side for theboys and one on theother side for girls. A good sized library was in the center between the hall entrances. A towerwas on top of the buildingand housed the large school bell. The school was closed when the district centralized with theRoxbury School andpupils are now transported to that school by bus. The school building was sold and has beenconverted into a home.

A connected store and post office has for many years been operated by the Griffin family onMain Street. The thirdgeneration of Griffins are now operating it. Mrs. William Griffin is at present Postmaster.

The Halcottsville Grange No. 350 was organized in 1875 and has always been a very activeorganization. At onetime there was a Grange store in the village across from the Griffin store and was operated byGeorge Sluiter. There wasa cobbler shop in the basement of the &range store. The store building is now used as the GrangeHall. Church suppersand many other activities are now held in the Grange Hall.

A large store selling groceries and general merchandise was operated by Mr. Hulbert next tothe Methodist Church.It has been in late years the residence of the late Ward Roberts and Mrs. Roberts.

A large picnic ground was located where the N. L. Lattins now have their home. It was usedfor Sunday-school andfamily picnics in early days. George Hubbell also had a large sap house in that area which wassurrounded by a grove ofmaples. There he made large quantities of maple products.

Another store located on lower Main Street was in early days operated by Buckle & Brink.Mr. Buckle was a tailorand made clothes for both men and women. The store was a general store for all supplies fordressmaking. It also had alarge millinery department. Mrs. Brink was Amy Sperling, sister of the late James Sperling ofMargaretville, and secondwife of the late Hopkins D. Hewitt of Halcottsville. The store has been converted into a homenow for many years.

The little village had one doctor, the late Dr. Julian A. Gaul who started his first practice inthe little village at age23. He drove a black horse-and-buggy wagon on his calls about the surrounding area. Dr. Gaullater went to Roxbury topractice.

He died in that village in February, 1958, leaving an estate valued at more than two milliondollars.

CHAPTER 44

Dry Brook is ten miles or more of peaceful farming country lying between two mountainridges. It is reached by awinding road as you turn right at the bridge leading into Arkville. Four picturesque coveredbridges are in the Dry Brookvalley. Dry Brook is in two counties, the lower section being in Delaware County and the upper inUlster County. Asyou near the middle of the valley, two mountain peaks come into view. One is Graham Mountainthe other DoubleRound.

In the upper end of the valley is "Old Forge." At this paint the stream has cut a very deepchannel into the rockformation. An iron foundry was an early enterprise at this point, but had a short life.

The little red schoolhouse in the valley has gone the way of other little district schools. Pupilsfrom that section arenow transported by bus to the Margaretville Central School. The little schoolhouse was sold andis now used as acamp.

It is claimed that Samuel Merwin settled in Dry Brook before 1800. About 1800 HiramSeager and Derrick Hyneslocated in the valley. The first town meeting was held in Hardenbergh May 31, 1859.

The members of the Todd family, now so numerous in the valley, are nearly all descendants ofthe two brothers,Layman and Burr Todd, who came around 1820.

The upper end of Dry Brook is in the town of Hardenbergh. The name Hardenbergh wastaken in honor of theoriginal patentee, Johannes Hardenbergh.

Furlough Lodge is located on the western slope of the valley known as Dry Brook ridge. Itwas the summer home ofthe late George Gould. Nearby is Furlough Lake, a nearly circular sheet of water fed by springs.In early days GeorgeGould had a large park of elk and deer maintained on his estate. He also had sheep dogs, rabbits,pigeons, chickens,ducks, and geese; peacocks and pheasants were extensively raised. The Lodge was of semi-rusticconstruction, the lowerpart built on the outside of half logs with the bark still on and shingled above. The Goulds ownseveral miles of troutstream in the Dry Brook valley.

Other members of the Gould family, Jay, Kingdon, and Marjorie, also had summer homes inDry Brook. Theyounger members of the families still occupy places in Dry Brook. They have recently bought upmore farmland and areraising Angus cattle.

The Episcopal Church at Lake Delaware near Delhi is known as St. James Chapel. It wasbuilt thirty-eight yearsago. The chapel itself was built by Miss Angelica Gerry as a memorial to her mother. Othermembers of her family arealso memorialized in the interior. The chapel was built by Ralph Adams Cram, hailed by many as agenius, also architectof the New York Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The chapel is built of local stone in a naturalwooded setting and isfully harmonious with the light plaster walls, dark, oak-beamed ceilings, oak floors, benches, andchurch furniture of theinterior, and somehow both make a perfect background for the rich ornamentation of the twoaltars. The Gerry familiesthat lived in this Section all had homes at Lake Delaware.

CHAPTER 45

In 1912 Mr. Clarke A. Sanford built the large concrete block building on Bridge Street nowoccupied by Mr. Andre.A part of the building was used to house the Catskill Mountain News printing press. It was editedand printed from thereuntil around 1923. The remainder of the building was used as a garage and for car sales. Twoyears after building, Mr.Sanford took Mr. Earl Jenkins in as a partner in the garage and car business. Cars sold by them atthat time were theFord, Buick, and Packard. In 1923 Mr. Sanford and Mr. Jenkins dissolved partnership. Mr.Jenkins bought the buildingand continued in the garage and car sales business. The printing press for the Catskill MountainNews was moved to thelower section of the Masonic building.

In 1922 Mr. Sanford built the Galli-Curci Theatre on Main Street. It was named "TheGalli-Curci" for the famoussinger who, at that time, owned a beautiful summer home nearby at Highmount. She attended theopening night of thetheatre, and sang at the opening. After building the theatre, the printing press for the CatskillMountain News wasmoved to the basement of that building. Rooms on the second floor were occupied as offices forthe Delaware & EasternRailroad. Later, after the railroad was disbanded, the printing press was moved to the secondfloor of the theatrebuilding and continues in operation at that location.

The first picture shows in Margaretville were operated by Mr. Sanford in 1914. They wereshown in the "OlympicHall" and were black and white silent pictures. The price was at that time fifteen cents. Even afterthe theatre was builtthe pictures continued to be silent and in black and white for several years. Talkies were firstshown in 1930. Coloredpictures came later, and the wide screen at the theatre was put in in 1953. Before the advent ofradios and TV, movieswere very popular and well attended.

Before the Catskill Mountain News printing press was located in Mr. Sanford's building onBridge Street; it was forseveral years operated over the Bank building on the corner of Main and Bridge Streets.

The creamery outside Margaretville on the Arkville road was first operated in 1913. In earlydays all milk was drawnby horse and wagon. The milk at that time was cooled with ice. Condensed milk at one time wasmade there and at alater date, powdered milk. Carload lots of the powdered milk were shipped from there to Englandduring the first WorldWar. The Creamery closed operation this year (1960). Previously twelve other nearby creamerieshave gone out ofoperation.

Many farms around the country are not now operated as dairy farms. They are being boughtup as summer homes orcamps. Many of the young folks of today do not care for the long hours and the work on thefarms.

The last owner of the Margaretville Creamery was the Dairymen's League Cooperative. Itwas under different handssix times during its forty-seven years in operation. Mr. Cecil Polley of this village began workingin the creamery when itstarted and was still working there when the creamery closed.

The late Arthur Brundage, born August 9, 1883, with a partner, Hosea Barnhart of Pepactonand Walton, boughtthe former Sheffield plant above the village in 1926 and operated it as the B & B Dairy Companyfor twenty-four years.When creameries became numerous, the Delaware County butter-making era was ended.

Motor transportation with the balk milk tanks caused a revolution in the milk-handlingbusiness. Trucks could bringmilk for many miles and caused the small plants to gradually go out of existence. The one abovethe village, recentlyclosed, was the largest plant in Delaware County.

There are fewer farms operated in the county, but the possible 8,000 dairy farms left arebetter operated than at anyother time in history with modern methods and equipment.

Today the only milk-processing plant left in the valley is Daitch Creamery at Roxbury.Delaware County lost itspreeminent place in the list of top milk-producing counties in the State when Pepacton Reservoirwas built. DelawareCounty now ranks third in milk production in the counties.

An abandoned farm is a desolate place, a probable delight to the artist, or a haven for PeterRabbit, or a dream of afuture camp or hunting lodge to city fellows who are buying up many. Two hundred farms wereflooded in the EastBranch valley with the building of the Pepacton Reservoir.

A tub of Delaware County butter was judged the best in the world at the Great LondonExposition in 1851. Anothersample, taken from the Close Farm near Arena, not only took first prize at the World's Fair inChicago in 1892, but alsoreceived the perfect score of 100. This was a mark that had never been reached before by anybutter maker at a worldshow.

Years ago New York State was considered one of the prime producers of cheese in theUnited States. New York isstill a large manufacturer of cheese as over 200 million pounds of various types of cheese wereproduced in this Statelast year. About 100 million pounds of this was whole milk cheese and the remainder was madeup of the various typesof cream and cottage cheese. Years ago there were many small milk receiving stations whichprocessed the milk broughtto them into cheese. As late as 1948 there were thirty of these small cheese plants, but last yearonly six were inoperation. Cheese was once made at the creamery above Margaretville Village and in othernearby creameries. Walton isfortunate in having one of the modern cheese plants within its borders, "Breakstone Foods." Theplant makes all types ofsoft cheese. It is predicted that New York State production of cottage cheese will be about 100million pounds in1960.

CHAPTER 46

In the Catskill Mountain News of March 18, 1960, was an article stating that the nextmeeting of our local RedCross Society would be its 60th Anniversary. I have in my possession a picture taken two yearsafter the organization ofthe local Red Cross. This picture shows the members, a couple of guests from Fleischmanns, andfour children attendinga meeting and party at the hospitable home of the late Mrs. Eldridge Kelly, "The Locust Grove,"above Arkville. Thefollowing were in the picture: Mrs. Sam Korn, Mrs. Eldridge Kelly, Mrs. Hattie Allaben, MissKatie Kelly, Mrs. JohnMcCadden, Mrs. Fanny Reed, Mrs. Elizabeth Rotermund, Mrs. Ad Henderson, Mrs. Lewis Tway,Mrs. Charles Allaben,Mrs. Debora Stewart, Mrs. Belle Gladstone, Miss Lucy Waterbury, Miss Irene Dickson, Mrs,Allie Mungle, Mrs. LilRotermund, Mrs. Etta Easman, Mrs. Belle Lockwood, Miss Anna Dickson, Mrs. Susie Fowler,Mrs. Ward Keator, MissMary-Lockwood, Mrs. Herbert Annin, Mrs. Charles Dickson, Mrs. Bessie Halpern, Mrs. GraceFranks, Mrs. RhodaMungle, Mrs. Alice Kaufman, Mrs. Anna Winter, Miss Mabel Henderson, Miss Nett Henderson,Mrs. Lil Gorsch, Mrs.Jennie Scott, Mrs. Esther Gladstone, Mrs. Lawrence, Miss Marguerite Cordes, and three localschoolteachers, namesunknown. Three of the children were Damie Allaben, Glennon Easman, and Lynn Cammer. It isinteresting to note thestyle of the dress and hats worn by the ladies at that date (1902). The skirts were long to theground, collars were high,and sleeves were full and long to the wrist. Dresses were trimmed with lace and ruffles. One hatwas trimmed with manyflowers and another with a very large ostrich plume. The hair style was mostly the pompadour.The Margaretville RedCross Society was organized April 6, 1900. Five years before, the Congress of the United Statesgranted a charter to theAmerican Red Cross. Its object has always been to conserve human life, health, and efficiency; toaid in relief of illness,poverty, and loneliness; and to render aid in all cases of public and private disaster. Of thenineteen charter members ofthe Margaretville Red Cross Society, Miss Katie Swart, now Mrs. N. L. Lattin, is the onlysurviving member.

CHAPTER 47

Fifty-three years ago I can recall but one family in Margaretville of the Catholic faith, the wifeand children ofGrover Henderson. In 1955 the large modern and beautiful Catholic Church was built on thecorner of Main andAcademy Streets. A large amount of the money given for its construction was contributed by Mrs.Erpf and her sonArmand. Mrs. Erpf has a home above Arkville. She was converted to the Catholic faith in lateryears. She is now in her94th year. Before the Catholic Church was built in Margaretville, the area church and rectorywere located in Arkvillefor a number of years. The Rev. Harold Colburn is at present the priest of the Sacred Heart Parishof this village. Togive the younger generation an idea of prices in earlier days, a menu for a Methodist Churchsupper on February 23,1910 (fifty years ago), includes vegetable soup, celery, olives, fried oysters, cut cabbage, roastfilet mignon, browngravy, mashed potatoes, squash, escalloped tomatoes, Waldorf salad, saltines, with dessert oflemon sherbet, spongecake, tea and coffee, at a price of 35 cents. A still cheaper price for a dinner was given in"Chapters of DelawareCounty," by John D. Monroe: $1.35 for the entire family of five who ate at Peter Crispell's Hotelat Shandaken whiletraveling by stage coach to Delhi. The family was Rev. James Bruce, his wife, and three children.Rev. Bruce was thefather of the late Lieutenant Governor M. Linn Bruce and the late David L. Bruce of Andes. Whatis known as theHubbell building on Bridge Street has housed various restaurants; at one time Blanche and MarionArchibald operated arestaurant there; also, one was once operated by Mr. and Mrs. Richard Bunting. One side of thebuilding is used for theMurphy Shoe repair shop. The one antique shop in the village was operated by Mrs. Ynez Cairns.It was located in theCairns home, the early Gorsch home just below the Bull Run Bridge on Main Street. It was torndown in 1955 when theVictory Market was built. A present-day antique shop is at the home of Mrs. Howard Fairbairn onthe South Side Roadbelow the village. Two gift shops in the village have come and gone. One was the "Knapp GiftShop" operated in the Dr.Insler building on Main Street by Mr. and Mrs. Knapp of Downsville. The other one was knownas "Lou and Deb's" andwas operated by Mr. and Mrs. Louis Zasloff, now living in California. Before Mr. Shafer had hisjewelry store on MainStreet, which was formerly the site of Carman's photo gallery, Mr. Russell Tyler bought thelocation and built themodern building and operated a plumbing shop and electrical supply store there. Mr. John Storeynow has his plumbingshop in the building in a rear room. The present-day paint and wallpaper store is operated onMain Street, two doorsbelow the post office, by Arthur Tuttle. Early painters and paperhangers were Homer Shaver, WillMcCadden, andCharlie Gavett. Paints were generally bought at the hardware or general store, but most of thewallpaper was boughtdirectly from the paperhangers. They brought large books of wallpaper samples to the homewhere selections weremade. Howard Gavett, son of Charlie, has followed in his father's trade.

Two restaurants are located above the village on the Margaretville-Arkville road. The "InnBetween" is operated byHilt Wilbur and "The Dog House" by Louis and Elizabeth Kole.

The sub-station of the New York State Police is also located on the Margaretville-Arkvilleroad just above theSanford Hardware Store.

Mr. Herman Lukow improved the upper Main Street block by building a fine car displayshowroom, office, and anoutside display lot on the end of the block. Mr. Lukow is also in the real-estate business. Adilapidated barn and chicken-coop were formerly on this location.

There are four beauty parlors in the village. One is operated by Mrs. Eva Day at her home onthe corner of Walnutand Swart Streets. It was the first one opened in the village (1927), and then operated by the lateDewitt Day and hiswife. One is operated by Mrs. Isabelle Haddow at her home on Swart Street. Isabelle first set upshop before hermarriage on Main Street in a backroom of her father's barber shop, the shop of the late ReedDelameter. Another isoperated by Mrs. Ivan Ford at her home on lower Main Street. Also one is located on lower MainStreet and is operatedby Mrs. Irene Terns at her home.

The Frozen Food Plant was established and operated by Harold Finch in 1945, a few yearsafter frozen food becamepopular. It is located in the Pereira building on Main Street. Later, Mr. Finch became interested inpolitics and receivedthe office of Commissioner of Foods which took him to Albany to live. At that time - in 1955 - hesold the frozen-foodbusiness to "Bob" Griffin, who continues to operate it.

Alphonso Mattino has operated his grocery store in its present location for a number of years.The Anderson Hotelwas located there in earlier years. His first store was also on Bridge Street, a small store in theBishop Block. Then hemoved to the upper Main Street block for a while before moving to his present location.

The Snyder Supply Store in the upper Main Street block is a sports goods store. The WesternUnion TelegraphStation is located there. Mr. Snyder also operates the Motor Vehicle Branch in this section forissuing licenseplates.

There was a factory in more recent years called "Frodshams" which was located on FairStreet. Unfinished furniturewas manufactured there. The factory was destroyed by fire. Louis Kole also once operated a plantin that section whichmade concrete building blocks. That, too, was partly destroyed by fire and never rebuilt. Thefollowing ads were in apaper dated 1896, in Margaretville: The Riverside House, C. H. Pruser, Proprietor. L. W. Tway,Justice of the Peace.DuMond & Osborne, Marble and Granite Shop. Lockwood, Confectionery, fruits vegetables andice cream. S. W.Reed, M.D., Office in Drug Store. C. Hull, Attorney and Counsellor-at-law. E. Youngman,Millinery and Fancy Goods.John Grant, General Fire Insurance. S. Halpern (Leading Merchant), Ladies' and Gents' Tailor andClothier. Holmes &Ackerly, Meats of all Kinds. Scott, Gladstone & Co., Furniture and Undertaking. Allison &Searles, General Hardwareand Building Material. - C. J. Dickson, Hardware. - Swart & Hitt, Headquarters for Everything. -G. W. Stewart,Sterling Silver, Waist Sets, Belt Pins, Jewelry, etc. Dr. J. W. Telford. Office in Bank Block. E. A.Shader, Plumber andTinner. Chamber Suits Advertised by Gorsch furniture Store. J. H. Jones was proprietor of theAckerly House. Therewere accommodations for 150 guests. The rates were $2.00 per day. The country store of stillearlier days carried nearlyall necessities for living. It not only carried drygoods and groceries, but drugs, snuff, sampoil,slates, school books, inkstands, ruled paper, Bibles, plates, spoons, teapots, candles plug tobacco, and packaged tobaccofor smoking. Otherthings that were listed in an old store ledger were: straw hats, clothing, thimbles, thread, needles,yellow soap, saleratus,cotton flannel, calico, ribbons, shirting, buttons, hooks and eyes, combs, buckram, padding, lining,and lace. Evenspectacles were bought over the counter, a pair for four shillings (50¢). In those earlier days theprice was reckoned inshillings. Customers took eggs, wood ashes, rags, feathers, flaxseed, oats, wheat, butter, andwhatever produce they hadto be exchanged at the early country store for things they needed.

In a local newspaper of 1901, then called The Messenger, was an ad of Dr. W. E. Hendry,Physician and Surgeon.His office was in the T. Winter Block, now Bussy's. There was also an ad of Dr. G. T. Brown,Physician and Surgeon.His office was in the Gorsch Furniture Store building, now LeRoy Scott's. Later he moved hisoffice to the corner ofWalnut and Church Streets. The building was torn down when the present Mrs. J. H. Gladstonehome was built on thatcorner. It is interesting to note that his ad stated-- "In Office Saturday." Early newspapers carriedlittle news or topics ofthe times. Much space was taken up with recipes. There were instructions-- "How to make asmoke house," another"How to make a wooden snowplow." There was an ad for the Margaretville Training Class. R. L.Countryman was atthat time Principal of the High School.

Around the same date, the late Mr. J. H. Gladstone had his dental office on the second floorof the O'Connorbuilding on Main Street.

The late William Mungle, father of Mrs. Otis Todd of Fleischmanns and Ralph Mungle ofIthaca, was an insuranceagent for the Co-operative Fire Ins. Co. and other companies. His office was in the upper MainStreet block.

The late Will S. Thompson was an optometrist and watchmaker and worked at his business inhis home on OrchardStreet.

The date of the first automobile in our village, 1907, makes these figures of the year 1950interesting: In DelawareCounty there were 13,125 passenger cars registered, 3,831 commercial, and 357 suburban.

CHAPTER 48

Our Main Street was always narrow, especially for later-day travel and parking of cars. Itreceived its greatest widthwith the building of the new road through the village in 1959 in connection with the constructionof the sewer system forNew York City water supply. It was straightened as much as possible at that time. Many homeshad to sacrifice severalfeet of lawn from their property, and lovely old trees on Main Street were cut down. All streetsthrough the village werewidened at that time.

Many fine trees have disappeared from our village streets including the old "Kicking tree." Afine row of maplesalong lower Walnut Street were destroyed with the burning of the Pocantico Inn in 1929. Othershave been removedafter becoming dangerous with age and decay. Some of the streets in the village received theirnames from these sources:"Chicken Hill," was so called because of the chicken business of the late Ward Carmen, who livedon the hill. It has beenrenamed "Mountain Avenue." "Church Street" was so named because of the early MethodistChurch built on that street.The upper end of Church Street became known as "Gill Hill." The large Gill house built in 1887was located on the hill.It was a boarding-house for many of the teachers and out-of-town pupils who attended the oldHigh School on ChurchStreet. "Orchard Street" was so named because for many years the westend of the village wasmainly an orchard. "SwartStreet" was named for early settlers by the name of Swart. "Academy Street" was so namedbecause of the first earlyschool in that section. It was first called the "Utilitarian" School and later an "Academy." FairStreet received its namemore recently, when homes were built in that section. It was named "Fair" Street because thebridge leading to the streetwas always known as the Fair Grounds bridge. One had to cross the bridge to get to the old FairGrounds. "ScottStreet" was so named because it was a section of the early Scott farm.

CHAPTER 49

The first covered bridge in America is believed to have been built in 1771. The locations ofcovered bridges of earlydays that were in Delaware County are as follows: One at the east entrance to our village onBridge Street built in 1865by Robert Murray. This one was first damaged by a high-loaded truck. Soon after that a flooddamaged one abutment.The old bridge was moved about fifty feet down stream and made safe for light travel until thenew steel bridge on theoriginal site could be constructed.

One at Dunraven known as the "Stone School" house bridge and only recently removed withthe building of thePepacton Reservoir. This bridge was built in 1870 by William Mead.

Also one at Dunraven across the Plattekill Stream on Route 2,3.

One over the Tremperskill Stream below Andes.

A second one on the Tremperskill near Moore's Falls.

One at Jacksonburgh.

One known as "Hall's bridge" on the South road toward Arena. This one was built in 1870 byWilliam Mead, fatherof the late Frank Mead of Dunraven. In a high water of 1869 Hall's bridge was washed down theriver, coming to rest aquarter mile below the last iron bridge leading to Arena. It was taken apart, each piece numbered,and brought back tothe original site where it was reassembled as good as new.

About 1865 the large double-span bridge at Arena was built connecting Arena with Route30.

In 1872, during the busy days of the lumbering industry at Lumberville, later called Arena, tenteams of horses withwagons and drivers took refuge within the bridge during a thunder shower, thus causing the archto drop weakening itso that it was necessary to take the bridge down. It was replaced by another covered bridge.

Hood's bridge stood two miles above Downsville. It was built somewhere between 1846-53.In the 1901 DecemberHood it broke in two and floated down the river.

The old Colchester covered bridge, two miles below Downsville, was built in 1834. It was atwo-span structure, butwhen it weakened, another pier was added. This was the oldest bridge of any size in the countyand was 300 feet long. Itwas closed to the public in 1947 and finally fell into the stream in 1948. It had been in use nearly114 years.

Weed's bridge at Colchester station was built by Robert Murray in 1870. It was 138 feetlong.

A covered bridge over the Ouleout River near Unadilla was built in 1874. The one at Hamdenwas built in1859.

The covered bridge known as "Fitche's covered bridge" above Delhi is still in use. The historyof it is vague. Thecovered bridge at Dunraven on Route 30 crossing the Plattekill Stream was moved by theTuscarora Club about twomiles up the Millbrook Valley. It is now used only for foot travel.

There is one at Downsville, constructed in 1854 by Robert Murray. It is 174 feet long.Murray, the builder, camefrom Scotland when but a child of four.

One at Pepacton, after all the years, was washed away with the flood of 1951. This bridge,with a span of 168 feet,was constructed in 1870 by Robert Murray of East Branch. It was built with a Haup truss witharch construction.

One at Arkville entering the village near the Dry Brook turn. One called "Austin's Bridge"near the railroad tracksfrom Arkville on the cut-off road to Route 30.

One over the stream near the present Kass Inn. This small one was moved to a new locationand is the first coveredbridge up the Dry Brook stream.

One at Kelly Corners. One at Halcottsville, built by Utter Bros. in 1870. It was seventy-fivefeet long with latticeconstruction.

There are three covered bridges in Dry Brook. Though near our locality, the two upper onesare in UlsterCounty.

There is one near the State Campsite at Beaverkill. This is in Sullivan County. There is alsoone at Turnwood. Therewas a small one over the Beechhill Brook below Shavertown on the farm recently owned byGeorge Hoag.

One over the west branch of the Delaware near Cannonsville was built in 1878 by DairdOstrand. Hawley Stationbridge was built in 1860. It was 138 feet long. It was torn down in 1948. Hamden covered bridgewas built in 1859.

The old covered bridges had a sign painted on the end reading "Five dollars fine for drivingfaster than a walk on thisbridge." This was before the days of automobiles.

The pins used in the construction of covered bridges were of white oak seasoned for monthsahead. They weresoaked in oil for at least six hours before being driven into place for a permanent tight fit.

In New York State there were at one time 250 covered bridges.

These scenic old bridges are fast disappearing. Of the number mentioned, only a few are stillin use.

The small covered bridge that was formerly over the mouth of lower Beech Hill brook belowShavertown wasbought by Carl Campbell for $1,000 from the Scutt Construction Co., which was grubbing thedam area. He had itmoved to his estate in the Town of Rockland in 1954. The bridge was originally built in 1865 byAnson Jenkins andAugustus Neidig of Union Grove, who also built several bridges north of Shavertown. Ten feetwas lopped off the fortyfoot structure because it had rotted. A new cedar shingled roof was put on by its owner. The oldbridge is one puttogether with the wooden pegs.

Of special interest among covered bridges is the one at Blenheim over the Schoharie Creek inSchoharie County. Itis a 231 foot span, thirty feet wide and called a "double-barreled" bridge because of separatesections for each lane oftraffic. There was a fifteen-foot lane for each direction of travel. It is the longest single spanwooden covered bridge inthe world. It was built by the Blenheim Bridge Company, Incorporated, 1868. This bridge is notin use now but is leftstanding near a new bridge because of its historical interest. The hand hewn timbers are from thehills of Blenheim. Thebridge is built entirely of native oak, each plank is joined and secured by oak pins with no nailshaving been used exceptto secure the shingles to the roof boards. In 1921 the old bridge was replaced for travel by one ofmodern steel.

Another covered bridge of interest is in Ulster County called Perrine's covered bridge. A138-foot structure, it hasspanned the Wallkill River three miles north of Rifton, N. Y. on Route 32 for 103 years. A paperof 1953 states that it isto be repaired and maintained as a historic structure, a monument to horse-and-buggy days. ThePerrine's Bridge is themost beautiful of its kind known of in the county. The structure is supported by massive fourteenby seven-inch chestnutwood arches - two of them to a side-- anchored in stone and masonry abutments, the sidewallsand flooring are mostlyof oak, and the roof is shingled with cypress. The bridge was closed in 1947 to all but pedestriantravel.