Catskill Road: Difference between revisions

The '''Catskill Road''', also known as the '''''[[Catskill Turnpike]]''''', also known as the '''''Ancram Turnpike''''', was one of the most important early routes for migration out of New England into central New York. It was about a 100 mile (161 kilometer) pathway from '''[[Springfield, Massachusetts]]''' to '''[[Catskill, New York]]''', via [[Ancram, New York]]. The route went westward from Springfield, Massachusetts toward the southwest corner of that state. It entered New York State near the town of Ancram and went thence northwest to the town of Catskill on the west bank of the Hudson River. From Catskill the highway was usually called the '''[[Catskill Turnpike]]''' and hugged the north edge of the Catskill Mountains running toward [[Unadilla, New York|Unadilla]] (formerly Wattle's Ferry) on the Susquehanna River, and beyond to [[Ithaca, New York|Ithaca]] and [[Bath, New York]].<ref name="HBG">''Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America'', 9th ed. (Logan, Utah: Everton Pub., 1999), pages 532 and M-48. {{WorldCat|48077118|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}; {{FHL|740321|item|disp=FHL Book 973 D27e 1999}}. This was one of the most important migration routes for early New England settlers who pioneered into central New York.</ref>  

The first major village began attracting European settlers into the Catskill area in 1745.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Catskill_Mountains History of the Catskill Mountains] in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' (accessed 23 October 2014).</ref> The Catskill Road must have been in use before the stagecoach inn was established in 1798 on the old Catskill Road in Ancram. The inn was popular with drovers taking their cattle to the Hudson River for market.<ref>Catherine Tyler Brody, ''[http://gallatin-ny.org/content/History/Home/:field=documents;/content/Documents/File/1.pdf A Brief History of Gallatin]'', 4. (pdf accessed 23 October 2014).</ref> The [[Catskill Turnpike]] opened from Catskill to Unadilla, New York in 1804. The New York legislature in 1804 and 1805 approved the rival Salisbury Turnpike (via nearby Gallatin) and the Ancram Turnpike both for travel from Connecticut to the Hudson River.<ref>Isaac Huntting, ''History of the Little Nine Partners of North East Precinct and Pine Plains, New York, Dutchess County'' (Amenia, NY: Chas. Walsh, 1897), 99-101. [[http://books.google.com/books?id=hJwvAAAAYAAJ&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;dq=History%20of%20the%20Little%20Nine%20Partners&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;source=gbs_similarbooks Google Book edition]]</ref> The heyday of wagon roads into central New York was the early 1800s before the coming of the railroads in the 1840s and 1850s.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_and_Boston_Railroad Hudson and Boston Railroad]] in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' (accessed 23 October 2014).</ref> After the railroads arrived, wagon road travel declined sharply.  

:*At the town of [[Catskill, New York]] the '''[[Catskill Road|Catskill Road]]''' (also known as the '''''Ancram Turnpike''''') changed its name to the '''[[Catskill Turnpike]]''' on its way from Catskill to [[Unadilla, New York]] (formerly Wattle's Ferry) on the Susquehanna River, and then to [[Ithaca, New York|Ithaca]] and [[Bath, New York]].