Monticello

Monticello was a large commercial town in the heart of Sullivan County. Monticello's largest industry was tanning until the 1870s, when most of the tanneries were forced out of business by the destruction of the hemlock forests, which they contributed to. At the same time, the resort hotel industry was gradually emerging. Contributing to its rise was the New York, Ontario, and Western (O&W) Railroad, which the town lacked until 1903. In the 1870s, the Monticello and Port Jervis Railroad began operations. This line was acquired in 1903 by the larger O&W Railroad, whose mainline ran through many other towns in Sullivan County. A line to Monticello opened it up to New York City.

As highway networks grew, the O&W attempted to meet the competition of cars by improving its service. In 1926, they installed gasoline-powered trains. By 1930, the railroad found that they couldn't compete with buses and cars and passenger service to Monticello ended in 1935.

During the 1880s and 1890s, hotels were emerging in the neighboring communities of Pleasant Lake (now Kiamesha Lake) and Fallsburg. By the turn of the century, there were many listings under "Summer Homes" [O&W publication].

Monticello was a small town and has always been the County Seat for Sullivan County (Thompsonville and Liberty were also nominated for this prestigious title, but Monticello won because of its location along the Newburgh-Cochecton Turnpike, which was constructed in 1806). Most hotels grew around the town - it was the center of everything. Monticello was the first town in the county to have electricity and a complex telephone system. This took place in 1896. Many industrial buildings burned down in Monticello, including a power plant - a man tried to light 4,000 lamps.

Kutsher's Hotel and Country Club

Kutsher's Country Club, which started operations in 1907, had the unique distinction of picking up its guests at both the Luzon (later Hurleyville - on the O&W Main Line) and Monticello depots. In 1948, Kutsher's had added an entire sports facility, and became noted for the facility and its professional clientele, including Wilt Chamberlain. Milton Kutsher, who recently passed away, had been coming up to the hotel since he was thirteen. His widow, Helen, runs the hotel, which can boast of its own lake and ultramodern sports complex, including a sleepaway camp. Kutsher's has been noted for its famous entertainment in its large night club, and its sports teams of years ago.

Kiamesha (Lake)

The small town and lake was known as "Pleasant Lake" until the Post Office officially became Kiamesha (without the "Lake"). In 1886, "Summer Homes" listed Pleasant Lake as a "beautiful sheet of water between Monticello and Fallsburg." Pleasant Lake was a local listing only. J.J. Trowbridge's Mountain View Summer Home was the town's only listing, and it was listed under Monticello. It did state, however, that it had "30 accommodations - near Pleasant Lake."

In 1896, there was a formal drive to change the name to Kiamesha or Kiamesha Lake. Before the Kiamesha Post Office came about on June 20, 1899, the town was listed under the Monticello Post Office. By 1898, Pleasant Lake was fast becoming a well-developed summer resort with many New York City visitors in its cottages and hotels. The name was still officially "Pleasant Lake," however most people started calling the town "Kiamesha" or "Kiamesha Lake," including "Summer Homes" and the O&W line.

In 1898, there were fourteen establishments listed under "Monticello-Kiamesha Lake. (Monticello Post Office)." The name "Kiamesha" was so widely used that a post office under that name was finally erected. On December 1, 1938, the "Lake" was officially tacked on to the town's name, because of popular business demands from hotel owners.

The Concord Hotel

"The city in the country" is what the Concord Resort Hotel was nicknamed. It was the largest of any ultramodern resort in the Catskills, and at one time, in New York. Unlike almost all of the other hotels, which started small and then grew slowly into larger establishments, the Concord started out big and became tremendous.

In 1911, Abraham Greenwald brought his wife's cousin and her husband, Arthur Winarick, to America from Russia. After opening a barber shop, Arthur invented a hair tonic, which he called Jeris, and asked Abraham to go into business with him marketing the product. Abraham didn't agree and Arthur ended up building Jeris Hair Tonic into a multimillion-dollar business.

In the summer of 1932, Arthur Winarick came up to the Catskills and stayed at the Kiamesha Ideal Hotel. The owner was having trouble paying bills and Winarick gave him a small mortgage. By 1936, Arthur bought the property, known as the "Concord Plaza." He decided immediately that he would be bigger than Grossinger's. In 1937, Winarick started advertising under "Concord Plaza" in "Summer Homes" with accommodations for 500 guests. Before the buildings of the World's Fair were demolished, he bought tons of steel to use to expand the hotel. He wanted to have strong structures instead of the wooden hotels so popular in Sullivan County. During World War II, he wanted to expand the dining room, but couldn't get material anywhere. Then he saw a 125th Street ferry for sale in New York City. He bought it, took it apart, and used the wood and steel for his hotel. His goal was to build the largest hotel in the world.

By 1941, the "Plaza" was knocked off and the Concord Hotel was advertising for 800 guests. In 1946, it continued to expand, and in 1948, a huge new wing was added. Many new wings were since added and the Concord became the Catskill's own city. The hotel built a "Monster Golf Course," a golf course so large that national PGA championships have been held there. Its other impressive sports facilities included a tremendous indoor tennis, basketball, and skating complexes.

The Concord was famous for getting top-name entertainment. Many celebrities such as Ed Sullivan, Lucille Ball, Sammy Davis, Jr., Muhammad Ali, and others have come to the Concord. Philly Greenwald, possibly the greatest talent booker in the Mountains, was the talent booker for the Concord until his death in 1982.

The Parker family owned the hotel until it went out of business in 1998. George Parker is the grandson of Arthur Winarick, the hotel's founder. His wife, Sharon, was the director of guest relations. Robert Parker was the former president of the Concord, and is also the grandson of Arthur Winarick. Irving Cohen was the Maitre D' in the dining room for over fifty years.

© 1991, 2000 Scott Eckers