The Rip Van Winkle Flyer Page 10 No. 38, Winter, 2005 The Rip Van Winkle Flyer Page 3 No. 38, Winter, 2005

A Pine Hill Pictorial by Dick Makse

Editor’s note: our feature article about Pine Hill is the first in a series of village profiles focusing on the historic views of the communities served by railroads of the Catskills. A topographical map is included on page 6 referencing the numbered views in this article.

When Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester first penned the history In 1839, stage coach service operated three times a week of Pine Hill village in 1880, his description hardly de- on the turnpike, providing mail and passenger accommo- scribed a major resort town: dations between Delhi and Kingston. When the highway was planked in 1851, it was only a matter of months be- This is a pleasant rural village situated upon the eastern slope of fore competition to the original stage line would appear. the hill from which it derives its name. It is also a station upon the Henry Edgerton introduced a new line of handsome Ulster and Delaware Railroad...The present business of Pine Hill stagecoaches and offered daily service to the Delaware may be summarily stated as one store by J.D. Hill, a store by the County seat. It was this consistent flow of new passengers Smith Brothers, several boarding-houses for summer visitors, two charcoal-kilns, one blacksmith-shop, and a hotel by J.H. Palmer. that prompted the Guigous to enter the lodging business. This would turn out to be a profitable career change for Pine Hill, like many Catskill communities, early devel- Theodore Guigou. The tannery burned to the ground in oped with the construction of the Ulster & Delaware 1858 and with only a limited supply of hemlock, Guigou Turnpike Road during the Jeffersonian era. This primitive did not rebuild but focused on his hotel. gravel road would open the interior of the state and serve as a conduit for commerce. Tanneries were one of the first When the Rondout & Oswego bridged the Delaware Throughout Catskill literature, references have been made to the charcoal kilns that existed at least into the 1890’s at Pine Hill. John Ham recently ob- County line in 1871, the stage’s terminus was moved to tained these two stereo images clearly establishing the location at a point just east of the Giggle Hollow Bridge on lands belonging to W. Sprague. Spra- enterprises to take advantage of these new roads. gue had granted an easement for the construction of the Rondout & Oswego back in 1871 and while his name appeared on the valuation map of 1916, Dean’s Corners (Arkville) and visitors to Pine Hill availed the sidetrack serving the charcoal kilns no longer existed when the valuation maps were prepared. themselves of service on the railroad. Pine Hill boomed with the rapid development of a boarding house industry. In its August 12, 1873 issue, the Kingston Freeman noted:

Bibliography It is astonishing to see the number of city people who are spending Best, Gerald M. 1972. The Ulster and Delaware...Railroad Through the Catskills. San Marino, CA: Golden West Books.

Clearwater, Alphonso T. 1907. The History of Ulster County New York. Kingston, NY: W.J. Van Deusen.

De Lisser, R. Lionel. 1896. Picturesque Ulster: Township of Shandaken

Evers, Alf. 1982. The Catskills From Wilderness to Woodstock. Woodstock, NY: Over- look Press.

Gale, Lonnie and Ruth. 1999. Shandaken, New York A Pictorial History. Fleisch- The bustle of downtown Pine Hill on a typical summer day c1907 is manns, NY: Purple Mountain Press. evident in this postcard view taken at the intersection of Main and Elm Streets looking east. Three hotels are visible in this scene within this one Kudish, Michael. 2000. The Catskill Forest A History. Fleischmanns, NY: Purple block. Immediately visible on the right is the Judson House and the Pine Hill Mountain Press. Hotel and on the left is the Avon Inn. The post office, a hardware store, livery stable, souvenir shop and turning mill and candy store comprise this view of Monroe, John D. 1949. Chapters in the History of Delaware County. Delhi, NY: Dela- Richard Lionel DeLisser documented the history, roads, trails and the heart of the village. (Steven Delibert Collection) ware County Historical Association folklore of Ulster County in a remarkable series of eight soft cover books published in 1896. De Lisser photographed this fine view of Pine Hill depot in Sanborn Map Company. 1888. 1898. 1912. 1927. Village of Pine Hill, New York. New Augustus Guigou, an émigré from France, opened Pine the late 19th century for the volume devoted to Shandaken Township. York, NY: Sanborn Map Company. Hill to commerce when he established a tannery in 1831 to the summer along the line of the N.Y., K. & S. R.R., not only is Sive, Mary Robinson. 1998. Lost Villages: Historic Driving Tours in the Catskills. take advantage of the plentiful supply of hemlock. His son Delhi, NY: Delaware County Historical Association. Delaware County flooded, Pine Hill and Shandaken are filled to Theodore would take over day-to-day operations in 1846. overflowing...Their board bills are very much less than if they re- Sylvester, Nathaniel Bartlett. 1997. History of Ulster County New York with Illustra- mained in the city. tions. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press. Two years later, the Guigous hired a father/son team of

Directory of the Ulster and Delaware R.R. Stony Clove and Catskill Mountain Railroad carpenters from New York, James C. Cornish and his fa- A fledgling resort community grew primarily offering and Kaaterskill Railroad for the Year 1888, 1892. Newburgh, NY: Thompson & Breed. ther, Jacob Miller Cornish, to build a cottage that would visitors accommodations at boarding houses. This pattern Van Loan, Walton. 1879. Van Loan’s Catskill Mountain Guide 1879 with Bird’s Eye evolve into the Mountain Inn. View, Maps and Choice Illustrations. New York, NY: Aldine Publishing Company. (Continued)