Walking Tours
This is a sample of a few places and
buildings in the Pine Hill Historic District which might be of interest to you. The first three stops represent Pine Hill’s beginning days in the early 1800s, few traces of which remain. The second three stops are notable examples of Pine Hill’s interesting architecture. Part 1 Early and Vanished Pine Hill Stop 1 Old Turnpike Road/Ulster and Delaware Turnpike Early to mid-1800s and before Old Turnpike Road is a vestige of a colonial-era road that led from Kingston up through the Esopus Valley over Highmount into what was to become Delaware County. The old road was illustrated on a 1773 map by surveyor William Cockburn. In 1802, a project to pave it was launched, which finally saw completion in 1850. Heavy hemlock planks were used. Alf Evers wrote in his book,The Catskills, “In its heyday during the 1850s and 1860s, the smooth plank road was one of the wonders of its part of the Catskills. During the 1890s, W. Abram Hoffman, Kingston editor, recalled that at one time it had not been unusual to see fifty teams following closely behind each other on the plank road. Seven tanneries in Shandaken and five across the Pine Hill in Delaware County used the road.” |
Stop 2
307 Main Street Pine Hill Tavern/Glen Hall/ Colonial Inn Oldest part, c. around 1810 The Colonial Inn location is thought to be the site of Pine Hill’s first clearing and settlement, made by Aaron Adams shortly after 1800. He operated a sawmill and “Pine Tavern” there. Between 1800 and 1810, Adams built a hotel on the site and continued to reside there, until about 1816 when he moved away. There are conflicting accounts about this early building. Some believe it is subsumed within the present Colonial Inn. The larger portion of the Inn went up in 1874 and was called Glen Hall. Stop 3 Pine Hill Road, Old Route 28 Methodist Cemetery Dates from mid-1800s The oldest headstones in this cemetery include that of Mary Smith, b. January 24,1788; d. December 3, 1866, and “Alice, daughter of Nathan and Catharine Peet,” who died January 20, 1849. Part 2 Pine Hill Architecture Stop 4 26 Academy Street Shandaken Historical Museum/ School House No. 10 c. 1924, Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles The former school, which houses the Shandaken Historical Museum, exhibits |
the eclectic Colonial Revival and
Craftsman architectural styles that came into vogue at the beginning of the 20th century. Stop 5 22 Elm Street Morton Memorial Library c. 1903, Colonial Revival style One manifestation of Pine Hill’s prosperity at the turn of the 20th century is the Morton Memorial Library. It was constructed in 1903 and stands out as a preeminent building due to its masonry construction, in contrast to all the wood-frame buildings that make up the majority of the hamlet. The rusticated stone of its walls, slate roof, and columned entrance contribute to make it the finest building in Pine Hill.The building was initially funded by a donation from Dr. Henry Samuel Morton, Sr., the first president of the Stevens Institute in Hoboken, in memory of his late wife Clara. Dr. Morton died in 1902, and his children completed the project. The Mortons were long-time summer residents with a grand cottage west of the hamlet. The library building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 21, 1997. Stop 6 270-272 Main Street Elbert Smith Drugstore c. 1900, Colonial Revival style This building has kept its appearance as a former druggists’ store, originating with William and Elbert Smith. A ruby-colored stained glass above the entrance reads Smith Bros. Druggists. The drugstore building dates from around 1900. Note the massive scroll sawn brackets of the porch. |