Deer Head Lodge

Brochure courtesy of Kevin M.
Deer Head Lodge brochure courtesy of Kevin M.

This is Deer Head Lodge
From the shores of picturesque Highland Lake in the mountains of Sullivan County, Deer Head Lodge extends a cordial welcome and offers the ideal spot for a happy vacation of relaxation and healthy recreation.

Here you will meet the kind of friendly, clean cut people you’ll enjoy knowing and keeping as friends over the years to come. Plan now to spend a vacation here with your family and friends.

Modern buildings equipped with every comfort and convenience. Spacious, well-ventilated rooms, all with hot and cold running water. Cozy, homelike furnishings amid which our guests spend their happiest hours.

Food here is tops in both quality and quantity. Meals prepared and served under the personal supervision of Mr. and Mrs. Eggers, are satisfying to the most exacting guest.

Click to see photos of Deer Head Lodge being demolished in April 2010.

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Boarding Houses 1942

Here are some boarding houses mentioned in the Brooklyn Eagle Summer Resort and Travel Directory of 1942:
Deer Head Lodge, Highland Lake
Glendella, Barryville
Riverside Cottage, Barryville
Maple Grove Farm, Barryville
Laurel Cottage, Yulan
Sunset Cottage, Yulan
Lake Shore Hotel, Highland Lake
Laurel Brook Cottage, Barryville
The Colonial, Yulan
Handsome Eddy Farm, Barryville
The Maple Crest, Yulan
Sunset View House, Highland Lake
Cantwell’s West Shore Cottage, Yulan

Perhaps my readers would be interested in searching for New York News from Fulton History, a site that features over 18,269,000 Old New York State Historical Newspaper pages.

This is the link to page one which lists their searchable old New York newspapers.

It’s helpful if you have a fast internet connection if you search for names on the Fulton site.

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Barryville Boarding House Memories

The old Hotel of John Schumacher was added on to and became Clouse's Casino. Postcard courtesy of Kevin M.
The other Clouse Casino which became Reber's. Postcard courtesy of Kevin M.
Barryville-Shohola Bridge photo taken by H.I. Briggs, courtesy of M. Austin.

Here are some photos or postcards of Barryville taken before 1945. The Spring House boarding house or inn was on River Road. If you would like to write about your memories of Barryville whether a house, the Riviera Theater, Clouses, Reber or boarding houses between Yulan and Barryville such as Woodland Cottages, that’d be great.

Posted in Boarding Houses, Bridges, Postcards | 4 Comments

Eldredville Post Office 1838

I recently received an 1838 map of Sullivan County, New York, which I have found fascinating.

In 1838 the Town of Lumberland included what are now the Towns of Tusten, Highland, and Lumberland.

Eldredville, located where the current village of Eldred is, seems to be the only post office in all of Lumberland. This is quite interesting because I thought that before being called Eldred, the location was called Halfway Brook Village.

I have seen letters addressed to Halfway Brook or just Lumberland, but 1845 was the earliest one.

Eldredville P.O. is located where James and Polly Vandorsol Mulford first settled at the end of 1815. James Eldred (father of Charles C.P. Eldred) was the postmaster around 1830. A room of James’ home was the post office.

Also of interest to me were the many sawmills located along the rivers.

Halfway Brook—11
Ten Mill River’s 2 branches—17
Beaver Brook—9
Between the mouth of the Ten Mile River and Beaver Brook were several streams with a total of 10 sawmills
The stream from Long Pond (Beaver Pond)—6

The lakes shown are Long Pond (Beaver Pond), Hagan’s Pond (Highland Lake), Sand Pond, Round Pond, Mud Pond?, and York Lake. There is no Mill/Stege’s Pond or Washington, Bodine, or Montgomery Lakes.

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Boarding House Memories from Yulan; Bodine and Washington Lakes

The building on the left, Minisink Lodge. West Shore Cottage on the far right, was originally owned by the Racines. Both Minisink Lodge and West Shore Cottage would become part of Cantwell’s West Shore Lodge. Photo courtesy of Kevin M.
Bornstein’s Grand View Farm. Postcard courtesy of Kevin M.

I would love to hear the memories (or stories you heard) of vacations at any of the boarding houses near Yulan, or on Washington or Bodine Lakes. These are the ones I know about:

Boarding houses and lakes on the west side:
Washington Lake, Bodine Lake, Montgomery Lake
Bradley/Avery
The Maple Crest (Walters)
The Colonial (Hensels)
Washington Beach House (Tethers)
Laurel Cottage (Mr. and Mrs. James Parker)
Sunset Cottage (Mr. & Mrs. Lewis Hazen)
Lake View Farm (Kaeses)
Grand Vue Inn or Grand View Farm (Bornsteins)
Park Hotel (Mr. & Mrs. Atwell Bradley)
Bertram’s Cottage (Mrs. Bertram)
Yulan Cottage (Hensel and later )
West Shore Lodge (Cantwells)
Woodland Cottages (Herman and Mathilde Protz)
Highland Cottage (Kalbfus)
Minisink Lodge and West Shore Cottage (both became part of Cantwell’s)
Bodine Cottages (Bodines)
Twin Oaks

Posted in Boarding Houses | 20 Comments

The Road to Yulan from Barryville

Road to Yulan from Barryville. Postcard courtesy of Kevin M.

Here is a postcard I did not include in Echo Hill and Mountain Grove because I was not sure of its location. Can anyone help?

My next post will be about Yulan and the boarding houses nearby on Washington, Bodine, or Montgomery Lakes. I am hoping former summer boarders in the area might stop by this Halfway Brook site and share their memories in the comment section.

I will also post on the other locations—Barryville, Eldred, and Highland Lake—and maybe we’ll hear from people who visited or worked at the boarding houses in the Town of Highland, New York, many years ago.

Posted in Postcards, Where is this? | 23 Comments

Erie Train Depot in Port Jervis, N.Y.

The original Erie Train Depot in Port Jervis, New York. This structure was replaced in 1889 and rebuilt in 1892. Photo courtesy Kevin M.
The Erie Railroad Depot in Port Jervis, New York, opened their new station on February 2, 1892. 1907 postcard in Austin Collection.

There were some stores in Barryville and Eldred, but townsfolk continued to travel to Port Jervis for the household items they needed. John B. Jervis, for whom Port Jervis (Carpenter’s Point) was named, had been the chief engineer of the D&H Canal.

    Jervis was one of the great 19th century engineers. He designed and oversaw the construction of the Croton Aqueduct and water system built to serve New York City. He was involved in several major railroad projects and the iron industry.—minisink.org.
Posted in Echo Hill and Mountain Grove, Postcards | 1 Comment

C. Metzger writes Mort Austin again

A number of letters written to my grandfather Mort Austin or his brothers (in the 1880s through at least 1910) indicated that the Austins and their friends often thought of moving somewhere else to find work to pay their expenses.

Charles Metzger, Catskills, N.Y., to Mort Austin, Eldred
November 1896
Well Mort! Old Sport,
I am glad to know that you are still alive, and rejoicing in our Republican Victory.

You are going to put yet another winter at Eldred are you? Well probably, it’s wise not to make a break right in the teeth of winter. But for land sake, pull out of there next spring, or you will get grated there for good yet.

Since my return from that little trip to Eldred, I have earned over $150. Where could I have done that in Eldred during Sept. and Oct.? I did not loose a day. I even worked all of Election day (I didn’t forget to vote though.)

You ask (1st) am I going to remain here this winter? (2nd) am I coming to Eldred?

Well, 1st if I can get enough work to make expenses, I am going to stay. (2nd) I am not going to Eldred in any event, as there is nothing there for me except vexation and you know that I have had my share of that.

If I get laid off I am not sure yet where I will go, but I don’t intend to lay still unless I am compelled to.

So there are to be two new houses at Eldred are there? I am glad to hear that. I suppose that when I see that Town, I will hardly know it.

Hoping that you are in good health and spirits. And to hear from you in the near future.

Your old friend,
Chas. C.R. Metzger

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Looking South from Eldred’s 4 corners

Postcard looking south from Eldred, in Austin Collection.

The man is standing at the center of Eldred. The view is looking south towards Barryville on Brook Road.

At the left is the corner of William Wilson’s grocery store. Next, possibly Abel Myers’ store, the Parker Hotel. In the center is Red Men’s Hall (with a bell tower).

On the right is a building perhaps built by Charles Wilson (William’s brother) around 1900.

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Love Those Hats!

Bertha Collins is third from the left. Photo in the Austin collection.

Bertha Collins was the granddaughter of the Collins family who originally owned the Collins’ house and who I assume Collins Road in Eldred was named after.

(By 1905 my Austin grandparents owned one of the Collins homes—there were two I know of and I think both burned down—and ran it as the boarding house: Homestead Cottage.)

Bertha Collins attended the same school (Centenary Institute) as my grandfather Mort Austin.

I think this photo was taken between 1890 and 1900.

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