Newburgh-Cochecton Turnpike

Route 17B follows the route of the old Newburgh-Cochecton Turnpike, which started in Cochecton, followed County Road 114, which becomes Route 17B in Fosterdale. The route ran through Monticello, the present-day terminus of Route 17B, then followed what is now Old Route 17 until Bloomingburg onto the current Route 17K. Route 17K runs the entire rest of the old Newburgh-Cochecton Turnpike until its terminus in Newburgh. Looking at a map you will see the almost straight line from Cochecton to Newburgh along this old plank route. The old turnpike was chartered on March 20, 1801 in an effort to connect both the Hudson and Delaware Rivers, and to provide access to mostly unsettled land nortwest of Newburgh. The only stretch of Route 17B that is not along the alignment of the old Turnpike is from Fosterdale to Callicoon, where the state route designation turns northwest.