Mountain Top Historical Society

Discovering, interpreting, sharing and preserving Mountain Top history. 

Mountain Top Historical Society
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.

 

 

Latest MTHS News

Jan. 15    Door, window and some siding on archives addition

Dec. 26    Walls and roof are in place on archives addition

Dec.  3     Justine Hommel receives award from GCHS

Nov. 15    Foundation and walls errected for new archives addition

Oct.  31    Visitors' Center closes for season due to construction

Sept. 29   Excavation begins for archives addition

Sept. 16    Most Catskill hiking trails reopen

Sept. 8      DEC closes hiking trails in Greene & Ulster Counties

Aug. 28     Tropical Storm Irene strikes the Mountain Top

 

 
 
Next Hike

The 2012 hiking schedule is complete. The season starts on April 14th with our annual Waterfall Hike, a tour of the most scenic waterfalls in the area.

All Catskill trails are open, but some are still impacted by Tropical Storm Irene.  A current listing of trail conditions, published by the DEC, can be found here.


 
Museum Support

The Zadock Pratt Museum in Prattsville was devastated by the August flood. They are fundraising to pay for the restoration and replacement of many items and have an online account to collect donations. Please support the very critical and time-sensitive effort to preserve our irreplaceable Mountain Top history. The Empire State Rail Museum and the Catskill Mountain Railroad were also severely damaged by flooding. The railroad is back on track but any support towards ongoing recovery efforts for these two organizations is appreciated.
 
Announcements

JUSTINE HOMMEL IS RECIPIENT OF AWARD

Justine Hommel, president emeritus of MTHS, was presented the first Jesse Van Vechten Vedder Award from the Greene County Historical Society on December 3.  The presentation was made by GCHS President Robert Hallock at the Haines Falls Free Library and fifty of Justine's friends and supporters turned out to congratulate her. You can read the full story in the Daily Mail and see more photos or upload your own on the MTHS Facebook page and on Flickr.

Rachel Jesse Van Vechten Vedder was the historian of the Town and Village of Catskill and Greene County. She was the first female county historian in New York State and a co-author of A History of Greene County. The Vedder Research Library in Coxsackie, NY and Vedder Mountain in Cementon, NY are named after her.