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A memorial to the towns that were sacrificed for New York City
We hope to document the lost towns in upstate New York that were sacrificed for the New York City watershed.
The Towns
West Hurley, Ashton, Glenford, Brown's Station, Olive Bridge, Brodhead, Shokan, West Shokan, Boiceville, Beerston, Cannonsville, Rock Rift, Rock Royal, Granton, Neversink, Bittersweet, Arena, Pepacton, Shavertown, Union Grove, Eureka, Montela, Lackawack and Gilboa.
Ashokan Reservoir
Ashokan Reservoir Communities -- Nine villages were either removed or obliterated forever. These included West Hurley, Ashton, Glenford, Brown's Station, Olive Bridge, Brodhead, Shokan, West Shokan and Boiceville.
Eleven miles of the Ulster & Delaware Railroad tracks were taken up and relocated. Sixty-four miles of highway were discontinued, including a long stretch of the famous Plank Road, and forty new miles of boulevard built, mainly of macadam.
Ten new bridges were constructed. A sensational feature was the removal from thirty-two cemeteries of two thousand eight hundred bodies or skeletons, including those of many soldiers of the Revolution, and their reinterment in new pine boxes in neighboring graveyards. Click here for more info.
Cannonsville Reservoir
Five more communities were condemned to make way for this reservoir: Beerston, Cannonsville, Rock Rift, Rock Royal and Granton. Another 941 people were forced to move.
Neversink Reservoir
The hamlets of Neversink and Bittersweet were lost to the Neversink Reservoir.
Old
Neversink
by Geoff Brown
Between the Lakes Group, LLC
Great
site of the full History of Neversink
Post card from
Old Neversink web
site
Pepacton Reservoir
The Pepacton flooded four communities -- Arena, Pepacton, Shavertown and Union Grove – displacing 974 people. The city acquired more than 13,000 acres, including cemeteries from which 2,371 bodies were removed to be re-interred elsewhere
The book, "Beneath Pepacton Waters" by Alice H. Jacobson, is available from Hope Farm Books, Describes life of the residents of four villages (Pepacton, Shavertown, Union Grove and Arena) and the surrounding area of the East Branch of the Delaware during construction of the Pepacton Reservoir.
From the introduction . . . The reservoir (when filled) is truly very pretty, but the warmth, charm and enchantment of the East Branch of the Delaware river surrounded by the beautiful farms with fertile river flats and the four villages Pepacton, Shavertown, Union Grove and Arena—were truly unique and they should never be forgotten.
I have written only a few of many memories of Shavertown and its three sister villages and the farm where I lived for the first eighteen years of my life which was situated along the East Branch of the Delaware river one mile below Shavertown and some of the events which took place over a period of many years which eventually destroyed the lush green valley and four friendly villages.
Although we can never bring back the beautiful lush green valley it is my most sincere hope that this story will help preserve the memories and if this story should inspire others to write, my efforts would be most worthwhile.
Rondout Reservoir
The Rondout Reservoir straddling the Ulster and Sullivan County line was built between 1937 and 1954. The communities of Eureka, Montela and Lackawack were eliminated to make way for the Rondout;
Schoharie Reservoir
The Schoharie reservoir, built between 1919 and 1927, forced the removal of 350 residents of the community of Gilboa and neighboring valley lands. The Reservoir covers area in Greene and Schoharie County.
"Old Gilboa" and Reservoir Picture Gallery
We are looking for any info and photos of these towns to post here. Please email us if you have or know where we can obtain this info. email us
Related Links
Old
Neversink
by Geoff Brown
Between the Lakes Group, LLC
Great
site of the full History of Neversink
"WATER FOR NEW YORK CITY", Hall, Edward.
Belongs next to "Last of the Handmade Dams",
this is the 300 year
history of NYC's water
resources culminating in the construction of the
Catskill Aqueduct and the Ashokan Reservoir.
As important now as in 1917.
5.5x8.5 124
pages Paperback
(Available though
Hope Farm
Books)
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Blueberry Hill Road
Woodstock, NY 12498
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