Welcome
Welcome to the MTHS website
The Mountain Top Historical Society is dedicated to discovering and preserving the unique and rich history of the Catskill High Peaks. The Society is a not-for-profit organization and maintains a Visitor and Art Trail Center and the Ulster and Delaware train depot (shown above) on our campus in Haines Falls. We are located on scenic Route 23A at the gateway to the Mountain Top and are easily accessible from Exit 20 or 21 of the New York State Thruway.
The Town of Hunter, home to MTHS, has been designated a Preserve America Community.
Our Next Events:
September 14 (Sat) Our 6th Annual Postcard Show – 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. @ the U&D Train Station. Food will be available. The MTHS will also be selling ephemera from its attic in a special sale. A $3.00 entry fee will be charged at the door.
Did anyone at our postcard show on Saturday September 14 find a real photo postcard of the Catskill Mountain House? -- Correction: John tells us that the missing card was of the Laurel House. -- The card, in a plastic sleeve, became detached from a display board as the board was being moved from our train station to our visitors' center at the close of the show shortly after 3:00 p.m. The card is from the private collection of John Duda, the organizer of the show. Please leave a message at (518) 589-6657.
October 11 (Fri) 7:00 p.m. Train Station Ice Age Talk Robrt & Johanna Titus in the U&D Train Station. Writers, Robert and Johanna Titus, introduce their newest book “The Catskills in the Ice Age.” It’s a greatly expanded and revised version of a book first published in 1996.
See details of these events and our Full Schedule: 2019 Event and Hike Schedule.
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The Heximer Survey courtesy of the Free Library of Philadelphia |
An 1883 Survey brings the Hotel Kaaterskill to life.
MTHS News and links:
- Rip's Back
- KRT is Open
- Clove Road by Justine Hommel -A 2006 article by Justine Hommel.
- The Dodd House - Also by Justine an article from the archives of the Hemlock
- Around Hunter --A great Gift for a friend or yourself-- is available at the Visitor's Center Click on the link or the book cover for more information.
- Larry Tompkins -- Out Windham Way a wonderful new book from our former MTHS president.
From our Archives -
Follow the "From Our Archives" link in the "Preserve" menu on the right to see information about some of the items in our Justine Hommel Archive Room.
Included are posts on:
one of several letters from Civil War soldier William Young. Donated by Odile Dwyer.
A collection of glass plate negatives. The gift of Shirley and Gerald Dunn See details here.
South Mountain - On the Once Beaten Path
Our June 8th, took the historic Direct Path to South Mountain. The path was the main way to climb from the Catskill Mountain House to sites such as Puddingstone Hall, Druid Rocks, and the Second Ledge seen in this illustration from Van Loan's Catskill Mountain Guide and called the Lemon Squeezer by some photographers.
By 1891 a new path approximately the current state trail was established and eventually the "Direct Path" was abandoned. Check back for more details which will be announced when they are complete.
Volunteers always needed
We have openings for volunteers, and possible board members, in these areas: membership chair, fundraising chair (including grants writing), volunteer coordinator, and groundskeeping chair. We would love to have more regular volunteers to work on maintaining the grounds, staffing the Visitors' Center, working with us on our Spring Clean-up Day in May, and sorting files for the archives. If you are already on our volunteer list, we will be in touch. If you would like to know more about volunteer activities that will be personally fulfilling and rewarding, contact us by phone at 518-589-6657 or by e-mail to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
We also ask for your support in the form of membership dollars and your donations to our upcoming capital campaign. Our annual membership drive will begin in May. Watch for the information in the mail and please respond generously.
Working together, we can continue to discover, interpret, share, and preserve the history of the Mountain Top for ourselves and our children.
The 2019 hiking and events schedule Has been very diverse and interesting, and we're not through yet.
Here is another view of the Second Ledge on South Mountain--this one a Loeffler stereograph which names the site The Lemon Squeezer. Loeffler's choice of the name caused us a great deal of confusion because it was also the name of a crevice near the top of South Mountain and differed from the name given by Van Loan in his trail description. Note Loeffler's use of a young boy in the center of the photo, perhaps to make the site look larger than it actually is.
Thanks to our business sponsors:
2019 Business Sponsors:
Boardwalk Builders, Inc., Brookside B&B, Central Hudson Gas & Electric, Chateau Belleview, Haines Falls Auto/Hunter Towing, Hotel Vienna, Kaaterskill Liquors, Karen’s County Kitchen, Last Chance Antiques & Cheese Cafe, Maggie’s Krooked Café, The Mansion House At Alfie’s, Mountain Propane, Inc., Pancho Villas Mexican Restaurant, Pure Mountain Yoga, Rosehaven Inn, Scribner's Catskill Lodge, Snow Bird Ski Shop, Snowed Inn B&B, Thorpes GMC, Inc., Town Tinker Tube Rental, Traphagen's Honey, The Thompson House, Vesuvio Restaurant, Villa Vosilla, Willow Mixed Media, Windham Pharmacy
