The Town of Liberty, fittingly named at the time "from the sentiment
which was so dear to the American people" was officially formed from
lands of the Town of Lumberland on March 13, 1807. The first town meeting
was held on April 7, 1807. At this time, the town extended westerly to the
Delaware River.
In 1842, the Town of Callicoon was taken from Liberty, thus establishing
the western boundary of the town as it is today.
Early settlers came from Connecticut over a road hacked through the woods
in 1794, from the Neversink River. When they first came to this area, known
as the Blue Mountain Country, they settled to the northwest of the present
Village of Liberty on the hill near Revonah Lake.
The first settler was Eleaser Larabee, a native of Connecticut. By 1799,
the area of the Liberty Village was also being settled and according to
Quinlan, by 1822, the Liberty Post Office was created.
In 1828, Liberty could boast that it had a painted house. William
Ratcliff, a tailor who came from England, erected a house and painted it
himself. This building stood on the lawn of the present elementary school on
North Main Street.
In 1830, Dr. John D. Watkins came to Liberty, married Harriet Young, and
eventually built, about 1844, the large house that now contains the offices
of the Town of Liberty. The county was covered with large hemlock trees and
about 1830, the tanneries were being built. The large trees were cut down
and the bark used for tanning leather. Three tanneries were within the
present village boundaries. The majority of the boots worn by the Civil War
soldiers were made from the leather tanned in Sullivan County.
The Ontario and Western Railway which ran through the town from 1873 to
1957, brought thousands of summer people to the area, as well as
transporting millions of gallons of local milk to New York City.
Originally, farmers began taking in summer boarders who came from the
city for the fresh air and the fresh milk and eggs. As time passed, more and
more people came, and large hotels were built to handle the business.
Liberty Village no doubt had the largest and the most hotels. Two of the big
ones were the Hotel Wawanda and the Liberty House.
In about 1900, the large Loomis Sanatorium was established for the care
of tubercular patients; Liberty went through another stage of its
development which lasted until other cures besides fresh air and rest were
found. Several of the large empty hotels in the village were converted into
smaller private sanatoriums.
After World War I, a few of the old hotels became places for the sick
soldiers, especially the ones who had been gassed during the war.
Following this, the town in general fell back to its dependency upon the
tourist trade and its summer season.
The Village of Liberty, incorporated on September 17, 1870, is by far the
larger of the town's communities, being located at the crossroads of the
Quickway (Route 17) and Stage Highway 52.
Of the smaller hamlets, Parksville is the only one to maintain its
original name. White Sulphur Springs, originally called Robertsonville, was
named after Bradley Robertson who settled in the area in 1809, and fought in
the War of 1812. Ferndale, originally known as Liberty Falls, was settled by
Roswell Russell in 1807. Swan Lake, originally called Stevensville, was
named after the Stevens brothers, who built large sole leather tanner which
operated until about 1873. Red Brick, Egypt, Glen Cove, and others are
completely gone.
Source:
Frank V. Schwarz, Historian
Lumberland: A Gem with Many Facets
Bicentennial Pamphlet, 1998
- Read all about the history of the Keller Memorial Town of Liberty Government Center at this page.
Swan Lake
Before its name was changed to Swan Lake, the lake was "Stevensville
Pond," and the community was "Stevensville." The name
"Stevensville" was acquired from the Stevens brothers who operated
a sole leather tannery until it burned in 1856. One of the brothers, Daniel
T. Stevens, rebuilt it and continued business until 1873. About 1895, Alden
S. Swan arrived and immediately started to purchase property, including the
lake. By the time of his death in 1917, he owned the Rock Spring Lodge,
Swan's Casino, Swan Lake Mills, Horseshoe Lake Farm, and, of course, the
lake. In 1927, the Post Office officially changed the name from Stevensville
to Swan Lake. Note: this was three years after the Stevensville Lake Hotel
opened; however, the name was not changed. Instead, the Swan Lake Hotel was
built as well.
In 1886, there were six resort establishments listed under "Summer
Homes" [the O&W publication] for Stevensville. By 1907,
Stevensville was a well-established bustling summer spa. Resorts included
the Crystal Spring House, Kilcoin Hotel, The Criterion, Alpine House, Goff's
Mountain View House, and the Halcyon (proprietor M.F. Keogh).
In the 1920s and 1930s, large "Sullivan County Mission" hotels
sprung up overlooking Swan Lake. These included the famed Commodore, Swan
Lake Hotel, President Hotel, and the Stevensville Lake Hotel.
Stevensville Lake Hotel
Rose Levinson (1892-1989) built the Stevensville with Harry Dinnerstein
in 1924. Rose's husband had just passed away and her father thought she
should go into the hotel business. He helped her out with it. The actual
builders of the hotel were Henry Siegal and Jacob Kretchmer of Woodridge,
who also built the Commodore, Swan Lake Hotel, and the President Hotel. In
1952, Rose sold out to Harry Dinnerstein, whose family ran the hotel until
1990.
In 1924, when the Stevensville was built, the Swan Lake Synagogue was
built to accommodate the hotel guests as well as the residents of Swan Lake.
Many other well-known Swan Lake hotelkeepers and families were involved as
well, including the Roths and the Levines. The current Rabbi is Israel
Einhorn.
In 1987, the President Hotel was knocked down, leaving only the road,
statues, and a sign. Today, a development called Presidential Estates stands
in its place. Unfortunately for the Swan Lake Hotel, a fire consumed the
building in minutes in 1956 as an elevator was being installed in the Main
Building. The Commodore was sold to a religious group in the 1970s and was
eventually knocked down, leaving only remnants of the night club, tennis
courts, pool, stone wall, and some outer buildings. The Stevensville, the
most successful of the bunch, closed in February 1991 after the Dinnerstein
family moved to Florida. It ran as the "Imperial" for six months
before the new owner fled the country. The building sat vacant for eight
years until the Gallo family purchased the hotel and renovated it in 1999.
We shall see what the future has in store for the fate of the new Swan Lake
Resort Hotel.
Ferndale
Before the name was Ferndale, the town was called "Liberty
Falls." Liberty Falls, later Ferndale, was always an important O&W
station. It had a very important, strong iron trestle on which all
Liberty-bound trains had to cross. The station is still standing, on Station
Hill Road in Ferndale, now an oil company. The trestle was demolished in
1958, leaving only its concrete portals as evidence it once existed.
In the year of Pete's Run, there were three farmhouses with guest
accomodations; W.K. Loder, Mrs. W.W. Bartholomew, and John Clements, later
listed as J.A. Clements Farmhouse, in 1878. On the next page of "Summer
Homes", the Nicolas' Farm was listed. This farm would later become
Grossingers.
The first of these boarding houses was the Clements Lake Farmhouse. The
first of the Clements came up to "the country" in 1811. This was
the pioneer boarding house of the Catskills. In 1850, a larger house was
built, and three additions were constructed after the conclusion of the
Civil War. In 1872, it was ready to accommodate fifty summer guests. In
1902, a three story addition was added. It ran until 1937, when a sad
message came that it would close. The Clements Lake Farmhouse almost broke a
record for being the longest-running boarding house.
Grossinger's Hotel
The Grossinger family came to the United States around 1910 from a
section of Poland that was part of the Austrian Empire. After failing at
several professions in New York City, the religious family chose Ferndale
because of its established orthodox community - and because the Grossingers
were farmers. In 1914, the Grossingers bought some property and opened a
small farmhouse. They had planned to grow crops there, but the soil was not
good enough for their farming, and quickly realized there was more money in
taking boarders in. The first summer they had nine guests, and the next year
so many came up that the overflow slept outdoors.
In 1919, the Grossingers purchased the Nicolas Farm one mile away from
their property. They called their new establishment Grossinger's Hotel,
which had plumbing and electricity. For years they also owned cows, from
which they got fresh milk daily. Jennie Grossinger was the leading force
behind Grossinger's. She was a well-known figure in the Catskills, known for
treating every guest like a part of the family.
Grossinger's started small but quickly grew. New buildings sprung up in
the popular "Sullivan County Tutor" style, and new activities were
added to keep up with the times. Grossinger's always had the best people
running activities, and was known for its unique features such as expensive
sports facilities. More than anything else, Grossinger's was a starting
point for hundreds of would-be big stars. Everyone got their start in the
Catskills, and Grossinger's was the hot spot.
At its height, Grossinger's was so encompassing that it had its own
airport and post office (Grossinger, New York). The reason behind the post
office was simple: the Town of Liberty was known for its sanitariums, and
Grossinger's didn't want to be associated with this; so they became a town.
After Jennie Grossinger died, the force behind the hotel diminished and it
closed in the late 1980s. Its legacy will live on forever - if you watch
Dirty Dancing you can see a story that unfolded at Grossinger's. You can
still catch Grossinger's personality Lou Goldstein with his popular Simon
Sez comedy show at various hotels and on television.
© 1991, 2000 Scott Eckers
In July, this page will contain information on each hamlet within the Town of Liberty. Check back soon!
