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Greenwood and Catskill Rds
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=== Background History === | === Background History === | ||
The '''Catskill Turnpike''' was an important early route for | The '''Catskill Turnpike''' was an important early route for New England emigrants headed to western New York and beyond. By 1800 stagecoach lines from Hartford, Connecticut (on the Greenwood Road) and Springfield, Massachusetts (on the Catskill Road) were bringing travelers to the Hudson River Valley. From 1804 to 1824 about 300,000 mostly New Englanders settled in the counties along the Catskill Turnpike and its extensions.<ref name="Gall">Lyman H. Gallagher, "The Catskill Turnpike in Stage Coach and Tavern Days," ''Crooked Lake Review'' (Fall 2005) at http://www.crookedlakereview.com/articles/136_167/137fall2005/137palmer2.html (accessed 28 December 2011).</ref> | ||
In 1800 the New York legislature commissioned turnpikes (toll roads), inspectors, mail, and stagecoach service from the Hudson River to the Susquehanna River. Tolls were to be collected at gates every ten miles. Once stagecoach service began, inns were soon established every few miles to provide the beverages, food, and lodging needed for people and animals.<ref name="Gall" /> | In 1800 the New York legislature commissioned turnpikes (toll roads), inspectors, mail, and stagecoach service from the Hudson River to the Susquehanna River. Tolls were to be collected at gates every ten miles. Once stagecoach service began, inns were soon established every few miles to provide the beverages, food, and lodging needed for people and animals.<ref name="Gall" /> | ||