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Catskill Collectibles

Welcome to Catskill Collectibles. My interest in the Catskills dates from my childhood. Through the years I have been an avid student of Catskill history. I have read and researched many books and assembled a regional collection that is a part of that history.

I love the still-unspoiled natural beauty of the mountains and crystal-clear waters of its lakes and streams. Life is beautiful here; a sanctuary for us all. Yet, so much about the region, its art and its history is unknown to many. We hope you will visit often. I am available on-line to answer any questions you may have about the collection, and to share my personal knowledge of each item of interest to you as well as of this great region and its history. My commitment is to do my part to keeping alive the heritage and spirit of the Catskills.

Three large hotels once stood above the eastern slope of the Catskills here in Greene County, looking over the Hudson Valley and the deep cut in the mountains carved by Kaaterskill Creek. The first and most famed, the Catskill Mountain House, stood on the broad lawn, in growing disrepair, until the state bought the site and burned it in 1963.
The second, the Kaaterskill Hotel, with rooms for 800 guests, burned accidentally in 1924. The third, the Laurel House, built at the head of Kaaterskill Falls, the highest falls in New York, was bought by the state and burned in 1966.

The Otis Elevating Railway represented the final stage in improved transportation to the Catskill Mountain House. When the great resort opened in 1824, early travelers from New York City faced a grueling four hour stagecoach ride from the steamship landing at Catskill, 12 miles distant. When the Catskill Mountain Railroad reached Palenville in 1882, the brutal stage ride had dropped to a manageable two mile ride. Still, the increasingly sophisticated vacationer found the hour-long stage ride fit for a barbarian.
The Beach family, owners of the Catskill Mountain House, enlisted Otis Elevator Company, headed by Charles Owen Otis, to develop a cable railway. Drawing on his expertise, Otis called upon other great industrial firms of the day, (Hamilton-Corliis to supply the engines and Roebling to supply the cable) to help execute the project. The Railway opened on August 7, 1892 with coaches and baggage cars from Jackson & Sharp of Wilmington, Delaware.
The Otis Elevating Railway, later the Otis Railway, closed forever after the 1918 season, an early victim of America's love affair with the automobile.

Hotel Kaaterskill

While the Mountain House had the view and the Laurel House had the falls, the Hotel Kaaterskill, located on nearby South Mountain and erected by George Harding, had the sheer size to make it a contender.
Folklore tells us that the genesis of the hotel was the so-called “Fried Chicken War” between Mountain House owner Beach and George Harding, a Mountain House patron and leading patent attorney of his day (his clients included inventors Samuel F.B. Morse). As the story goes, while dining at the Mountain House, Harding requested some fried chicken (others say boiled) in lieu of red meat for his daughter (others say it was his wife), but was refused. Harding made a fuss, Beach was called onto the scene, and the argument ended with Beach suggesting that Harding build his own hotel.

“Rather than being upset about the meal selection, it’s more likely that Harding saw a business opportunity,” says Dorpfeld. After an eight-month building frenzy, the Hotel Kaaterskill opened in 1881, advertising that it could accommodate 612 guests. Two years later, the addition of an annex allowed the number of patrons to swell to 1,100, making it three times the size of the Mountain House. Harding spared no expense on his hotel, hiring French chefs and decorating the place with modern Eastlake furniture. The Hotel Kaaterskill quickly developed a stellar reputation. “If you wanted to be noticed and commented upon in the newspaper, you’d go there or to the Mountain House”.
By the early 20th century, the entire Catskill region had begun to lose much of its cache. Beach and Harding both died in 1902. Neighboring hotels offered cheaper lodging, which attracted the middle class — but drove away the wealthy.

Leeds Bridge

This bridge at first glance appears to be a stone arch that dates to 1775. The overall visual appearance of the bridge, combined with a plaque on the bridge which says the "original bridge" was built in 1775 and "restored" in 1937 seem to suggest this. However, the bridge is quite wide (30 foot roadway), and in the National Bridge Inventory is listed as a concrete arch built in 1825 and rehabilitated in 1937. After a closer examination of the NBI data and the bridge itself, it appears that in 1775 a bridge was first built at this location. In 1825, the bridge was replaced with a stone arch. In 1937, the stone arch was replaced with a concrete arch bridge. The concrete arch bridge was wider but kept the same arch shape as the stone arch bridge, and the stones from the 1825 bridge were placed on the spandrel walls of the bridge (and the parapets reused also), so that the concrete arch bridge looks like the stone arch bridge. Assuming this is all true, the 1825 bridge obviously does not have historic integrity. However, the 1937 alteration, apparently designed to try to retain some of the materials and character of the stone arch bridge, represents an early United States example of historic bridge preservation effort. This fact, combined with the portions of the 1825 bridge that remain on the bridge, mean that this bridge should be considered historic. 

The Canajoharie and Catskill Rail Road (C&C) ran from Catskill, NY to Potter's Hollow, NY. Originally it was intended to extend the railroad to Canajoharie, New York.
Chartered in 1830,it never achieved its intended goal of connecting its namesake villages. A ground breaking ceremony was held in 1831,but construction did not begin in earnest until 1836 when the route was surveyed by George H. Cook.By the end of construction a total of 26¼ miles of track had been laid.
The track consisted of wooden rails topped with strap iron.The track generally followed Catskill Creek, and the communities served included Cairo and Leeds. The first trains, consisting of cars hauled by horses, ran in 1839.The line's only locomotive, Mountaineer, began operation in 1840. It was never very satisfactory. The C&C carried both passengers and freight.[Commodities carried included iron, brick, wood, various agricultural products, and household goods including such items as candles, tea, salt, snuff and raisins.

On 4 May 1840 the High Rock covered bridge over Catskill Creek collapsed under the weight of the train, killing one Jehiel Tyler and injuring a number of others. This disaster is marked by a New York State historic plaque on Route 145, about two and half miles west of East Durham.
Following the bridge collapse, the line collapsed financially and was sold and scrapped in 1842.
The only known depiction of the railroad is Thomas Cole's River in the Catskills at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Catskill Mountain Railway Tunnel - Main Street Catskill NY

Construction of the tunnel under lower Main Street in Catskill. This was used by the Catskill Mountain railway as it ran to and from the point.