Barryville-Shohola Bridge

by Louise Smith Posted on October 25, 2011
Spring House (left); Barryville-Shohola Suspension Bridge (right), courtesy of Kevin M.

The Spring House on the left was owned by George Layman in 1900.

    During the last preceding summer and fall [1900], Stephen St. John Gardner renovated the structure [bridge] generally, added additional cables; laid a new floor, supplied new stringers, erected a new and improved railing and the bridge is now a safe passageway and a good source of income…

    [Nearby] is the beautiful and valuable house buildings and premises of George Layman.

    Mr. Layman has enlarged the house, improved and beautified the grounds and now presents a premises that, for its location and attractiveness, may vie with any in the land.

    He employs it for summer boarding and entertainment of travelers and the comfortable entertainment and moderate charges combined, insures a general custom to his place.—Johnston, J.W., Reminiscencespp. 351–3.

Posted in Boarding Houses, Echo Hill and Mountain Grove | Comments Off on Barryville-Shohola Bridge

Barryville, New York circa 1900

by Louise Smith Posted on October 20, 2011

In 1900 Charles M. and Lottie Bradley Colville and their newborn daughter Ruth lived in Barryville. Charles was a farmer. Lottie was a daughter of Isaac and Joanna Bradley. We learn a bit more about the Colville family through letters Ruth writes in 1918, to my uncle McKinley Austin.

Samuel and Elizabeth Hulse’s son Chester was a friend of Rowlee Schoonover. Mary Eaton, a servant, and Mr. Decker, 57, boarded with them.

Marie DeKnetel taught music. George and Julia Eckhart had 2 children, Albert and Lillie.

August and Anna Clouse had 3 children: Katie, Freddie, and Clarence. August was a master carpenter. We will read about him in a later chapter.

Samuel Rusby was a pastor. He and his wife Carrie had 6 children.

Gilbert and Mary Nelson had been married 30 years. Gilbert was a mail carrier. Their daughter Minnie, 26, would attend the Methodist Church in the 1930s when Irwin Briggs was the preacher. (The Gilbert Nelson family was not related to the Robert Nelson family who would later live nearby.)

Brothers John and George Steel were both butchers. Continue reading →

Posted in Barryville, Echo Hill and Mountain Grove | 1 Comment

Where is this?

by Louise Smith Posted on October 19, 2011

I am hoping some Halfway Brook friends may know where this photo was taken and which church is in the distance. I think that the original photo indicated it was taken from the Sloan’s property.

Posted in Where is this? | Comments Off on Where is this?

1897, Mrs. Skinner’s New Shingles

by Louise Smith Posted on October 18, 2011

The old shingles were worn some, having been put on her house just 101 years ago.
Mrs. Mary Skinner, who lives in Wayne County, Pa., across the Delaware River from this Village [Cochecton], has been having her house shingled and repaired.

There would be nothing strange about this, but for the fact that this is the first time the house has been repaired or reshingled since 1796, when the dwelling was built. It is known in the Skinner family as the new house, because it took the place of the old house which was built in 1765 and was burned by the Indians in 1777. The old barn is still standing, though it was built in 1777, and needs no repairs.

The locality where these buildings stand was one of the first places where white people settled in the Delaware Valley, the Skinner family having gone thither in 1754. Continue reading →

Posted in Old Newspapers | Comments Off on 1897, Mrs. Skinner’s New Shingles

Echo Hill Farm House Rules

by Louise Smith Posted on October 14, 2011
Rules and Regulations for Echo Hill Farm House, courtesy of Kevin M.

Echo Hill Farm House was the original home of Sherman Buckley and Charlotte Ingram Leavenworth, my Leavenworth great-great grandparents. By 1900 it was the boarding house of my Leavenworth great-grandparents, Sherman S. and Maria Myers Leavenworth.

The original house may have been a bunk house for lumbermen as there was a sawmill nearby. Sherman B. was a lumberman. Charlotte was the cook for the lumbermen, or that is the story told. You can read a bit more about Sherman Buckley and Charlotte Leavenworth and the bunk house, sawmill, and property in The Mill on Halfway Brook.

Posted in Boarding Houses, Echo Hill and Mountain Grove | Comments Off on Echo Hill Farm House Rules

1894, The Waning Season at Yulan

by Louise Smith Posted on October 12, 2011

The Last Dance the Jolliest One of the Summer
The season drawing to a close has been the most successful ever known in this section of Sullivan County, and the boarding house keepers are correspondingly happy.

Washington Lake is the center of attraction for the boarders in this neighborhood, and its mirror-like surface is dotted daily with merry rowing parties and the more sober fishermen luring from the depths the pickerel and black bass.

Last Wednesday evening at Prang’s Lake View Farm House was given what will probably prove to be the last barn dance of the season and it was pronounced by all to be the jolliest. The barn was prettily decorated with autumn foliage, sumach and golden rod, but these were far outshone by the bevy of pretty girls…

Refreshments were served after the dance. The music was by Professor Kinley.—Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 9, 1894.

Posted in Boarding Houses, Echo Hill and Mountain Grove | Comments Off on 1894, The Waning Season at Yulan

1890s Recreation for Summer Guests

by Louise Smith Posted on October 11, 2011
The Bluff looked down over the Delaware River and Erie R.R. Postcard courtesy of Kevin M.

There was boating (canoes were popular) and swimming (bathing). Some places offered archery, croquet, dancing, bowling, lawn tennis, or perhaps a piano for guests to play.

Picnic grounds and sometime a playground for children were available. Arrangements could
be made to visit other points of interest—complete with a picnic lunch.

Shohola Glen was one place to visit. Or maybe a trip to Port Jervis with a stop near the Hawk’s Nest for a view of the Delaware River.

The Bluff which also looked down over the Delaware River and across to the Erie Railroad was another favorite site to visit. There vacationers carved their initials into the shale, took photos, or smooched. If you weren’t from the area, a guide from the resort would help you locate the hard-to-find Bluff.

Hayrides, ice cream socials, church bazaars, dances, plays, and town fairs were other events for the summer guests.

Posted in Boarding Houses, Book excerpts, Echo Hill and Mountain Grove | Comments Off on 1890s Recreation for Summer Guests