Halfway Brook Site 10 Years Ago

by Louise Smith Posted on November 3, 2019
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Pond behind the old mill in Aida Austin’s Collection.
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The Old Gristmill my mother walked by to go to the Barryville Schoolhouse around 1935.
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The Barryville Schoolhouse my mom attended.
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View of “downtown” Eldred sometime after 1900.

Ten Years ago this Halfway Brook Site was two months old. The post of the day was “Grandmother and the Bear.”

October 14, 2009 I wrote that The Mill on Halfway Brook was in its final, final edit. But it would be February 2010 before the first of the Halfway Brook books would be published.

The Mill on Halfway Brook included mainly stories and photos that had been saved within (or new provided by) the Austin and Leavenworth families (as well as research).

After The Mill on Halfway Brook was published, I began to get contributions of stories and photos from many people related in someway to Halfway Brook Village (Eldred), and the villages of what became the Town of Highland, Sullivan County, New York. What grand memories and friendships.

The Postcards on the left are from the collection of my great-aunt Aida Austin. They can be enlarged by clicking on the photo.

Posted in The Mill on Halfway Brook, Then or now | Leave a comment

Highland Lake Boarding Houses

by Louise Smith Posted on September 22, 2019
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Highland Lake Grove, Daniel Hallock, 1906.
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Lake View House, Highland Lake, 1914.
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Boyd’s Boat House, Highland Lake.
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Canoes on Highland Lake.
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Highland Lake Inn in the distance. Highland Lake.
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Highland Lake Inn on Highland Lake.
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The Highland Villa, Highland Lake.
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Lake Side Cottage, Highland Lake.
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Lake View Cottage, Highland Lake.
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Piermont Hotel, Highland Lake.
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Sunset View House, Highland Lake.
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Sunset View House, Highland Lake.
Posted in Boarding Houses, Echo Hill and Mountain Grove | Leave a comment

Yulan Boarding Houses, 1920

by Louise Smith Posted on August 4, 2019
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1905 Yulan Post Office.

Yulan Boarding Houses
Bodine’s Cottages, Henry and 
Blanche Bodine
Grand Vue, Bornstein
Park Hotel, Atwell Bradley
Cold Spring Farm, Crandall
Washington Beach Hotel, Henri Darriensecq
Laurel Cottage, Abel Hazen
Lakeview Farm, Kaese
Highland Cottage, Edith V. Kalbfus
Minisink Lodge, M.A. McCormick
Max and Minnie Vonderhorst
West Farm, Theodore West
Oakdene, Phoebe Owen
Pine Grove Cottage, Frank Owen

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Grand View Farm.
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Highland Cottage from Lake Washington.
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Minisink Lodge.
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The Park Hotel on Washington Lake.
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West’s Farm on the road to Washington Beach Hotel.
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Washington Beach.
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1909 Cold Spring Farms.
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Laurel Cottage, Yulan.
Posted in Boarding Houses, Echo Hill and Mountain Grove, Farewell to Eldred, Postcards | Leave a comment

Eldred Boarding Houses, 1920–1921

by Louise Smith Posted on July 28, 2019
Looking North to Eldred, 1906. Methodist Church on the left; Congregational Church on the right.
Looking North to Eldred, 1906. Methodist Church on the left; Congregational Church on the right.
Slonek Boarding House, 1906.
Slonek Boarding House, 1906.

Eldred, 1920–1921
Bradley House, Avery
Echo Hill Farm House, Leavenworth
Fred and Mary Myers
Ferncliff Lodge, Jackson Myers
Seven Oaks, Beck
Greig’s House
Straub Hotel/Bar, Juliana Straub
Parker Hotel, Emily Parker
Mountain Grove House, C.M. Austin

Rooms in Farmhouse to Let
Furnished for housekeeping; week, month or season; on the mountains; beautiful view; fishing, boating, bathing; lake on property; Sullivan County, Box 54, Eldred, N.Y.
—Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 1, 1920.—Farewell to Eldred, p.11.

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Pine Crest, 1910.
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Arthur C. Wilson’s Store on Eldred’s northwest corner, 1928.
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Barth’s Highland Cottage.
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Leavenworth’s Echo Hill Farm House.
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Austin’s Mountain Grove House.
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Abel S. Myers, Orchard Terrace.
Ferncliff Lodge, Jackson Myers. Postcard: Chuck M.
Ferncliff Lodge, Jackson Myers. Postcard: Chuck M.
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Barryville Boarding Houses, 1920

by Louise Smith Posted on July 21, 2019
Barryville Post Office.
Barryville Post Office.

Barryville Boarding Houses, 1920–1921
Torwood Farm: Kerr
Rose McQuirk
Spring House: Christian Meyer
Woodland Cottage: Colville
Handsome Eddy: Agnes Schwab
Maple Grove Farm: Anne Toaspern Cordes
Delaware View Inn (Side Hill): Eggers and Rothenback
Riverside Cottage: Louis and Mildred Warshauer

1906, Mrs. J. Wolfe, Hillside Farm, Barryville.
1906, Mrs. J. Wolfe, Hillside Farm, Barryville.
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1911, Mountain Top Cottage, Mrs. John Flieger.

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Maple Grove Farm, Barryville. Anne Toaspern Cordes was the Proprietor in 1920.
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The Old House at Home, John Kerr Sr., Barryville. In 1920 it was called Torwood.
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1906, Mrs. J. Wolfe, Side Hill Farm, Barryville.
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Woodland Cottage in Winter. Colville was the Proprietor
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Mount Pleasant House, Barryville. Wm. Wolfe, Proprietor.
Posted in Barryville, Boarding Houses, Echo Hill and Mountain Grove, Postcards | 6 Comments

The Summer Season

by Louise Smith Posted on July 14, 2019
Silver Stream Ice cream Parlor, Eldred, New York
Silver Stream Ice Cream Parlor, Eldred, New York, 1911.

I always looked forward to the time when school would be out, for I never was too fond of studying and, besides, my parents ran a small summer boarding house to which a few families brought their children year after year.

The summer season was the most pleasant time of all, for then the school bell did not interrupt the baseball games or the hours spent swimming with my city friends.—Arthur Austin.

I thought my Halfway Brook readers might enjoy seeing some of the old postcards I have of Boarding Houses in Eldred (where my father Art Austin lived at Mountain Grove House), on or near Highland Lake, on or near Washington Lake in Yulan, near Barryville, and one in Minisink Ford.

The postcards in the next few post are mainly from a collection that, as I understand it, now belongs to the Town of Highland.

Brooklynites and Long Islanders Enjoy a Bit of Country
At Yulan there has been no letup in the season since it began in earnest, about the middle of July. Although many guests went back the end of July, August vacationists are more than filling the places vacated.

Yulan: Bodine Cottages, Yulan Cottage, Park Hotel, and Highland Cottage.

Eldred: Bradley House, and Mountain Grove House.

At Highland Lake the fish are biting better than they did in previous years and many anglers are summering at the resorts to partake of their favorite sport.

Highland Lake: Sunset View, Mills House, and Park View.—Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 8, 1920.

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Rest of the Story: Hinman vs. Arnold

by Louise Smith Posted on May 12, 2019
A south view of Crown Point drawn by Thomas Davies, 1760. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division : 22540.
A south view of Crown Point drawn by Thomas Davies, 1760. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division: 22540.

Col. Hinman versus Benedict Arnold, 1775
When he arrived at Fort Ticonderoga, Col. Benjamin Hinman used some major diplomacy in dealing with Colonel Benedict Arnold.

Benedict Arnold had joined Col. Seth Warner and Col. Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys the day before the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. Arnold demanded that he be leader. The Green Mountain Boys refused. A compromise made both Col. Allen and Col. Benedict leaders.

Two days after Fort Ticonderoga was taken, a detachment under Col. Seth Warner captured Fort Crown Point to the north. Col. Benedict Arnold then pronounced himself “commander-in-Chief of Crown Point.” So Allen stepped down.

Col. Arnold was in the area of Crown Point aboard a captured Sloop when Colonel Hinman arrived. Arnold would not relinquish his “command” of Crown Point to Col. Hinman. Arnold also refused Connecticut soldiers access (except upon condition) to the fort.

Col. Hinman was patient with Arnold, until a threat was made that two ships under Arnold’s command would be sailed to the British post at Saint John’s and surrendered.

Col. Hinman immediately sent a detachment to procure the ships and enlist all those of Arnold’s men who were willing. The rest were disbanded, ending the seven-day dispute over who was in command at Crown Point. Arnold’s authority was taken from him. But it did not stop him from bad mouthing the New England troops to General Schuyler when he arrived.—en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Hinman.

Ruins of Fort Crown Point, a British fort on Lake Champlain, Crown Point, New York. Pub: Detroit Photographic Co. 1902; Photochrom prints: LOC: 18215u.
Ruins of Fort Crown Point, a British fort on Lake Champlain, Crown Point, New York. Pub: Detroit Photographic Co. 1902; Photochrom prints: LOC: 18215u.
Posted in ALAMA, Revolutionary War | 1 Comment