THE HEMLOCK

Fall 2006

THE ROAD THROUGH KAATERSKILL CLOVE

Justine Hommel

(Editor's note: Due to an error in printing, the version of this article in the Hemlock was wrongly attributed. Justine Hommel is the author.)

    Because of the five-month closure of the road through Kaaterskill Clove, and its reopening on the eve of Thanksgiving Day, it seems appropriate to discuss its previous history in this issue of the HEMLOCK.

    Considering the difficulty of travel and the obstacles encountered the history of early road building into the mountains might compare, in a small way, to the later efforts of travel westward. At the end of the l8th century and beginning of the 19th the population growth presented a need as well as a desire to move into unknown territory. Those who considered passing through or into the mountains were faced with almost impossible problems.

    The first entrances through the clove were certainly the most challenging. There were only small strips of land along the edges of the rocky creeks within it. The only trails were foot trails created by Indians and hunters. Nevertheless, there was a determination to settle beyond the flat lands bordering the Hudson. Those seeking to reach the mountains exhibited the kind of tenacity they would need later for their hard, rugged lives in the mountain.

    The early roads through Kaaterskill Clove were barely roads at all. They were very rough and crude, not meant for wagons. Trees, stumps, rocks and rocky ledges had to be moved to create roads over which teams of oxen could haul stone boats through the passes. Two bridges had to built, one below Fawn’s Leap and profile Rock, later to become

Loeffler Stereoview (#312) Palenville from tollbooth.

A view of Palenville from near the tollbooth on the Hunter Turnpike - late 1800s. -- Loeffler Stereoview

known as Moore’s Bridge, and a second over Lake Creek. There were times when they were not strong enough to withstand the strong “freshets” resulting from heavy rains, a frequent occurrence within the clove. By l824 the road through the clove became a part of a of toll road called the Hunter Turnpike. Toll was charged which helped to raise money for the maintenance of the roads. Going to Catskill to purchase staples for the family and farm was a trip of at least two days. The return trip, depending on the amount being carried, could take more than two days.
    By the l840’s a small settlement surrounding the Keirsted tannery was built along the creek below Lake Creek Bridge in the Kaaterskill Clove. According to The History of Greene County, it was called East Hunter and eighty families lived there. The settlement had a post office and a school as well. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the houses were deserted or had been moved away after the Keirsted Company dissolved in 1848. (In Stanford Gifford’s painting, KAATERSKILL CLOVE, a house, which may have been one of them, can be seen perched on the side of the clove.) It is very hard to imagine this small settlement but one must understand that the size of the land bordering the creek has been diminished by floods and freshets over many years, as has the location of the road since that time. Until a few years ago though, and perhaps even now, much of the foundation of the tannery and the small cellars of some of the homes remained. The serious floods of more recent years may have changed that.

    It now seems highly unlikely that the narrow strip of land could provide other sources of industry, but there were other enterprises within the clove. Because of the great demand for stone in New York and other cities, quarries were opened even there. A picture belonging to MTHS shows men working in a quarry near Sphinx Rock on Prospect Mountain. The stone was drawn down the steep mountain by horses. A second quarry was opened near Lake Creek. In l898, Al Brant escaped with his life when his team loaded with stone was

A Stone Quarry in the Clove near Sphinx Rock. (Historical Society collection)

crossing Moore’s bridge. The weight caused the bridge to collapse. The team and Brandt dropped 42 feet to the creek bed below. One of the horses was killed but Brandt only sustained a slight cut on the head. I was told that during the building of the “new” clove road about l9l5, a quarry was opened on the Kaaterskill property. The same stone was used for retaining walls that are still there today.

    In Raymond Beecher’s recent book, Kaaterskill Clove: Where Nature Met Art, he relates that Hampton Randolph, remembered charcoal having been produced within the clove.   Of course, over the years, some lumbering was also done, but the steep terrain limited its successful production.

    The clove was, and still is a dark, lonely four miles even with the headlights of today’s cars. Imagine how it might have been when traveling with only a kerosene lantern to guide the way. Old timers have told many tales of the mishaps to travelers through the clove. One story was of   Norman Gray, the owner of Gray’s Hotel, later Roggin’s, in Tannersville, who was a Southern sympathizer during the Civil War. After hearing the news of Lincoln‘s death, he decided to join others in Catskill who were celebrating.   While riding through the clove on horseback, the horse reared and fell throwing the rider to his death. Local people were left with doubt as to whether it was an accident or intentional.   Other stories of accidents, robberies, the murder of a Jewish peddler and other happenings in the clove still circulate.

    The Hotel Kaaterskill decided to build its own road leading directly to the hotel. It was very steep, but well constructed up the front of South Mountain. Often referred to as “the road that couldn’t be built” it opened on July 4, l88l. Because no toll was charged, it became a popular way for travelers to avoid the toll, but a month later, on August 4th of the same year, a gate was built and toll charged. The toll for two horses was thirty-five cents.

    Early automobile owners found it impossible to climb the very steep grade to Haines Falls beyond Lake Creek Bridge although some were able to reach the top by backing their vehicle up the remainder of the trip. Obviously as the use of Prison Camp from Dear Old Greene County.

Prison Camp from Dear Old Greene County.

automobiles became more common, this was not satisfactory. Many accidents were reported during that period. Plans got underway by New York state and Greene County to change the course of the road which would be surfaced with concrete. Money was set aside by the Department of State and an additional amount of $50,000,000 by Greene County in 1913. As a cost savings, it was decided to use prisoners in building the road. A camp was built in the Clove in which to house the men.

       Work on the road began in Palenville. During the years of construction rock retaining walls were built where necessary throughout the full length of the mountain. The rocks were all quarried locally. Moore’s Bridge was changed from an iron pony truss to one of cement over a steel frame, and a stone foundation with iron reinforcement. Just above Fawn‘s Leap a gradual grade in the road was introduced leaving Tannery Flats as it wove its way through the climb. Many curves were involved in the new alignment clinging to the side of South Mountain toward what became the horseshoe bend at Bastion Falls.
Here the bridge was also cement, but with impressive laid dry stone supports.

    The land on which Molly Smith’s Lookout point was located was built later, (in l927), by her son-in-law, Perry Legg, and after the road was finished it became a favorite stop for gas and water. It housed a souvenir shop and luncheonette. Most early cars had to stop and cool off, then add water to the radiator, before climbing the rest of the mountain. (Our old 1930 Nash rarely made it that far so we carried a pail and my Dad would climb down to the creek at Bastion Falls for water. After Molly Smith sold the land to the State of New York, the area became a parking lot for the trailhead to Kaaterskill Falls.

    During the current repair just beyond that point, rails from the narrow gauge railroad were discovered under the road. A mystery was presented as to why they were there. No, the railroad did not run that far. A friend of ours, Everett Pelham of Catskill, supplied the answer.

    Everett, who was a very small boy at the time of the road construction, lived in a house just opposite the road to the Ulster & Delaware Station, (now owned by MTHS), and remembers the rails being laid in front of a huge machine, (probably a steam shovel) that had arrived on the Ulster & Delaware train. In order to reach the work, rails were laid before the machine as it was moved ahead. Apparently, once there, the rails were buried since the narrow gauge railroad closed in 1918 and they were no longer needed.

    Unlike Tannery Flats, from the time the 1913 road left Fawn’s Leap, it began to climb. After Bastion Falls, the road became steeper, but much more gradual than the earlier one from Lake Creek, which passed “Dripping Rocks” ending near the “Great Slide.” The new alignment ended on shortly beyond the slide area.

    There have been many changes since that time. A serious slide near the last corner west of Palenville necessitated a road closure of nearly two months in 1937 and metal retaining walls were put in place. In 1979-80, passing lanes were created above the Tannery Flats area and again near the top of the mountain. The road was closed when a new, pre-caste bridge was installed at Horseshoe Bend and again when Moore’s bridge was replaced. There were other short term closures, One about 30 years ago when a huge boulder fell from next to Sphinx Rock onto the highway. However the closure this year on May 30, 2006 for a month for repairs, only to open and close five days later after a huge slide, has certainly been the most difficult and disruptive time for all who live and work here. It reopened the afternoon of Thanksgiving Eve, giving all of us a special reason to be thankful.

                                                                                                           JLH